Chapter 1: You've Got It Twisted
Chapter Text
One of the first things Velvette learned in Hell was that the infamous Overlords known as Vox and Valentino were dangerous, and that she'd do well to stay away from them.
So, naturally, upon hearing about them and their widespread influence across Pentagram City, she'd done the logical thing and sought them out.
Were she anyone else, maybe that would've been the stupidest decision of her life (or afterlife). But she was no idiot, nor was she without her charms.
Maybe Vox and Valentino were dangerous if you were just a downtrodden, ambition-less Sinner with no flair. But Velvette knew she was better than that, because she was better than that.
She had wormed her way into their hearts, wrapping them tightly around her little finger, before you could say throuple.
She'd never been scared of them, and she never would be. She knew they'd never hurt her.
They were The Vees, they were lifelong allies, associates, and lovers. There was nowhere in Hell safer for her than in their arms.
It was well past midnight and Velvette was drunk. More than drunk, she was bored, and she was more than a little bit horny. She shifted her weight from foot-to-foot as she rode the elevator impatiently up to the penthouse levels of the V Tower.
Humming to herself, she stumbled into the luxurious penthouse apartments she shared with her colleagues-come-lovers, dropping her bags gracelessly to the floor of Vox's level and looking around at the darkened apartment in confusion.
“What the fuck?” She said, her words slurred.
She’d just come back from work to a dark and empty apartment.
That didn’t happen, that never happened.
Velvette curled her lip in distaste. Of course this happened after her complete clusterfuck of a day.
Work had been hell, the new designs that she’d been so happy with yesterday made her want to scream today and her models had been worse than useless. Trying to calm down, she'd attempted a little retail therapy, only to run into Angel Dust at Valak's Secret.
Speaking of downtrodden and ambition-less...
It was awkward enough running into the enslaved soul that your boyfriend regularly assaults on camera, let alone running into him at a lingerie store.
Angel Dust didn't exactly make it any less awkward, glancing judgmentally at the black lingerie set that Velvette was about to purchase.
"He prefers white, it shows off the blood more" he'd said, grinning with twisted amusement as Velvette flipped him off.
"Show some respect, you little Spider-Whore"
"Respect? Oh, that's rich coming from you. Al told us all about your little song-and-dance number at the meeting"
"Valentino's going to rip you to pieces when he hears about this" Velvette snapped, smirking in amusement as Angel's eyes widened fearfully.
Her retail therapy ruined, she'd made her way to the nearest bar, day-drinking (and then night-drinking) until a terrified-looking waitress had oh-so-politely informed her that she was cut off.
"The fuck?" she slurred, slumped over the bar.
"I'm sorry, Miss Velvette. But my manager thinks it's for the best- and we're all sure that your associates would agree"
"Who the fuck do you think you are, bitch?!" Velvette got to her feet, trying to advance on the hapless waitress. But her murderous plans were foiled by gravity and poor balance, sending her and her impractical heels toppling to the ground.
She landed with a thud, groaning.
"Miss Velvette!" The waitress was already helping her to her feet, handing her the numerous bags of shopping from her ruined retail therapy "You really should go home. I'm sure the other Vees are worried about you... wouldn't it be nice to spend the rest of the evening with your friends?"
The stupid bitch had a good point. Velvette missed Vox and Valentino. She was also furious with them. Those fuckers hadn't even texted her in the past ten hours, which was tantamount to infidelity in her eyes.
So she'd stumbled out of the bar and made her way home.
Her disappointment at the sight of the abandoned apartment was immeasurable.
All she had wanted was to come home and throw herself into Vox and Valentino’s arms, and to watch whatever Katie Killjoy thought passed for entertainment while Vox spoon-fed her a late dinner and Val massaged her scalp and sweet-talked her in Spanish.
But no. The apartment was dark and empty.
There was only one thing to do, obviously.
“OI! FUCKERS!” She called out, her voice echoing with no answer.
She frowned, before striding towards Vox's bedroom, slamming the door open “You better be fucking dying in here, you flat-faced-”
But Vox’s bedroom was empty, his tastefully ocean-themed bed-sheets undisturbed.
Velvette stared at the bed, feeling oddly sentimental. She’d bought him those sheets, making a crude joke about how they’d let him fuck her under the sea. Vox had called them childish.
But here they were. On his bed.
…without Vox.
Curling her lip, Velvette stormed back into the lift and made her way to Valentino’s floor.
At first, with a brief pang of panic, she thought that Val’s pink-and-red eyesore of an apartment was also abandoned, and that her colleagues were missing.
Her eyes alighted on a shattered glass resting on the floor near the sofa, and the amber contents that had spilled out into a piss-colored stain all over Valentino's rug.
What the fuck happened here? Are they okay?
Her panic intensified, and she cautiously started to look around for further evidence of a struggle.
But after a few fretful seconds, she heard the familiar sounds of Val muttering in his sleep, and the faint hum of Vox recharging as he slept.
Found you.
She burst triumphantly into Valentino’s bedroom, grinning at the sight of her quarry, all panic forgotten. Valentino was lying spread-eagle on his back, his wings splayed on the bed as he muttered something about Angel Dust.
Everything was bathed in a soft red glow by the crimson fairy lights that Valentino had strung up all over the place. When Velvette was new to The Vees she used to call Valentino's bedroom "The Red Light District".
Valentino would laugh, while Vox affectionately rolled his digital eyes.
Unsteady on her feet, Velvette made her way around the bed until she was kneeling next to a sleeping Vox. He was plugged into a socket on the wall, his face blank asides from a recharging symbol.
”Hey. Wake up. I’m horny” she said, shaking Vox lightly.
Vox didn’t stir.
“Vox. I want your electro-shark-dick in me yesterday. If I don’t get it while you’re awake…” she got into the bed, climbing on top of him and straddling him “I’ll just take it”
She was kidding. Vox would find it funny if he was awake.
Vox stirred, his screen flickering, but he didn’t wake up. In the dimmed light of Vox’s screen and the red fairy lights Velvette noticed that he was wearing a familiar pair of pajamas.
“…the fuck? I thought you told Val these were childish and tacky?” She tugged at the collar of the shark-themed pajamas Vox was wearing.
A dozen cartoon sharks smiled innocently back at her, offering no answers for her confusion.
Her gift of ocean-themed bedding was at least classy, these pajamas were a joke gift that Val had expected to be incinerated.
“Doesn’t he look cute?”
Speak of the devil and he will wake up…
…not that Valentino was Lucifer- and not that Velvette would kick Lucifer out of bed for eating crackers.
“Fuck” Velvette imagined the lithe body that Pride only ever saw underneath Lucifer’s suits, rocking against Vox subconsciously.
Fucking hell, I’m horny…
“Someone’s excited” Valentino was naked, his pierced nipples glinting in the light of Vox’s screen as he sat up, wrapping one of his lower arms around Velvette’s waist. His upper hands reached out to paw at her breasts, before snaking up to rest against her throat. His fourth, unoccupied hand palmed at his cock underneath the bed-sheets.
“I’m drunk" she explained "...and I'm angry, because some thoughtless fuckers haven't texted me for hours!"
"Oh, pobrecita, you're needier than Vox when he's around that smiling ciervo" Valentino purred.
"I'm no pobrecita, you overgrown polilla perra" Velvette jabbed her finger into Valentino's chest, though she smiled as she did so.
Velvette was indeed anything but a poor baby. She had tamed a monster like Valentino and had the CEO of VoxTek eating out of her hand.
She was the backbone of the Vees, she was strong.
So she squirmed on top of Vox without fear or concern, not even caring that Valentino’s hands were on her throat.
“Oh, Velvette” Valentino clicked his tongue “Let your papá take care of you, hm?”
Velvette laughed, shaking her head.
“I don’t want you tonight. I want Vox” she said, ignoring how Val’s hands minutely tightened around her throat.
“What’s wrong with me? I know more about pleasure than Vox”
Velvette didn't have a good answer for that, so she went with the truth.
“I dunno. I just want Vox” Velvette shook Vox again, trying to rouse him, before shrieking in shock as Valentino dragged her across the bed and onto his own lap without warning.
Valentino’s cock was close to twenty inches long, and it was intimidatingly thick. It barely looked human, a strange, bulbous shape with a pointed end that would make even the most adventurous sex toy maker blush.
Velvette had never been able to go further than the first few inches, but Valentino was so good at sex that a few inches was all he needed to make her see heaven.
Velvette could feel the monstrous appendage twitch underneath herself as she settled on Valentino’s lap.
“What makes Vox so much better than me, hm? I am Pentagram City's prime purveyor of pleasure, you know” Valentino purred, reaching for one of his cigarettes lazily, his hand blindly clawing at the bedside table.
Valentino's eyesight was, as Angel Dust relished in saying, shit. Velvette took a sick pleasure in pondering how long it would take Val to locate the heart-shaped glasses and packet of cigarettes that rested mere inches away from his grasping fingers.
While Valentino searched, Velvette ran her hand down his muscular chest, rubbing against the hard cock she was sitting on.
“Mm. Yeah, you’ve got a good point” she said, her words still slurred.
Valentino grinned, before his expression soured without reason. Before Velvette could ask what was wrong, she felt familiar arms wrap around her.
"Hi Vox" she said.
"Good morning, babe" Valentino's hand located his glasses, and he grinned in triumph.
Vox was still attached to the wall, a little charging symbol in the corner of his screen. He looked irritated, and…
…scared?
“You’re plastered” he said, running a clawed hand affectionately against Velvette's face.
“You’re wearing little boy’s pajamas- did you and Val do some DD/LB before bed, huh?” she teased.
“I… am not even going to ask what that means” Vox shot Val a look, before glancing down at himself “You dusty fucker! What the fuck is this?!”
“What? You don’t like sleeping naked!” Valentino had finally acquired a cigarette, his glasses now on his face and magnifying his red eyes as he leered at Vox, the cigarette hanging unlit between his teeth.
Vox reached over and casually lit the cigarette with a spark from his fingertip, a heart-shaped cloud of smoke billowing lazily into the air between them.
Her head spinning, Velvette smiled dreamily at both of them “I love you” she blurted out.
Vox gave her a tense smile “I love you too” he said tersely, before he tugged at her, pulling her off Valentino's lap and on top of himself, lying back down again and cradling her in his clawed grip.
Something's not right...
Vox's whole body felt stiff, and not in the way Velvette was hoping for. She looked up, shooting Valentino a frown as she noticed the way her favorite moth pimp was grinding his teeth.
"You'll need another gold tooth if you keep doing that" she said, pointing vaguely at him, before turning her finger to Vox "Why are you in little kid PJ's?"
"Vox wore his battery out playing rough with me, I had to change him and plug him in to rest and recharge" Valentino waved his cigarette, the intoxicating smoke getting into Velvette's lungs and making her whimper involuntarily from the sudden rush of added arousal.
Vox's hands gripped her waist and Velvette grinned down at him eagerly. But he didn't look lustful at all, his red-and-cyan eyes (or at least, the facsimile of eyes displayed on his screen) were staring fearfully at Val, as though expecting him to launch at them in full attack at any second.
Velvette hummed, feeling like she was missing a piece of the puzzle before her.
Another gust of smoke got into her lungs, and she forgot what she was worrying about.
"Vox isn't feeling fun tonight, my little Red-Velvette-cake" Valentino ran the back of his hand along Velvette's cheek, his rings cold and hard against her skin "Come back here, I'll look after you"
Vox's claws dug into her skin, Velvette winced.
"She's drunk, she should sleep it off. We'll have fun tomorrow, Val" Vox said, his voice unusually tense.
"No, I wanna have fun..." Velvette slurred, smiling as Valentino leered at her "But I wanna have fun with Vox" she patted Vox's chest through his garish pajamas.
"I'm flattered, my dear, but you really do need to sleep. We'll do whatever you want tomorrow" Vox urged, before his eyes widened as Valentino dragged her off his lap again, so quickly that his claws left scratches in her sides, ripping through her shirt.
Velvette touched the wet fabric. The shirt was a simple camisole identical to a dozen others in her wardrobe, and the scratches weren't deep.
She wasn't bothered. She held her bloodied fingers out to Val, who licked them clean.
His saliva tingled against her fingertips, and she went to place them in her mouth to enjoy the rush, before pouting as Vox grabbed her wrist.
"Go clean yourself up, and go to sleep" he said firmly, glaring at Valentino.
"You're not my Dad, weirdo. We're an equal. Fucking. Partnership. Start ordering me around like that and maybe I'll run away and go blow the Radio Demon instead" Velvette stuck her tongue out, hardly beating the brat allegations.
"You'll have to get in line behind Vox if you want to be Alastor's puta, Red-Velvette-cakes" Valentino said, taking a long drag.
Vox jolted at the mention of Alastor, but otherwise stayed calm.
"Velvette..."
"She's told you what she wants, don't be so old-fashioned. Men don't control women the way they did in your day, Vox" Valentino purred, tapping a disapproving finger against Vox's screen, over the artificial mouth.
Vox and Velvette exchanged a disbelieving look.
"Valentino, you think feminism is a category of femdom porn. Get off your high horse, and hand her over. She needs sleep, not you"
"I don't want Val, I want you" Velvette explained for what felt like the fiftieth time that night, huffing. She ignored Valentino as she heard a low growl coming from the overlord underneath her "Fuck me, Vox. Fuck me like you wanna fuck Alastor"
She leaned back so she was holding her weight on her hands, her fingertips brushing against Val's legs as she perched on top of his intimidating erection.
"Oh Vox! I'm sorry I made you cry like a big pissbaby on the airwaves, fuck me! Fuck me TV Daddy!" Velvette imitated Alastor's transatlantic accent, even lisping her words slightly to try and affect radio static warping her words.
Vox looked interested, sitting up.
"I didn't know you could do that" he said.
With a blink of an eye and a sparkle of hellish magic, Velvette was suddenly wearing a perfect imitation of Alastor's outfit, right down to the microphone he carried everywhere. She twirled it in one hand.
Valentino sat up, curling his lower arms around her and playing with Velvette's hair, now pinned up to match Alastor's length.
"Come now, Vox. Don't you wanna see the Radio Demon take a big dick like mine?" he purred, running his tongue along Velvette's face.
His saliva tingled against her skin, and her breath caught in her throat as her grip on Valentino's sheets tightened. What scant few inhibitions she had left were slipping through her fingers like running water.
Velvette loved to push buttons, no matter how stupid of a button it was to push. If she was sober, maybe she would've seen the writing on the walls. But she was drunk, frustrated, and she felt like the baddest bitch in hell, mocking the Radio Demon as she perched on top of the scariest dick around town.
So she pushed Valentino's buttons, every shiny red thing marked 'DANGER' that was currently flashing in front of her.
"How many times do I have to tell you, I don't want your fucking dick, Val! I want Vox's! Vox is a real Overlord. You're just some jumped up, washed up slut. Maybe that's too hard for your tiny little brain to comprehend, so let me make it crystal clear" Velvette snapped, pushing at Valentino's chest "Vox! Vox! Vox! Vox! Vox! I want Vox! One day we'll fuck you like Alastor fucked Husk, and you'll be licking Angel Dust's boots clean everyday while we live happily every after without you"
Vox looked completely aghast, his expression so shocked that Velvette giggled once she had finished her button-pushing tirade.
At first, Valentino didn't move an inch. Velvette felt an irrational stab of fear, wondering if she'd finally gone too far, before he leaned in to kiss her.
She relaxed into the kiss, moaning and wrapping her arms tightly around Val, smiling smugly even as she felt his fangs brush against her lips.
Ha! I've got him wrapped around my little finger...
His saliva got into her mouth and she eagerly swallowed it down, Val's spittle and smoke mixing in her system to intoxicating effect.
The last thing she saw, before everything went hazy and pink, was Vox. He looked fearful as his softly glowing eyes flicked between his two lovers.
As the pink mist descended, all she could focus on was her own arousal. She'd experienced it a million times before, but she'd never get bored of Valentino's natural aphrodisiacs, it was why she'd worked so hard to bottle it in the form of her and Valentino's infamous love potion...
It was her favorite drug. She'd never get why Angel Dust still used the same shit that had killed him in life when he had access to this ambrosia...
Her happy haze was suddenly and rudely interrupted by the sight of Vox's spiraling eye, taking up her entire vision and making her head spin.
"Hello Velvette" whispered Vox's comforting voice "Go to sleep. You won't remember what happens next in the morning"
"Of course I won't, Vox" Velvette said, completely entranced, the world going black around her...
"Mummy? What happened to your eye?"
"It's nothing, Doll. Go back to sleep"
"Daddy, how did Mummy fall down the stairs?"
"She tripped, Doll. I've already told you"
The Vees all enjoyed a slight immunity to each other's powers, thanks to repeated exposure. So, unfortunately, Vox wasn't quite able to spare Velvette from reality.
"Get off me! Get off me! Get off!" Velvette was screaming, all she could hear was screaming and all she could feel was pain. Valentino's spit and smoke and Vox's hypnosis were wearing off fast in the face of unbearable and unexpected agony.
She felt like she was being split in half, crotch-first. She'd never felt pain like it before, not even when she'd died. She screamed, clawing at an assailant she couldn't see before crying out in panic as her wrists were easily grabbed and pinned down.
She choked as smoke was blown into her face, unable to see through her tears as she fruitlessly fought against someone much bigger than her.
"-off! Get off! This is too much, Valentino! You'll break her!" Someone else was saying, their voice distorted and warping, like a broken telly speaker.
"You want me to smash that screen right off your fucking neck? Go play with the Radio Demon" Valentino's voice, rough and furious, snarled close to Velvette's ear.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry about the Alastor thing, please leave her out of it! All she wanted was a quick orgasm and a good night's sleep, for fuck's sake!" Vox. It was Vox's distorted voice she was hearing.
"Vox..." Velvette whispered, reaching out blindly "Vox..."
"Let me put her back to sleep. Please. This is too far" Vox was pleading.
Valentino snorted derisively.
"...fine. Make it quick" he said.
...and then all she could see was Vox's eye again.
"You're having a bad dream... go back to sleep, Velvette. I love you."
"Yeah, whatever, I love her too" Valentino muttered.
"No. I don't think you do, Val" was the last thing Velvette heard before slipping away into blissful unconsciousness.
When Velvette finally woke up, she felt stiff and rigid, like a brand new doll that had never been played with.
She groaned, slowly regaining the feeling in her extremities as she squirmed against slightly sticky bed-sheets.
"Oh, Velvette, Vel, Vel, Vel, my poor muñeca perfecta. I'm so sorry about last night, I went too far and I broke you, didn't I?" a warm hand was stroking back her hair, heavy rings catching against the curls.
"Val?" Velvette croaked, her voice nothing more than a rasp.
"I'm sorry I can't stay longer, those bitches down at my studio need me. Clean yourself up and Kitty will deal with the mess in here. Vox was supposed to deal with it, but he's too busy sulking in his office. Don't have a big lunch, I'll take you out to dinner tonight to apologize. I'll make you more of a princesa than Charlie Morningstar could ever be. I love you"
Lips pressed against Velvette's, and she thought for a moment that she was going to vomit.
"Be a good girl for Vox" Valentino's melodic voice purred, before she heard heels clicking against the floor, followed by the slamming of a door.
"Not... your... fucking... good girl" Velvette snarled, sitting up slowly.
She took in Valentino's bedroom. The red light of Pentagram City illuminated the floors, which sparkled with countless pieces of broken glass. Indeed, the whole room was in disarray, with pillows and blankets torn to shreds and left scattered around the room.
She wrinkled her nose, it smelled like something had died in there.
"The fuck?" Velvette groaned, curling up on herself and wincing in discomfort.
She was extremely stiff but physically unharmed, much to her surprise. She was also lying in something wet. Tremulously, she pushed back the covers, dreading what she'd find underneath.
Her discovery made her gag, her eyes widening in disgust and horror.
Valentino's pink bed-sheets were splashed with blood, urine, and semen. Without the duvet covering them, they smelled bad enough to make Velvette gag with more force, covering her hand with her mouth so she wouldn't add vomit to the mix.
Something did die in here.
Me.
Valentino killed me.
Valentino raped me to death.
Her heartbeat quickened. She knew Valentino was a monster. She knew he'd done the same, if not worse, to his unlucky 'employees' over and over again since he'd first risen as an Overlord.
But not her. Never her.
Valentino raped me to death...
Unbidden, she thought about Vox's spiraling eye.
...AND THAT FLAT-FACED PRICK HELPED HIM!
"VOX! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" Velvette screamed, storming into Vox's office in a blind fury.
She'd redressed herself with a snap of her fingers, blinded by rage as she stormed over broken glass, across Valentino's foyer (ignoring Kitty's offer of coffee with a snarl), and into the elevator. She hit the 'down' button with so much force she nearly broke it, glaring daggers at the elevator doors as she descended towards Vox's ridiculous lair.
Vox was sitting at his desk, turned away from the doors. He was eerily still, staring at the monitors without comment. The whole room felt hushed, like a cathedral.
"Get ready to say goodbye to The Vees! Because I'm leaving, I'm taking my souls, I'm taking my shit, and I'M GOING STRAIGHT TO THAT FUCKING HOTEL! The Radio Demon is getting all your dirty laundry, fucker!" she snarled, storming towards Vox's desk "...and then when you're ruined, when you're just a sniveling little smartphone, whimpering in the dirt, I'm gonna cut off your cock with the rustiest angelic spear I can get my hands on!"
Vox shifted in his chair.
"Velvette?" his voice sounded raw.
"...oh, but before I so much as bat my lashes at Alastor, I'm going to find Valentino and I'm gonna SLICE HIM INTO LITTLE FUCKING PIECES!"
Vox turned his chair around, and Velvette actually took a step back.
For a brief, crazy moment, she wasn't an Overlord threatening to destroy her business-partner-come-lover with the aid of The Radio Demon...
...for a brief moment she was a terrified little girl, staring at her bloodied, bruised, and beaten mother as she tried and failed to cover up a black eye with heavy concealer and a watery smile.
"I used to feel like you did. But that was a very long time ago" Vox said, his tone more gentle than Velvette had ever heard it be before "We're in Hell, Velvette. Did you really think this was going to be some sort of fairy-tale romance?"
Vox looked as shit as Velvette felt, wearing only his shirt and trousers. There was blood all over the white fabric of his shirt, and black bruises mottled his blue skin. One of his claws was even broken off, while another was nothing more than a jagged stump.
But the most noticeable injury inflicted upon him was his screen. The corner of Vox's display was smashed in, glittering like stardust, with cracks spider-webbing across his face and leaving his screen glitching violently.
"It's alright. I'll regenerate soon enough. I've regained enough optical input to-" Vox started to say, before Velvette held up her hand, silencing him.
"We're killing him, right? Valentino's fucking dead after what he did, right?" she said.
"Velvette..." Vox sighed, getting to his feet and approaching her.
His feet were bare, padding against the floor. He should’ve looked helpless, vulnerable, even a little bit tragic…
But Velvette felt uneasy, taking a step back. Nothing changed the fact that Vox had, in a way, assisted in Valentino's assault of her.
"...you helped him! You helped him rape me!" she finally snapped.
"What?! I protected you!" Vox said, looking offended through the glitching screen.
Velvette shook her head, her eyes flashing with rage.
"You hypnotized me!"
"So you wouldn't remember! I didn't think you wanted the memory of what that felt like seared into your brain!" Vox shook his broken head "I'm only sorry that it didn't completely work!"
Velvette closed the distance between them, her gaze softening as she took in just how royally fucked Vox looked.
"What the fuck happened to you?" she asked, not unkindly.
Vox laughed hollowly, smoothing down his bloodied shirtsleeves.
"Val's been doing this to me about once a month since the seventies, Vel. Welcome to the fucking party" he said "I was getting too manic about The Radio Demon, and Val got jealous. You were unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire of his bad mood last night"
"You gotta be kidding me, you let him get away with this shit?" Velvette said in disbelief "Regularly?!"
Vox laughed again, sounding even more hollow inside as he did so.
"The first time it happened, I was going to kill him. I was as angry as you were, if not angrier. I purchased a gun from Carmine and held it to his head while he was sleeping" Vox reached out, touching Velvette's face fondly.
Despite the situation, despite everything, Velvette leaned into his touch.
"...but when I went to pull the trigger, I couldn't. I had a lot of reasons, but the most pertinent amongst them was that I realized that killing Vox for abusing me ruined my Overlord image, and would leave me sans a very loyal ally. Besides, I have no interest in controlling the world of porn and sex work like he does- and I can't afford to lose that revenue"
Velvette shook her head, shuddering.
Her whole world was as badly shattered as Vox's screen, and she was reeling.
"This is insane, you can't justify what he's doing to you! How many times has he raped you, Vox?!"
Vox folded his arms.
"Men can't be raped" he said, stubbornly.
"Fuck you and your outdated, patriarchal bullshit!" Velvette actually kicked his shin, turning away as Vox limped on one foot, wincing.
"Velvette, don't be an idiot! Calm down!" Vox's voice reverberated, and Velvette didn't have to look at him to know that his eye was spiraling in a hopeless attempt to hypnotize her again.
"I'm not an idiot, I'm the smartest bitch in this whole fucking tower!" she called out over her shoulder, walking away.
"Do I need to remind you again that we're in Hell?! I learned to accept what love looks like down here, and unless you want to be thrown out of The Vees, you need to accept it too!" Vox yelled, furious "Velvette, please, don't be a fool! I built an empire! Listen to me!"
"Maybe getting smacked around and raped on the regular works just fine for you, but I'm different" Velvette said, striding towards the doors "I'll kill that fucking moth, and we'll all be better off for it"
She was determined, but Vox had much longer legs than her. He easily caught up to her and grabbed her wrist before she could make it anywhere near the exit, spinning her around and bringing her face-to-screen with his spinning eye.
“Our brand is perfection, Velvette. Our image is a unified, powerful, and fearless front. I’m afraid I can’t let anything jeopardize that”
He cupped her face in his hands, bringing her closer.
“You’ll understand after a decade or so, I promise”
Velvette stared at him helplessly, fury, fear, and pity swirling in a maelstrom of pain and confusion inside her.
This was all so wrong, seeing Vox half-dressed, bruised and bloodied and broken was wrong.
Knowing that she was in as much danger from Valentino as any of his pathetic whores was wrong.
Everything was wrong.
“How can you live with yourself?” She said, feeling humiliating tears prickle at her eyes.
"I don't have to, Vel" said Vox, as Velvette's vision slowly went black "I'm already dead"
To Be Continued...
Chapter 2: I'm Not The One Who Needs A New Attitude
Chapter Text
VoxTek. Trust us.
It was one of the first things Velvette saw in Pentagram City; a stack of televisions in a shop window playing a VoxTek commercial. She approached the shopfront slowly, pressing her hands against the glass as she gazed at the flickering image before her.
Vox was smiling at the camera as he presented their latest enterprise: Voxflix. However, Velvette barely paid attention to the advertisement, she focused instead on the man on screen.
She'd know a snake oil salesman anywhere, she could tell that Vox was talking complete crap. But he sold it with a smile that said 'trust me' more than his own company's tagline. His authority, power, and confidence was palpable, wrapping around Velvette like a warm blanket.
She knew that her way to the top was through the displaced used car salesman before her, and she smiled.
“Trust us!” said Vox, wrapping the advertisement up with a flourish.
Velvette woke up in her own bed, tucked in with tender and methodical care. Her head was supported by soft pillows, and some of the cuddlier members of her extensive doll collection had been tucked in next to her.
She should’ve felt touched but she didn’t. She felt patronized and manipulated.
She sat up, a plush version of Vox that the man himself had given her as a joke gift sliding off her arm as she did so.
Plush-Vees! Not intended for salacious purposes.
“VOX!” She called out, irritated at the state she'd woken up in, but also craving his company.
There was a flash of electricity as Vox materialized out of the security camera in her room. Velvette narrowed her eyes.
“Voyeur”
“You love it” Vox smiled charmingly. There wasn’t a scratch on him, and he was back to wearing his usual suit "Now, how can I help you this hellish day, hm?"
The normalcy was comforting. Everything felt like it was back to how it should be, Velvette didn’t even ache anymore.
"I'm not a little kid, what the fuck is this?" Velvette gestured towards her doll-filled bed.
"I'm not the one that has a doll collection. Besides, you looked lonely" Vox grinned, ducking as the plush version of himself was thrown at his screen.
Velvette huffed, before she picked up a plush replica of Valentino, staring glumly at it.
“How are you feeling?” Vox's tone softened as he approached the bed. He leaned down, taking her temperature with the back of his hand.
Velvette slapped his hand away.
“I feel like the men I love raped me” she said.
Vox sat down on the edge of her bed, his smile fading “I did no such thing”
“Valentino did, and you have done nothing about it" Velvette said.
Vox sighed.
"Velvette, I know it might not seem like it right now, but you'll understand in a few years. Most of the time, Valentino wouldn't dare touch either of us. He has his whores to play with" Vox waved a dismissive hand.
Velvette shook her head.
"You don't get it, do you? You'll keep normalizing it and ignoring it, and one day-"
Her mother lay still and cold at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes staring at nothingness as blood pooled around her hair.
"-one day it'll be too late to get away" Velvette's voice became choked.
Vox looked concerned, resting a hand on her knee and squeezing it.
"You want to run away?" he said, his voice distorting slightly "You want to leave me- leave us?"
Velvette saw the hurt in his eyes and back-peddled. Vox has... issues with abandonment, courtesy of The Radio Demon.
"I don't want to go anywhere without you, Vox" she said, resting her hand over his.
"I'm not going anywhere without Valentino, Velvette" Vox said, raising a brow. He placed his other hand on top of hers.
Velvette placed her other hand on top of his, Vox smirking and sliding the hand on her knee out so he could place it on top again. Velvette did the same with a small smirk on her own face, the two devolving into a childish slap-fight before laughing.
Vox took both her hands in his, kissing them. Being kissed by Vox was like being kissed by pure static, Velvette shivered at the sensation.
"Do you ever miss having a normal head?" she asked, gently pulling her hands away and rubbing them, feeling phantom tingles ghost over her knuckles.
"No. Never. I'm far more handsome like this" Vox grinned.
Velvette smiled back, before she sighed, lying back down again and patting the pillow next to her. Vox got the hint and lay down on top of the covers, chuckling as Velvette cuddled up against him.
“This is disgusting” she said.
“Because you’re mad at me? Because of what happened?”
“No. Because we’re being so domestic. I feel like I’m going to puke” Velvette shuddered.
Vox pulled a face, wrapping an arm around her.
"Don't do it on me, whatever you do"
Velvette snorted.
"You'd deserve it"
Vox chuckled more at that, tightening his grip on her. They lay together in companionable silence for a moment, even with a nearly ten-foot-tall moth-shaped elephant in the room casting a shadow over them both.
Finally, Velvette spoke again.
"...what happened to my Alastor outfit?" she asked.
"Valentino tore it to shreds"
"I'll kill him"
Vox paused, looking down at Velvette.
“Will you?"
Velvette stared up at him. He was looking so tenderly at her, she felt a rush of affection towards him.
So she didn't go with her first instinct to graphically describe all the ways she'd kill Valentino. For hurting her, for raping her, for ruining her clothes.
Instead, she closed her eyes, resting her head against Vox's bony shoulder and thinking about his question.
Valentino was a fucking monster, she'd known that from the day she'd first met him. Wasn't this the ultimate act of selfishness and arrogance? To turn a blind eye to the sounds of Angel Dust screaming for help, only caring about Valentino's psychopathic tendencies when they affected her.
She opened her eyes again, before casually rolling on top of Vox and propping herself up with her elbows pressed against his chest, staring at his screen.
Vox's irises temporarily turned into little hearts, flicking back to normal quickly. Digital red lines graced where his cheeks would be, imitating a blush.
"Oh fuck, Vox. Do you have a crush on me? That's so pathetic" Velvette teased, kissing his cheek.
Vox grinned, exposing the cyan fangs that lurked behind his screen.
"I run a media empire, Babydoll. I know when someone's dodging a question. Now answer me, or I'm going to get pissed"
"Are you going to rape me to death? Because anything less than that doesn't seem so bad" Velvette said, glaring.
Vox winced, shaking his head.
"Not my style. My motif is sharks, not dolphins" he chuckled at his own joke, laughing more at the confused look on Velvette's face "You need to watch more wildlife documentaries with me, my dear"
Velvette pulled a face, she hated Vox's beloved shark programs. But then she thought about curling up next to Vox on the sofa, bathed in the soft glow of the television, and smiled warmly "I can't believe I'm saying this, but that sounds nice... could we do that tonight?"
Vox looked rueful, shaking his head.
"Valentino's taking you out for dinner tonight" he said "...which you need to start getting ready for very soon. So, I wouldn't mind an answer to my question, before I have to spend all evening worrying if you're going to try and stab him to death over the entree course"
Velvette's eyes widened.
"I have to go out on a fucking date with that monster!?"
"Unless you want him to sulk? Yes" Vox looked sympathetic "It'll be fine, Velvette. He's calmed down and he's feeling guilty. He won't hurt you. You might even have a nice time!"
Velvette huffed, before getting out of bed with an indignant toss of her head.
"Where's he taking me?" she finally asked, her tone clipped.
Vox got up, smoothing down his suit.
"Forbidden Fruit, it's the one Katie Killjoy's always bitching about not getting a table at" he said.
"You're kidding. Lilith founded that place. Nobody gets a table there" try as she might, Velvette couldn't quite keep the admiration out of her voice.
"See? You'll have a wonderful time, Vel. If you need me, I'm just a phone call away" Vox smiled down at her, before pulling her into a hug "So, do I get that answer yet?"
"Can't you come with us?" Velvette whined against the lapels of his jacket, ignoring the lingering question.
She knew what her answer was, she just didn't want to say it out loud.
"Unfortunately not. Because I was so busy patching myself up this morning, Katie Killjoy decided to go off-script during her morning show... the station has received close to ten thousand complaints for offensive and dehumanizing language. I'll have my hands full" Vox pulled back, offering Velvette a wink "I'm just a phone call away"
Velvette sighed, before giving up.
What other choice did she have? Vox (and Valentino) were her only allies down here. Everyone else feared her or loathed her, she was a fucking Overlord.
"Fine. Whatever. Have fun spanking Killjoy or whatever you're planning" she patted his arm "Now piss off, I need to get ready"
Vox nodded, turning to leave. Velvette hesitated before quickly saying-
"I don't want to kill him, I love him too much. Now get out. Now"
-and turning away before Vox could see the tears in her eyes.
Vox said nothing, leaving the room and closing the door behind himself.
Velvette's 'date night' outfit was, for her, very simple. She was wearing a little black dress with a heart-shaped cut-out over her stomach, fishnets, silver hoops, and glittery, pink, ten-inch heels. Her hair was left looking natural, and her makeup was neutral asides from pink rhinestones dotted around her eyes.
She held onto her black clutch bag with trembling hands as the elevator stopped at Valentino's floor, the doors sliding open to reveal the moth in question, waiting for her.
"Oh, Velvette! You are a vision! Mi tesoro!" Valentino was full of praise as he swept towards Velvette, his ‘coat’ swishing behind him.
Velvette, stepping out from the elevator, glared and flipped him off.
"Fuck you"
"...and so spicy! You know what I like, cariño" Valentino held out his arms, picking Velvette up easily with the lower pair while cupping her face in the hands of his upper pair.
He went to kiss her, but she turned her head away, her heart hammering in her chest.
"Velvette?" Valentino peered at her from behind his glasses, looking wounded.
You fucker. How fucking dare you look hurt. After what you did to me... this bullshit might work on Vox, but not on me. I'm not going to kill you, but I'm going to make you pay. I'll get away from you, far away, somewhere safe where you can't touch me- or Vox.
I'll take him with me.
"You uh... seem to be thinking a lot and not... saying a lot" Valentino was starting to look uncomfortable, a near-mythological emotion to see on his face.
"I'm just imagining what you'd look like weeping and begging for mercy" Velvette smiled so sharply you could almost hear the zing of a blade "...like what I was doing last night"
Valentino put her down, clearing his throat.
"I lost my temper"
"Uh-huh"
"I hurt you, and I'm so, so sorry"
"Mm-hmm"
"Let me make it up to you"
"Fuck off forever, wanker"
Valentino folded both pairs of his arms.
"What do I need to do to make you stop acting like such a fucking cunt?" he snapped, looking irritated.
"Oh, there we go. There's the real Val" Velvette curled her lip "By the way. Pick what part of the world you came from and stick to it. Nine out of ten of those accents you swerve between are put on, everyone knows it!"
"I didn't know you were such a racist, Velvette" Valentino looked amused, Velvette seethed as he reached down to tweak her nose "At least I don't sound like Dick Van Dyke"
"Dick Van- I was born and raised in South London, you stupid bimbo!"
"Wherever that is, somewhere in Canada, right?" Valentino was outright grinning, his gold tooth catching the light.
Velvette realized with a sickening lurch that she and Val were... acting like everything was normal. On a regular day, they bickered a lot, as she was often frustrated with him while he enjoyed pushing her buttons. Last night had, in some darkly comedic way, been a reversal of their usual dynamic.
She took a step back, shaking her head.
"No. No. I can't do this. I can't act like last night didn't happen"
Valentino reached out, his hand hovering in the air between them. Velvette flinched away, shaking her head.
"I have a gift for you" he finally said, his voice much softer.
"I don't want it. Give it to Angel Dust" Velvette said, closing her eyes and looking away.
"But it's not for Angel Dust, it's for you" Valentino's voice took on a whining quality.
Velvette looked back at him, her eyes widening a fraction as she saw he was now holding out a jewellery box towards her.
"What? You think you can just Pretty Woman me into forgiving you?"
"That was a necklace, no? This isn't a necklace" Valentino shook the box slightly at her.
Velvette sighed, before taking the box and flipping it open.
"Oh fuck me!" she gasped, staring at the bracelet presented to her.
It was a tennis bracelet made up of heart-shaped pink diamonds set in platinum. Each of the twinkling rocks was at least a full carat.
"Fuck" she whispered, pulling out the bracelet and starting to wrap it around her wrist.
"Allow me" Valentino smiled charmingly, using his free set of arms to lock the sparkling jewellery into place "It's as much of a treasure as you are, my Red-Velvette-cake"
Velvette examined her wrist, before locking eyes with Valentino.
"I'm ordering the most expensive shit on the menu, and you're paying" she said finally.
"You know, for such a fancy place, these bread-sticks are shit" Velvette observed, dropping her half-eaten bread-stick onto her plate with a frown.
"You're fussy, cariño, they're fine" Valentino picked up Velvette's discarded stick, finishing it himself.
"You're a pig"
"I'm nearly ten feet tall, baby. It takes a lot just for me to maintain this weight" he pointed out, gesturing towards his thin (if toned) physique "More oysters? More figs?"
He gestured outwards towards the empty entree plates.
"I'll save room for the main course" Velvette said, playing with an empty oyster shell on her plate.
He'd booked a booth in the corner, allowing him to sit with his arm wrapped around Velvette. Whenever she felt suffocated, she just looked down at the sparkling hearts on her wrist.
He loves me, and I love him. Nothing bad is going to happen tonight.
...and while he has his guard down, I'll work out a way to get Vox and I far, far away from him.
"More wine?" Valentino picked up the bottle, proffering it. Velvette nodded with a tight smile.
How the fuck do I do that, though? she pondered, watching as the raspberry-colored liquid splashed into her glass, Valentino filling it almost to the brim.
Is he trying to get me drunk again? What's he planning? she worried.
"Valentino, Velvette." an uneasy voice greeted them.
Val and Vel looked up, finding Charlie Morningstar standing over them, hand-in-hand with fallen-angel-come-co-dependent-girlfriend Vaggie.
Vaggie glared daggers at them both, Velvette returned the favor.
"Princesa! What a delightful surprise!" Valentino motioned towards the empty seats with a broad grin "Join us"
"No thank-you, I don't want to ruin my appetite" said Vaggie icily.
Charlie kept a polite smile on her face, despite the steadily mounting tension between the two couples.
"I can see we're interrupting date night. We'll leave you alone- where's Vox?" she asked.
"Busy with work, you know how his type is. He can't get a hard-on if he's not overworked" Valentino rolled his eyes "You must try the oysters, Princesa, they're to die for"
"The figs and honey are lovely too. The menu said they were your mother's favorites?" Velvette asked Charlie sweetly, wanting to get under her skin a little.
Charlie looked pained.
"Yeah, they were. Hey, um, Angel Dust told me he ran into you, Velvette" she said, offering Velvette a tight smile.
Oh shit.
Don't tell me that ungrateful whore went running to his royal bestie to tattle on me. The last thing I need is Princess Sunshine And Rainbows on my case.
"He gave me fashion advice. I didn't appreciate it" Velvette said with a sharp grin "Tell him to keep his opinions to himself in future"
"I'll tell him nothing, you were really rude to him! You should apologize"
"He started it!" Velvette snapped.
Valentino looked between them, taking out a cigarette and lighting it "What has Angel been up to now?" he asked with feigned nonchalance.
Charlie, Velvette, and Vaggie all shot Valentino matching looks of worry.
Rarely, the same thought went through all three of their heads.
Oh Angel Dust... this is gonna suck for you.
"It's nothing you need to worry about, Val. We exchanged a few barbs. Don't get involved" Velvette said quickly "I'm from South London, like I said. It's how I am with people"
Valentino turned her way, mouthing Canada and nearly making Velvette giggle.
"Don't come swooping in like my white knight, okay? It was fun. If anything, I should thank him for it" Velvette patted his arm.
Why the fuck am I defending Angel Dust?
But every time she thought about Angel Dust being on the receiving end of Valentino's wrath, she wanted to vomit.
"Fine. But do let me know if he crosses a line" Valentino blew smoke in a heart-shaped ring, watching as it drifted lazily to the ceiling.
Charlie and Vaggie shot Velvette a surprised look, Velvette tried not to look as anxious as she felt, fiddling with her bracelet.
"That's beautiful" Charlie said with a warm smile "May I take a closer look?"
"Sure" Velvette held her wrist out.
Charlie leaned over, examining the bracelet and taking the chance to whisper "Thank-you" softly into Velvette's ear.
"No idea what you're talking about" Velvette whispered back.
She did not need Charlie fucking Morningstar's gratitude. That fucking hotel was antithetical to everything the Vees worked so hard for.
"Enjoy your dinner" Charlie smiled as she walked away.
Vaggie nodded, following her girlfriend without a word.
Velvette didn't think she'd ever feel comfortable touching Valentino again, not after what he'd done. But three bottles of wine later and they were making out like the Prom King and Queen in the back of a car.
She'd always found Valentino sexy. It was easy to divorce her trauma from the physicality of what they were doing and allowing it to distract her from her pain.
Their main dishes sat untouched, the aromatic odors of ginseng washing over them both as they kept making out.
Velvette was pressed against Valentino's side with all his arms curled around her, his neck bent at an uncomfortable-looking angle to kiss her. She trailed her hands under his 'coat', giggling as she felt lace against her fingers.
"Lingerie, in public?" she whispered.
"It's date night, I wanted to dress up" Valentino whispered back, kissing her softly.
"Are you tucking?" she asked, trailing her fingers between his legs.
Valentino had very little shame, but he didn't like the way his monstrous phallus looked under his painstakingly designed outfits, regularly tucking everything neatly away to give himself a more androgynous outline.
Velvette focused on that. On the good aspects to Valentino. Their shared love of fashion, how fussy Valentino could be about his appearance, the embarrassing, awkward, intimate things she knew about him...
"Of course not. I wasn't intending on opening my wings until we got home. All of this is for you, Velvette" he purred.
Velvette groaned, kissing Valentino's neck and sliding her hand between his legs to brush against his panties.
It hurts. It hurts so much. Everything hurts.
Velvette snapped her hand back, going pale with horror.
"Velvette?" Valentino looked confused.
Hazy from alcohol, and the contact with Valentino's saliva she'd had so far, Velvette leaned away uncertainly.
"Vel, is everything alright?"
"I need to pee!" Velvette announced, so loudly that the tables surrounded them turned to look.
"Sure, go right ahead" Valentino finished his wine "I've seen far worse in the studio"
Velvette looked at him in disgust.
"Oh, fine. Be a princess and use the bathroom. I'll be waiting" he poured himself another glass of wine, lighting a fresh cigarette and leaning back.
Velvette stood up, hurrying away as quickly as she could, feeling bile start working its way up her throat...
She barely made it to the bathroom sink before she was throwing up, wine-red vomit going all over her hair, her hands, and the front of her dress. The sink was a complete write-off, and even Velvette felt sorry for whoever would have to clean it up later.
She stayed leaning over the sink, retching and whimpering pitifully.
"I'm just a phone call away"
"Vox" she cried out, reaching for her purse before remembering that she'd left it in the booth. It was then that she started weeping in earnest, tears running down her face as she kept retching into the sink.
"Oh... oh no. Oh dear. Okay, it's okay, I'm just going to get your hair out of the way" a honey-sweet voice was suddenly whispering to her, gentle hands pulling her hair back "Was the food bad? I'm really, really sorry. I feel responsible, this was my Mom's place"
Velvette looked up into the mirror.
She looked like hell, her eyes were bloodshot and she looked paler than death, with vomit all down her front and smeared over her mouth. Her painstakingly-placed rhinestones were everywhere, sticking to her dress, her hair, and even the sink.
Charlie Morningstar was holding back her hair, her eyes soft and sympathetic.
"If I had to breathe in all that cigarette smoke, I'd be vomiting too" Vaggie was standing by the bathroom door, looking worried "Do I... go get Valentino or something?"
"No!" Velvette shrieked before she could stop herself.
The two women stared at her, before Charlie broke the silence.
"Velvette. I know that... I know that the Hotel doesn't exactly have a good relationship with your... um... associates. You know. Because Angel Dust and Alastor and everything. But you've never done anything to warrant us disliking you. If you're scared, or you're being hurt... I'll protect you. It's okay"
Velvette stared at Charlie in disbelief.
When she was alive, bars used to have posters plastered all over the women's bathrooms;
'Do you feel unsafe? Please let a friendly member of our staff know'
Charlie's sweet expression was the embodiment of those fliers. She had a friendly member of our staff practically stamped on her forehead.
Before Velvette could control herself, she was crying again, wiping at her face and wincing as she smacked herself in the mouth with her bracelet.
The twinkling jewellery was feeling more and more like a handcuff by the second.
"Velvette! What's wrong?" Charlie gasped, sounding worried.
"Val raped me!" Velvette wailed, despite what a terrible idea it was "He drugged me and he raped me and he's been raping Vox and he beat him up last night and his screen was cracked and he-"
"Oh my God" Vaggie breathed, sounding horrified.
"Okay, deep breaths, Velvette. You have been very, very brave, you know that? You're so brave for telling me, I'm going to take you straight to the hotel and you never need to be around Valentino again and- what's wrong?" Velvette was shaking her head.
"He'll take it out on Vox" she said, grabbing the front of Charlie's dress in a panic "Please, can you shelter both of us? We'll do anything! Just get us away from him!"
Wine-infused vomit was getting all over Charlie's pretty red dress. She must've worn it especially for date night. Were Velvette more sober, and a better person, she might've felt guilty.
Charlie didn't seem to mind at all, focused only on Velvette and her distress.
"Velvette, it's okay. We're going to get both you and Vox safely to the hotel. Valentino will never hurt either of you ever again"
Velvette took a shaky breath.
You wanted to get away from him, right? But you didn't know how? This is how you do it.
"Thank-you. Thank-you so much..." she finally said.
Charlie curled her arm around Velvette's shoulders, looking over at Vaggie.
"Can you go check and see if the coast is clear? I don't think Valentino's table overlooks the bathroom door, but I don't want to risk that he's gotten impatient and he's waiting outside"
Vaggie nodded, before looking doubtfully at Velvette.
"Vaggie?" Charlie frowned.
"Charlie, I know you mean well and... shit, Velvette is not looking good. But she's an Overlord, she's one of the Vees. I don't think we should interfere"
Charlie's jaw dropped.
"...are you saying we should just stay out of it?! She's been raped!"
"Or so she says" Vaggie's eyes narrowed.
Charlie was speechless.
"Look at her, Vaggie! I don't care who she is or how this happened, she has been raped! Check that the coast is clear, and then we're taking her home"
"Charlie, you don't understand-"
"-I understand right from wrong" Charlie said firmly “Stick with me, Velvette. Everything is going to be just fine”
Velvets smiled weakly.
“Valentino is much, much bigger than you”
“He’s not the princess of hell though, is he?” Charlie said with a sweet, confident smile.
According to Vaggie, Valentino was busy doing lines off the table, leaving the coast clear for them to slip outside.
Velvette didn’t so much as glance in Valentino’s direction as Charlie ushered her out of Forbidden Fruit. She was at war with herself, her love for Valentino struggling against her fear, pain, betrayal, and desperation to get herself and Vox away from the psychopath.
Her self-preservation won out, but she didn’t want to risk sentiment rearing its ugly head. So she didn’t look back.
They made it outside, Velvette shivering under Charlie’s arm while Vaggie stood at attention, suspicious of everyone who passed them by.
They attracted a few odd looks, as it wasn’t everyday that you saw the Princess of Hell holding a vomit-covered Overlord in her arms, but nobody's stares lingered for too long.
“Princess Morningstar, I gotta be sick again” Velvtette said, her words thick.
Charlie tightened her grip on her, making a sympathetic, cooing noise.
“It’s okay, here’s our limo now. You can use a sick bag!” Charlie said brightly “You’ll be home and having a lovely bath before you know it. I can’t wait for you to meet everyone!”
Velvette smiled weakly, she could already feel a headache coming on.
Don't be a cunt to the woman who's saving you and Vox. No matter how annoying she is.
“Uh, Charlie. That’s not our car” Vaggie pointed at the limo as it pulled up.
Velvette looked up, and she felt like she'd swallowed ice as she saw that the VoxTek symbol was emblazoned on the limousine that had just pulled up. She barely moved a muscle as the door was slammed open.
A streetlight near the three women flickered ominously as Vox got out of the car.
Normally, the sight of Vox would've made Velvette smile. But in that moment, it made her want to run away, even if she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
“Vox” Charlie said courteously, even though one of her closest friends loathed him “I don’t believe we’ve met before, I’m Princess Charlie Morningstar”
“A pleasure” Vox smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes, the digital interface of his screen broadcasting nothing but cold fury as he glared down at Velvette.
“It’s all alright, she told us everything. If we leave now, we can get you both safely to the hotel before Valentino knows anything” Charlie continued, seemingly oblivious to the slowly mounting tension, just as she had been at the booth.
Velvette looked up at Vox, feeling the height different between them more and more by the second.
“I know what she told you. There’s security cameras in that bathroom” Vox said, his dress shoes clicking against the sidewalk as he approached them “Velvette, we need to talk, my dear”
"There's security cameras in the bathroom?" Vaggie whispered to Charlie, shocked.
"He watches them?!" Charlie whispered back.
Velvette tried to pull out of Charlie's grip as Vox drew closer, feeling more and more sick by the second. For the first time ever, she felt very, very scared of Vox.
Charlie, bless her stupid, naive little head, picked up on it immediately.
“You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to” she said quietly to Velvette "Come with us. We'll take you home and you can have that bath, everything will be okay"
Velvette didn't take her eyes off Vox.
"Vox-" she started to say.
“Velvette. I think I have been not only extremely kind, and patient, but extremely lenient with you. If you walk away, you walk away from everything” Vox threatened.
Charlie looked concerned.
“Vox, if you’re being hurt too, you don’t need to side with your abuser to protect yourself. My hotel has room for everyone, we’ll look after you both there”
“Princess Morningstar, I’m afraid you have the wrong idea. Velvette got drunk last night and had a bad dream. You can examine her yourself, she’s completely unharmed. I’d never allow Valentino to lay a finger on her”
Vox gave Velvette a cold look, having lied as easily as breathing, and leaving the younger Overlord speechless.
“So, what’s your decision?” he asked.
“Velvette…” Charlie sounded worried.
Velvette stared at Vox, feeling wrong-footed. It would be so easy, to just walk away with Charlie.
But running away from Valentino, with Vox by her side, was one thing. This was different, this would mean losing everything- including Vox.
“I’m sorry, Princess Morningstar. I made a mistake” she said softly “I just wanted attention”
Charlie looked confused.
“Velvette, you don’t have to-”
“Please stay out of this. I need to apologize to the boys. I’m sorry to waste your time”
She finally pulled away from Charlie’s grip, approaching Vox and wincing as he grabbed her face with razor-sharp claws.
“We need to talk” he said quietly, pushing her towards the limousine “Goodnight, your highness. My apologies for my colleague’s behavior”
Once she was in the limo, Velvette scrambled as far away from the door as she could, flinching as Vox slammed it shut behind himself. He moved to sit next to Velvette, ignoring her palpable fear.
The limo practically hummed with his fury, static electricity building up as Vox stewed silently in his own anger.
“What about Val?” Velvette finally asked as the limousine pulled away from the curb.
Vox didn’t say anything, folding his arms tightly and glaring out the tinted windows.
“Vox, I am so, so sorry”
Vox stayed silent.
“Vox?”
“Our brand is perfection, Velvette. It’s not drunk girls crying in the bathroom and vomiting all over themselves. Weren't you thirty when you died? This is truly pathetic” Vox said icily, shooting her a disgusted look “I thought I could trust you, my mistake”
“Vox, please, I-”
“One rough night and you’re wailing to Lucifer’s daughter about how mean your own colleague and ally is. Lucifer’s fucking daughter, Velvette. Do you have any idea how much damage control I have to do now?”
“Vox, this is all-”
“I am this close to having you removed from The Vees, and I could do it as easy as breathing. I need you to do something for me. To ensure that you will never be such a liability to the Vees or to my empire again. If you can’t do that, then this car will stop, and you can go limping back to Charlie Morningstar. Have I made myself clear?”
Vox fixed her with an icy look, without a trace of any of the affection he'd shown towards her when she'd woken up.
Velvette nodded, feeling trapped.
Vox smirked, before producing what looked like a legal document from his pocket, handing it over to Velvette along with a pen.
“Sign this”
It was a contract. A contract for her soul.
No. No. He can’t be serious. I’m an Overlord! He can’t do this to me! This has to be a joke!
“No, Vox. I can’t do this! I’ll lose everything! I’ll become like Husk! I’ll be a laughingstock!”
“Well isn’t that a pity. Maybe you should’ve thought of that before running to Lucifer’s daughter and tarnishing all of our reputations!” Vox snarled “If I don’t have your signature on the page in ten seconds, we are finished”
“Vox, please, can we just talk?”
“Nine”
“I worked so hard for what I have! You can’t take it away from me like this!”
“Eight”
“I’ll fix everything, I’ll do damage control! I’ll say it was performance art!”
“Seven, six, five, four…”
“Vox, please don’t-”
“Three, two…”
Velvette panicked, before signing the contract quickly, her signature messy.
Dolores gleamed up at her from the page.
“There we go? Was that so hard?” Vox took the contract back, folding it up and slipping it into his pocket “Oh, Velvette. Don't look so sad. You'll still be an Overlord. If the rumors I've heard are true, you're not the only Overlord who's on a leash. This just means you can't leave me- leave us"
Velvette's ears were ringing and her vision was blurred with tears.
That's what this was about. His fucking abandonment issues. He was never going to kick me out, he was just scaring me into signing.
"You and Val are fucking made for each other" Velvette snapped, glaring up at Vox.
Vox looked down at her, about to say something when his eyes widened and he quickly moved away from Velvette.
Without warning, she suddenly leaned over and vomited all over the floor of the limo, weeping bitterly as she spat out bile and flinching at the sensation of Vox's clawed hand rubbing against her back.
VoxTek. Trust Us.
Vox was nothing more than a snake oil salesman, and Velvette felt like a gullible fool.
It doesn't matter how he dresses it up. I’ve lost everything…
…and now I’m never going to get out.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 3: Maybe You Missed It
Notes:
A very long chapter, and not a very happy one... on a lighter note, thank-you so much for all the lovely feedback! I've been suffering from horrible writer's block for a few months, and this had been helping me break through it. I'm genuinely so touched to see so much praise. Also, I am so sorry for what I'm about to put everyone through. -Jesse xx
Chapter Text
You could say a lot of things about Velvette, not all of them particularly flattering, but one thing you couldn't say was that she lacked determination. She knew that Vox and Valentino were her (dangerous) tickets to power and success, so nothing was going to keep her away from them.
Vox seemed to be the more public-facing of the two, so Vox was the one she made a beeline for.
It was easy enough to locate the V Tower, given that it had a massive, glowing blue 'V' on the top. Velvette strode confidently into the foyer, still wearing the clothes she'd landed in Hell in.
The receptionist stared at her in bemusement as Velvette walked up to her desk like she owned the place, taking in the ponytails, the 'Gothic Lolita'-style dress, and the clown-like makeup.
Velvette had no idea why she'd landed in Hell looking like a Myspace profile picture, but she didn't overthink it. Everybody down here looked a bit quirky, after all.
"I have a meeting with Vox" she said, folding her arms and glaring haughtily down at the receptionist "...I'm here on business pertaining to... to Valentino"
It was a bluff, but it worked like a charm.
The receptionist's eyes widened.
"Oh... oh. Of course. Have you signed a non-disclosure agreement yet or does Mr. Valentino have you under a soul contract?”
Velvette had no idea what the receptionist was talking about, so she lied.
"I signed a contract with Mr. Valentino. It's fine" she said, examining her nails with a deliberately carefree attitude.
To her confusion, the receptionist shot her a pitying look as she beckoned a security guard with ram's horns over.
"Security will escort you to Mr. Vox's office... good luck, honey"
Unable to believe that her plan had worked so well, Velvette followed the guard out of the foyer and into the elevator.
Velvette couldn't stop thinking about her strangely prophetic lie about Valentino during the limo ride home from Forbidden Fruit.
I didn't sign a contract with Val, thank fuck, but I was enough of a stupid bitch to sign one with Vox. What the fuck have I done?
Vox was rubbing her back as she continued to retch and sob, whispering soft and meaningless nothings to her. The disingenuous concern made Velvette want to scream, and after ten minutes of it she did scream, tearing at her hair as she wailed.
“Stop, stop… stop touching me! Stop pretending to give a shit!” Velvette cried out, trying to shrug him off with a shudder as Vox wrapped his arm tightly around her.
“Velvette, I do give a shit. Calm down” Vox said softly.
“You lied to me! You tricked me! You tricked me!” Velvette sobbed, flinching away from Vox and slapping his hand when he tried to brush her puke-soaked hair out of her face.
One of his claws sliced though her palm and she cried out, red droplets of blood going everywhere.
“Velvette…” Vox sighed, reaching out and taking her hand gently.
Velvette said nothing, keeping her head down as Vox found a first-aid kit and carefully bandaged her hand up.
"You know, some people might say thank-you" Vox said, once he had finished patching her up.
"You terrorized me into signing my soul away to you. We're supposed to be partners" said Velvette hollowly "Why don't you shut the fuck up? You don't deserve any thanks"
Vox shook his head, but kept his mouth shut.
Vel could barely walk by the time they pulled into the V Tower, the alcohol and the shock of Vox’s betrayal had left her such a mess. Vox, ignoring her slaps, kicks, and scratches, carried her inside in a tight bridal carry. She looked anywhere but at him as he cradled her in his arms, feeling cold fury and fear twist in her gut whenever she thought too much about her predicament.
They crossed the threshold into Vox’s penthouse, and for some reason Vox looked annoyingly smug as they did so, grinning cockily down at Velvette.
“What’s gotten into you?” Velvette asked, frowning.
“I feel like we’ve just gotten married, don’t you?” he said with a soft, romantic look in his eyes.
Velvety was so furious she choked on her words, before more literally choking as another wave of nausea overtook her. She tried to roll out of Vox’s arms but he wouldn't let her go. She ended up vomiting half-digested oysters all over Vox’s suit.
“Serves you right” she said hoarsely.
Vox conceded her point with a small nod, his screen frozen in an expression of complete disgust as he carried her to the bathroom without another word.
Out of practicality, Vox and Velvette showered together, with Vox holding Velvette up as the water poured down over them both.
Velvette couldn’t even look at him, keeping her head down and staring at their feet. She used to be fascinated with Vox’s blue skin, but now the sight of it just made her feel queasy.
Despite the intimacy, and the mutual nudity, there was nothing sexy about the situation. All it achieved, asides from washing the vomit and blood away, was making Velvette feel even more vulnerable. She breathed a sigh of relief once they were finished, allowing Vox to guide her out of the shower and wrap her up tightly in a fluffy blue towel.
“I’m sleeping alone tonight” she said firmly as Vox twisted her hair up into a smaller, purple towel made out of microfiber “Stay the fuck away from me- that goes for you and your boy-toy”
Vox narrowed his eyes, before stepping back and wrapping a towel around his own narrow waist.
“Velvette, don’t be like this” he said "You don't get it. I'm protecting you"
“You're protecting yourself, you’re protecting our precious fucking brand. You know. I’m almost impressed. You’re not as predatory as Valentino, but you still managed to find a way to fuck me” she snapped, before she stormed off with a toss of her head.
“Velvette!” Vox’s voice, warped with distortion, called out "You don't get to walk away from me too!"
That was when Velvette felt it, a sudden weight accompanied by a static, prickling sensation at her neck, as if she was wearing an electrified collar…
She turned to glare daggers at Vox, who glared back. His claws were tightly holding onto the end of a shimmering, cyan-colored chain that crackled with yellow electricity. Her eyes followed the chain, watching as it terminated at a collar that was, indeed, wrapped around her throat.
“Fine. You own me. You have me collared like a fucking dog and you're holding onto my leash. Do whatever the fuck you want, Vox. I’m over it” Velvette snapped.
Vox hesitated, looking guilty for a split-second.
“Oh, and by the way. This is a great fucking look for you” Velvette shook the chain from her end “The optics are just amazing!”
With a frustrated snarl, Vox dropped his hands, the chain dissolving into nothingness as he averted his eyes, looking ashamed of himself.
“All I want to do is sleep alone, don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m not leaving the building” Velvette said.
Vox took a step towards her, Velvette stepped back.
“No” she said, firmly.
Vox nodded, swallowing and motioning towards the door.
“Sleep well, Velvette”
“I hope your systems all fail and you die in your sleep” she snapped, before storming out without another word, slamming the door shut behind herself.
Velvette would've loved to have stayed in her room for the rest of her life, but unfortunately she was A) dead, and B) had a thriving career of her own that she couldn't just neglect.
She was also C) hungry. So the next morning found her nervously making her way down to Valentino's penthouse for breakfast. The Vees all loved Valentino's floor, spending most of their time together there. Normally Velvette would've welcomed the sight of the pink-and-red apartment, but now all it did was make her heart skip a beat out of fear.
As she walked into the room with her head held high, Vox grabbed her arm, leaning in to kiss her cheek.
"Good morning, my dear!" he said brightly "How are you feeling today? I was just telling Valentino about your little... um... tummy bug at dinner. Val had to walk home, and in those ridiculous heels. Isn't that funny?"
Velvette caught on to what Vox was doing, rolling her eyes before nodding up at him, letting him know she'd play along.
Valentino was sitting at the breakfast bar in nothing but a pair of silk boxers, his wings folded behind him in a cape-like form, smoking out of a cigarette holder as Kitty slid a stack of pancakes in front of him.
"Cariño" he greeted Velvette "I felt like such a fool, waiting for you for so long"
To Velvette's relief he didn't seem angry. He actually looked concerned, his eyes peering at her through his glasses, as if trying to scan her for any signs of illness.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I was..."
"You were too embarrassed" Vox finished for her, escorting her over to the breakfast bar, his hand holding onto her arm in a vice-like grip.
Valentino made a cooing noise, pulling out the chair next to him and patting the seat.
The chairs were built for Valentino's height, but with rungs built into them so that Vox could easily pull himself up, and Velvette could climb up. Vox ignored Velvette reaching out for the lowest rung on her chair, stooping and picking her up, helping her scramble gracelessly into the seat.
"Vox!" Velvette snapped, her cheeks burning red as Vox swung himself up into his own seat.
Valentino wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was bright enough to know he had something to do with Velvette’s stomach upset, fussing over Velvette from the second she sat down.
“I had Kitty make you something gentle that won’t upset your poor tummy, mi tesoro…” he cooed, rubbing her back.
Velvette grunted a non-response, ignoring Kitty as the robot slid a plate of toast and jam over towards her. She picked up a piece, ripping into it and glaring daggers at Vox as she did so. Vox was flicking through his phone as he sipped at his coffee, nodding briefly at Kitty as she slid a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.
"Mm, you could cut the tension in here with a knife" Valentino said, peering over his stack of pancakes "You two should fuck"
"I'm not in the mood" Velvette snapped, taking another bite of toast.
"Still feeling spicy, Vel?" Valentino leaned over, running his tongue along the side of her face. Velvette shivered as his saliva tingled against her skin.
Valentino took the shiver as assent, wrapping his arm around her waist and smoothly pulling her onto his knee. Velvette felt frozen between fear and arousal as she was pressed against Valentino's firm chest, a whimper escaping her lips before she could stop herself.
"Oh, Velvette. You sound like Angel Dust when you whimper like that..." Valentino purred in her ear, one pair of arms wrapping around her, while the other pair rubbed circles into her thighs.
Velvette felt tears brim in her eyes.
Oh no. Oh no. Oh fuck no. I'm not about to start crying and begging like fucking Angel Dust in front of Vox and Val... please, God, no.
"Oh, fuck!" Vox was looking down at his phone "Velvette, you might want to take a look at this"
He got to his feet again, walking over to Vel and holding out his phone, angling the screen so Val couldn't see.
Vox’s Notes app was open, with play along. Pretend there's an emergency at your studio written across the screen.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me! That brain-dead trollop!" Velvette said, gritting her teeth "I'll kill her"
Valentino sighed, loosening his grip "Melissa?"
"Fucking Melissa, every fucking time!" Velvette slid off his knee, shaking her head "I gotta run. Have fun at work today, boys"
With that, she hurried away.
"Vel! Wait!" Vox called out, but Velvette ignored him, desperate to get out of the room before she started crying.
But Vox clearly wasn't a big fan of respecting Velvette's boundaries, following her out of Valentino's penthouse and into the elevator, holding her plate of toast in his hands.
Velvette's lower lip wobbled as she looked down at it. In a vacuum, it was such a sweet gesture from the Media Demon.
"You need to eat something" he said, holding the plate out.
Velvette's lower lip trembled more, and she gasped out something unintelligible, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Oh, Velvette. Come here" Vox offered, putting the plate down on the floor and holding his arms out.
Velvette, her shoulders shaking with suppressed hysterics, glared up at him murderously.
"YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS HIM YOU FLAT FACED FUCKER!" she screamed, kicking him between the legs as hard as she could.
The elevator doors opened as Vox collapsed in pain, gripping at his assaulted genitalia with a groan.
"I'm going to work, piss off!" Velvette snapped, storming out.
"Crap, crap, crap, crap, and for a change of pace this one is complete fucking dog-shit" Velvette flicked through the designs on her VoxPad with an unimpressed air.
Melissa, her knees shaking with nerves, cleared her throat.
"M-Miss Velvette?" she stammered out.
"...what the fuck have I told you about interrupting me?" Velvette glared up at her.
Melissa was shaking so badly that her ponytail was trembling.
"Y-you said t-that if I interrupted you w-with anything s-stupid a-again you'd give m-my contract t-to V-v-v-v-v-v-v-"
Velvette's lip curled.
"Vuh, vuh, vuh, vuh- spit it out or swallow it" she snapped with a cruel smirk, relishing in mocking her terrified assistant.
"Valentino. You said you'd give my contract to Valentino" Melissa whispered fearfully.
Velvette put down her VoxPad, propping her elbows up on her desk and resting her chin in her hands, smirking more broadly up at Melissa.
"He'd rip you to pieces and fuck the viscera, Melissa. Then when you regenerate, he'd do it over, and over, and over again, and film it all for a profit. So. Tell me why you interrupted me"
She leaned in.
"...and it better not be fucking stupid"
"I just... w-wanted to tell you that you're crying. Miss Velvette" Melissa said, her voice a terrified whisper.
Velvette stared blankly. Melissa motioned vaguely towards her eyes.
Velvette reached up, feeling moisture on her face.
"Is... everything alright?" Melissa asked softly, before shrieking and covering her face as Velvette threw her VoxPad at her. It hit the wall and shattered into pieces.
"Make yourself useful and clean this mess up!" Velvette snapped, hastily wiping her face with her sleeves "I'm taking my lunch break"
She stood up, about to leave the office when she hesitated, looking over at Melissa as the woman started picking up the pieces of the VoxPad. She was quietly sniffling, her hands shaking.
“If I was truly sick and tired of you… I’d give your contract to Vox, not Valentino. Nobody deserves that, n-nobody” she said softly before she could think better of it.
“Miss?” Melissa looked up, confused.
“Clean that up” Velvette pointed vaguely towards the VoxPad before practically fleeing from her own office.
When Velvette was alive, and younger, she’d adored frozen yogurt. Maybe it was a desire to return to a simpler time that made her go to Dante’s Yoghurt-o.
The customers and employees of the little store stared at her in fear and trepidation as she made up a cup of frozen yogurt, as though expecting her to suddenly stab them in the neck with a pair of tongs.
Once she was finished, she slammed a cup that looked like something out of Willy Wonka’s psychedelic nightmares onto the counter.
“N-no charge!” the terrified-looking doe behind the counter said.
“…and they say you can’t get good service anymore. Buy yourself an outfit that doesn’t make me want to kill myself” Velvette tossed a few notes at her, before walking out.
It’s weird seeing a deer demon look so scared, I suppose they can’t all be like Vox’s smiling freak of an ex-boyfriend… maybe there's a difference between the poor fuckers down here that look like white-tailed deer and the ones that look like red deer.
She took a spoonful of her sugary lunch, smirking as something else occurred to her.
I wonder if Alastor has a mating season. I'd pay to see that uptight prick rutting up against Vox. Maybe that's why they broke up, maybe Vox couldn't cope with the crazy deer sex-
She cut her thoughts off, thinking about Valentino.
No. Vox has a very high threshold for being sexually assaulted, doesn't he? Besides, Alastor just screams 'virgin', doesn't he?
As if she'd somehow summoned him, the next thing she knew she could smell blood and musk and was hearing a familiar, static-filled voice call out.
“Greetings and salutations, Velvette!”
You gotta be fucking kidding me.
Alastor was walking across the road towards Velvette, looking genuinely delighted to see her.
“I’m meeting the boys for lunch, I don’t have time” Velvette lied.
“I must say, if that were true, you’d be spoiling your appetite!” Alastor motioned towards the yogurt cup.
“What do you want?” Velvette glared.
“Come now, there’s no need to be so defensive! I don’t wish you any harm. In fact, I wanted to talk to you! Isn’t this splendid, it saves me from having to come all the way to your office”
“You’re banned from entering the V Tower” Velvette pointed out.
Alastor's permanent grin spread further up his face, his eyes dissolving into spinning radio dials as his head bent at an unnatural angle, the air around them darkening and the buzzing of demonic whispers filling Velvette's ears.
“If I want to get in, Velvette, nothing can keep me out" Alastor said, his voice even more heavily distorted than usual.
Velvette took an unimpressed spoonful of her lunch, swallowing it slowly.
"Uh-huh" she said.
In a blink of an eye, Alastor snapped back to normal, his ears twitching with irritation.
"Babes, I'm an Overlord. Try harder. I mean, there's no denying you're more powerful than me, so if you want to fuck me up to hurt Vox, do your worst. I can't stop you. But I won't be trembling in fear while you do it"
“No, no, no! Don’t be so silly, I’d never hurt such a charming young lady!” Alastor caught her arm, looping it with his “Take a walk with me, enjoy whatever that revolting slop is supposed to be!”
Seeing no other option, Velvette let Alastor start walking her through the street.
“Charlie is terribly worried about you, dear Velvette. She told her father and I all about what happened last night” Alastor said.
Velvette felt her blood run cold.
“I-”
“Before you lie to me, I want you to remember that I can eavesdrop through the radio waves as easily as Vox can spy on people through those ridiculous cameras. You and your co-conspirator's dependence on technology means that your building has virtually no privacy from me”
Velvette tried to pull away from Alastor, starting to genuinely panic.
“Velvette, I don’t mean you any harm. Calm down” Alastor said, feigning concern, though his smile was as rigid and as merciless as ever.
But Alastor had finally managed to do what his hellish Industrial Light and Magic show couldn't; he'd scared her.
“Let go of me! Let go! Let me go!" she cried out, tugging at Alastor's arm in a futile attempt to get away. She even tried kicking his shins, but Alastor barely flinched.
He was considerably stronger than he looked, Velvette felt a fearful and grudging respect towards The Radio Demon. He truly had earned his fearsome reputation.
“Velvette, would you like to sit down, you seem distraught” Alastor finally said, in a jovial tone that one might even mistake for kindly, guiding her over to a nearby bench.
Defeated, Velvette let herself be manhandled by a fellow Overlord for the second time that day, sitting down on the bench with a defeated air and clutching her rapidly-melting frozen yogurt.
“If you heard what happened, why didn’t you do something?” she finally asked "You're an evil, evil son of a bitch, but I know you have a chivalrous streak. One of my girls told me you saved her from a stalker while she was walking home"
Alastor chuckled, inclining his head modestly.
"Think nothing of it, dear Velvette!"
"I wasn't thanking you"
His smile twitched irritably.
"So, why didn't you help me when you could hear me being raped to death?"
Alastor placed a hand on her shoulder “I wasn’t sure what I was hearing. It wasn’t until Charlie told me about your little outburst that my suspicions were confirmed”
Velvette looked away.
“I hope that Vox was kind to you last night, he didn’t seem very pleased as he pulled you away from the girls. He was so angry I couldn’t even hear what happened in the limousine! I hope I didn’t miss anything”
Velvette said a silent prayer to a God who had long-forsaken her, thanking Him that Vox involuntarily jammed most signals when he was pissed off enough.
“My trauma isn’t some serial you can enjoy. Piss off” she said dismissively.
“I could stop Valentino, you know”
Velvette’s head snapped up to look at him, shocked.
“All you would need to do is call my name, and I’d come running to save you. Just say the word, and we have a deal” said Alastor, holding out his hand "Don't worry, I'd take very good care of your soul"
Velvette glared.
“So that’s what this is about, you’re trying to steal my soul? You want to tear me away from my boys? Fuck off”
“Quite unladylike language! Need I remind you that ‘your boys’ are considerably older than you, and one of them recently, horrifically, sexually assaulted you? As for the other one… well. Vox is hardly a boy, he’s also dangerously manipulative. I’d be more careful around him if I were you”
“Are we done here?”
“Just one more thing, if you change your mind, you know where to find me” Alastor got to his feet.
Velvette glared daggers at him.
“So, I’m assuming the whole hotel knows what Val did to me? What he does to Vox”
“They don’t know anything beyond your drunken confession. It’s hardly my secret to tell. If you’d like for me to tell them the truth, however-”
“No! No. Keep it to yourself. It’s none of their business” Velvette said quickly.
Alastor’s ears flattened briefly against his head.
“I do abhor rapists, you know. If you don’t wish to make a deal, there are other avenues you could explore, to deal with your little problem”
“Stay away from us. I don’t want you anywhere near the V Tower” said Velvette.
“Vox doesn’t want me anywhere near the V Tower. Your loyalty to him is sweet. I don’t think I see that sort of devotion in even my own loyal servants- and Vox doesn’t own your soul, haha!”
Velvette kept her expression neutral.
He just said he couldn’t hear what happened in the limousine. He doesn’t know. Relax.
“I can offer you the tools you need to deal with Valentino yourself. My price won’t be your soul, it’ll be…” he trailed off, thinking about it “A favor! What's a favor between... associates?”
He laced his hands together on top of his cane, his claws clicking ominously as he did so.
“Didn’t Adam break that?” Velvette asked, avoiding meeting Alastor’s eyes.
“Ah, ah, ah. Don’t change the subject. Do you understand my offer?”
Velvette glared up at him.
“I understand it. But I will never come crawling to you for help” she spat.
“We’ll see…” said Alastor, melting away into the shadows on the pavement “We’ll see”
With a shriek of frustration and impotent rage, Velvette threw her melted yogurt into the trash as she returned to the V Tower, storming into the foyer in such a foul mood that everyone who saw her wisely choose to flee rather than get in her way.
There’s only so much harm you can do with a favour…
…but I could never betray Vox like that.
She snarled to herself. Even after Vox's own betrayal of her trust and love, she couldn't bring herself to hurt him.
The sentiment made her feel sick. What made her feel even sicker was the knowledge that she couldn't bring herself to hurt Valentino either.
Bucklebury Cummerbund's Holmes had it fucking right, love is a dangerous disadvantage.
The realization that she'd just quoted fucking Sherlock made her feel even sicker, and she fake-gagged to herself, rolling her eyes.
She hit the button for the elevator, waiting impatiently for it and checking her phone. She looked up at the ding of the elevator doors opening, before crying out in shock as she was suddenly dragged inside and pulled into a crushing hug.
All she could see was the red-and-black of Vox's sweater-vest, and she ruefully smiled to herself. Vox must've been watching her every step through his pervert cameras, she could only imagine how badly he must've freaked out when Alastor's camera-shy aura had brought the feeds down.
Overprotective fool.
“Did he hurt you? Are you alright? What happened?” Vox said, sounding terrified as he held her even closer.
Velvette chuckled to herself, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Despite everything, despite her fury with Vox, his concern was touching. She enjoyed the moment, nuzzling against the soft fabric of his vest with a sigh.
At her lack of response, Vox became even more frantic.
“Vel, what did he do? I'll kill him. I swear, I'll rip him to pieces. It won't just be his fucking medium that's bloody rare by the time I'm done with him-"
Velvette decided to intercede before Vox gave himself an aneurysm, or came in his pants. Either outcome felt just as likely. She stepped back, waving her hand dismissively.
“I’m just fine, Vox. Thank-you” she smile tightly “He knows…”
She hesitated, Vox's betrayal of her trust making her cautious.
“He doesn't know why, but he knows our relationship has hit a rough patch, he was trying to cause trouble. I told him to go fuck himself with his microphone” she lied.
“Oh, Vel. You’re going to make me cream myself” Vox said, sounding impressed and aroused at the same time “…come to my office, sit on my desk, and I’ll eat you out until you can’t walk”
Velvette quickly shook her head, smirking at the very obvious bulge in Vox's pants.
“Uh-uh. Not while you have that chain around my neck. No way”
Vox sighed, slipping one of his hands into his pocket and flipping his hard-on up to tuck it into his waistband.
"Oh, I'm fucking soaked right now, Voxxy" Velvette teased "Between having to hide your boner like a teen-aged boy, and owning my soul, I'm gonna have to change my knickers"
Vox glared down at her.
“It’s for your own good”
“Fuck. You. You. Wanker” Velvette tapped her finger against his screen to punctuate every word “But there is something you can do for me. Alastor ruined my lunch, and I’m hungry. Get me food.”
“Go to my studio and grab something from the craft table. I need to talk to Val” Vox leaned in and kissed her cheek.
“Piss off” Velvette said, though she smiled slightly all the same “I fucking hate that I love you”
“Well, isn't that funny! Because I love that I love you” said Vox so sweetly that Velvette nearly changed her mind about being eaten out.
Nearly.
"Have fun with Val" she said, stepping out of the elevator "Oh, and go fuck yourself!"
She flipped him off, grinning at the sound of Vox's laughter as the elevator doors closed behind her.
Velvette wiped her mouth once she was finished with lunch.
She'd been famished by the time she'd reached Vox's craft table, grabbing a whole tray of crudités and walking off with it.
She was sitting at her desk again, all traces of the broken VoxPad gone from the floor. She had felt guilty enough about terrorizing Melissa- a rare occurrence- that she'd also stolen a cinnamon roll from the craft table, slipping it onto Melissa's desk without a word and walking away before her long-suffering assistant could say anything.
She traced a celery stick around the last dregs of hummus, frowning.
I should've told Vox the truth about what Alastor wanted to talk to me about. I should've told him about the offer. We're supposed to be a team and I'm hiding information about Vox's arch-enemy.
I don't like it.
She sighed.
She'd tell him the truth. Vox would probably go nuclear and black out Pentagram City- again!- but her conscious would be clear.
She got to her feet, making her way out of her studio and into the elevator.
Melissa waved at her as she passed, grinning ear-to-ear.
"Thank-you!" she called out.
Velvette shot her a dirty look.
"You've got frosting on your face" was all she said, sauntering into the elevator without a second look back.
Melissa giggled, her good mood undeterred.
"Have a nice day, Miss Velvette!"
"I will" Velvette lied, feeling a stab of anxiety about just how badly Vox would react to her confession. He owned her soul now, after all. There was an endless list of sadistic punishments he could inflict on her.
There's no need to worry, surely. Maybe Vox will be so grateful he'll rip up my contract.
Velvette walked into Valentino's penthouse with her head down, completely engrossed with her phone. She looked up with a shocked expression at the familiar sounds of Vox and Valentino moaning.
She smirked slightly, imagining a frustrated Vox going to the perpetually-horny Valentino for relief after she'd rebuffed him, though her smirk wavered as she remembered it was the middle of the working day.
If Vox and Valentino had dragged Angel Dust away from a shoot to do something vile to him on the same sofa she liked to do her pedicures on, heads were going to roll.
She slipped inside quietly, hiding herself behind a pot-plant large enough to conceal her. A brief peek around the pot confirmed that, while Vox and Valentino were indeed defiling her sofa, Angel Dust was nowhere to be seen.
Valentino was sprawled out, wearing casual clothes; white trousers and a red shirt. Vox was kneeling between Val's legs, rubbing the fluffy ruff around Val's neck and kissing him passionately. Val's purple face was faintly illuminated from within by Vox's glowing tongue.
Vox broke away from the kiss, his chest heaving.
"...Velvette loves you, Valentino. Promise me you won't ever do that to her again. You'll break her in a way she'll never recover from" He said tenderly "Don't I take such good care of you, Val? Don't I always know what's best for you, for us? Please, please listen to me..."
Valentino frowned, looking sulky.
"I lost control... you know I can't help it, Vox" Valentino was whining, rubbing Vox's backside through his trousers with one set of arms, the other set crossed churlishly across his chest.
"Val... if you want to lose control and fuck someone up, call Angel Dust, or call any of your other little whores. Our brand is perfection, you can't treat Vel and I the way you treat your bitches" Vox stroked the side of Valentino's face "Do you remember the first time you hit me, Val?"
"I don't... I didn't... we don't n-need to talk about that" Valentino had to nerve to look sheepish, squirming back against the sofa.
"You were angry because I wouldn't shut up about Alastor. That sets you off a lot, I've noticed" Vox stroked the side of his face again "Maybe it would be better, for all of us, to talk about why that always upsets you so much?"
Valentino fixed Vox with a glare, before he finally spoke in a furious outburst "Because I'm sick of feeling like you and I are only partners because Alastor said no!"
"Oh, Val, Val, Val... no, it's not like that. You know it's not like that" Vox whispered, his claws gently reaching up, pulling off Valentino's glasses and hat and placing them on the sofa. "Look at you, my handsome partner in crime, that old-timey prick can't compare to you"
Valentino chuckled, uncrossing his arms and reaching out to pull Vox closer, running his tongue along Vox's screen, causing Vox to glitch from over-stimulation.
Velvette should've either left, or let the two men know she was there.
But after what Valentino had done to her, and after how Vox had betrayed her... she didn't feel too guilty about hiding and watching. Truth be told, the voyeurism gave her a thrill. In a way, it felt like she was taking back some of her power.
Fuck you. Both of you. You want to trample all over my boundaries? Have a taste of your own fucking medicine.
She propped her phone up in the pot plant, hitting record with a devious grin. Vox and Valentino didn't have much shame, but she could still make them squirm.
The two men were making out like horny newlyweds, Vox's hips rutting against Valentino's belt buckle as he moaned. Picking up on his lover's neediness, Valentino flipped their positions easily, pushing Vox down onto the sofa and unbuckling his trousers as he straddled the smaller man.
"Alastor, Alastor, fucking Alastor. All I fucking hear about some days is that smiling freak, your smiling freak. Fuck, your dick twitches every time you think about that ciervo, huh?" Val rubbed Vox's chest, before sliding his hand down to cup his dick through his trousers.
"I just wanna fucking... bend that fucking freak over and... fucking... fucking... fuck. Make him beg me to take him back"
"You think you give dick that good?" Valentino chuckled "Your ego is impressive, amorcito"
"A-hah, fuck you, Val. You beg for my dick most nights" Vox said, his screen glitching again.
Valentino leaned over, looking into Vox's eyes.
"Why, I think I keep seeing The Radio Demon! It's like looking into your mind" he said.
"Fuck off" Vox tried and failed to push Valentino off him.
Valentino just chuckled "Mm, I wish Velvette was with us. I could apologize more thoroughly in person. I do hope she doesn't hate me forever, I don't like seeing my muñeca looking so sad"
I wish I could hate you, Val, I really do.
"Valentino, all you need to do to apologize is to never let it happen again. She'll forgive you eventually!" Vox was panting, looking and sounding completely over-stimulated, his screen flashing up random images as he squirmed.
Some things can't be forgiven...
"I hope you're right" Valentino sounded genuinely rueful, so much so that Velvette nearly revealed herself. She didn't know what she planned to do after revealing herself, but Valentino's bouts of self-pity could be dangerous to be around. It was easy to forget what a monster the moth was, and to start to pity him.
Valentino leaned down, licking Vox's screen again and causing a rapid-fire collection of images to flash across Vox's display as the man moaned, bucking his hips.
Valentino chuckled, before he paused, going dangerously still.
"What was that?"
"H-huh?" Vox panted, his normal face blinking back into view.
"I saw The Radio Demon, cuddled up on a bench with Vel, our Vel!" Valentino's voice went up several octaves.
Velvette froze up, watching nervously as Vox placed a comforting hand on Valentino's chest, his fingers looping around the gold chain he was wearing. It was a fiftieth anniversary gift from Vox.
"Alastor accosted her in the street, Vel told him to go fuck himself"
"I didn't see any go fuck yourself in that!"
"I'm surprised you could see anything. Al fucks up every camera he comes into contact with"
"I saw enough!" Valentino shrieked "What the fuck is this Al bullshit?! AL!? Like he's your fucking sweetheart?!"
Velvette flinched. Val had a complicated relationship with Alastor. He enjoyed pushing Vox's buttons in regards to The Radio Demon, but he held a seething resentment towards the rent-free space Alastor took up inside Vox's hard-drive.
"Val, calm down" Vox sat up, his hypnotic eye spinning gently as he rubbed circles into Valentino's chest.
"...she's been so upset, what if she's plotting something?" Val said, sounding worried.
"No. Never. Velvette would never do that to us" said Vox "Just relax, Val. Okay? Besides, if she does try anything, she'll regret it. I've got her wrapped around my claws"
He wriggled the fingers of one hand to demonstrate.
You piece of shit.
"Huh?" Val frowned.
"I've got her under a soul contract, big guy. We don't have anything to worry about. Velvette is safely under my watchful eye" Vox tapped his screen.
If he meant to calm Val down, he did the opposite.
Without warning, Valentino brought a fist down into Vox's screen, cracking it over one eye and leaving Vox crying out in shocked pain, trying to wriggle away before Valentino grabbed him by the throat.
"You own Velvette's soul?!" he snarled, his face inches away from Vox's.
Velvette clasped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying out.
"So... she... won't... leave us... Val, please" Vox rasped out, clawing at the fingers on his throat.
"You own Velvette's soul, and now I see Velvette parading around town with your ex-boyfriend?!" Valentino snarled "What is this?! What are you planning, Vox!?"
"Nothing! Nothing! Val-"
Valentino tightened his grip, and Vox's words died with a gurgle.
Velvette couldn't look away, horrified.
Valentino reached behind himself, pulling out one of his favorite guns from his waistband and pushing the barrel against Vox's head, taking off the safety with an ominous click. Vox's eyes went wide behind the cracked screen.
...Dolores's mother was weeping, on her knees and begging as her father unbuckled his belt...
Velvette slowly got to her feet, looking around desperately for something to use as a weapon.
Seeing nothing she'd be able to easily pick up, she reached out, using her own sartorially-based abilities to conjure up a belt in mid-air, holding onto it tightly as she slowly approached the sofa.
Vox saw her first, his eyes widening a fraction. Val's eyesight was shit, but not so shit that he didn't notice Vox was looking at something over his shoulder. He turned his head to see Velvette standing behind him, holding the belt like she was about to whip him with it.
"Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me" Valentino reached for Velvette, but Vox moved faster, wrapping a blue chain around Velvette's wrist and using it to yank her out of Val's grip and onto the other sofa.
"Vel, run!" he cried out, his voice taking on a pleading quality "Run!"
..."Dolores run, just run! Go to the Johnson's down the road! Just run!" her mother was pleading, her father's enraged screaming making Velvette's ears ring...
"I expect this behavior from my bitches. Not from you two" Valentino spat, enraged beyond reason, before raising his gun and aiming it at Velvette's head.
"VAL! NO!" Vox's eye was spinning, trying desperately to force Val to look at him despite the hand on his throat.
But Val didn't turn his head, he pulled the trigger and everything went black...
Vox had burst out laughing when Velvette was escorted into his office, puncturing Velvette’s smugness over her diabolical scheme to gain an audience with him actually working.
"Oh fuck, oh my God... fuck. Does Val really think I'm into this sort of shit? Oh fuck me, this is ridiculous. Oh, honey, come sit on my lap" he'd said, not getting up from his office chair. He was plugged into the intricate-looking web of wires that connected the screens behind him together.
Velvette was immediately intrigued by how Vox's biology worked, tearing her eyes away from the wires with a herculean effort as she plastered a pleasant smile on her face, walking over to Vox and obediently sitting on his knee.
She was starting to suspect that Vox didn’t think she was here for a business meeting, but she did as he said to make sure she’d get that private audience with him that she so badly wanted.
"You can go" Vox dismissed the security guard with a wave of his hand, smiling at Velvette warmly "Alright, my dear. Shall we just get right to this? I'm a busy man"
Even though his face was entirely digital, Vox's smile made Velvette felt a rush of affection towards him. It gave her the confidence to, as Vox said, 'get right to it'.
But not in the way Vox was intending.
"I'm not a whore" said Velvette, as soon as the doors closed behind the guard "You're looking at your new business partner, Vox"
Vox stared at her in shocked disbelief, before he burst out laughing, his grip on her tightening as he let his head fall back..
Velvette couldn't see anything except a black void, and she couldn't feel anything except the fluffy fibers of Valentino's carpet. She ran her hand dazedly across the fuzzy surface, whimpering.
Her sense of hearing returned first, and the first thing she heard was Valentino's voice, accompanied by the click of his heels against hardwood floors.
"Oh, Angel Dust, you were such a good boy to call me about this. I told those useless sluts that they weren't supposed to do anything like that to you. Papito will be there soon to take care of it, don't worry your pretty little head" Val was talking on the phone, pacing in circles near the bar.
Velvette groaned and shifted, trying to sit up before going still as a clawed hand grabbed her wrist, pushing it down gently.
She turned her head and looked up as her vision slowly returned. She found herself staring at a swirl of blue, pink, and red.
"Vox? Baby? I need to go back to work, Angel Dust needs saving. W-will you be okay? Do you need anything? I'm so sorry, I really, really-"
"Shut the fuck up, Val" Vox said, his voice sounding raw, glitching on every other word "Get out and let me deal with this myself"
Velvette felt sick, closing her eyes.
Valentino cleared his throat, his heels clicking until they became muffled by the carpet.
"Is the muñeca still sleeping? Oh, she looks too precious"
"Val... I don't know how you expect to come back from this. You shot her in the fucking head" Vox said.
Velvette slowly opened her eyes again, finding that her vision had cleared up dramatically.
Vox sounded broken because he was broken, his screen was nothing but glitching pixels and broken glass, his suit was torn to pieces and soaked with blood, and the sofa he was lying on was splattered with even more blood.
She tried to move, but Vox tightened his grip on her wrist. He was lying on his stomach, one hand hanging lifelessly off the edge of the sofa and holding onto her wrist in a death grip.
Don't move the grip said.
She stayed still, closing her eyes again.
"I know, I know I fucked up. I'm sorry! Please, please tell me it's going to be okay. Tell me we'll all laugh about this later? Please" Val begged, whining like a child as he approached Vox. Velvette could hear him drop to his knees "Babe, I'm sorry! You know I'm sorry!"
There was a strange, static-filled, staccato sound. It took a few moments for Velvette to realize that Vox was sobbing.
"Oh, oh shit. No. Vox. I'll fix this! I swear I'll fix this!" Val pleaded.
"You normally keep this insanity together until you can take it out on some hapless employee. You've never hurt me more than once a month before- fuck, she was right. You're getting worse"
"No! No! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Don't be angry, amorcito, I'll clean everything up after work!"
"Just get out, Val"
"I'm sorry!"
"Get. The fuck. Out" Vox snarled.
Valentino didn't say another word, hurrying out of the penthouse with a swish of his wings.
"Oh my God" Velvette breathed, opening her eyes and getting slowly to her feet "Vox, are you- OH MY GOD!" she screamed, taking a horrified step back.
She'd only seen the residue of what Valentino had physically done to her when he'd raped her to death. Vox hadn't had time to die and regenerate, and the sight was indescribably horrific. His trousers and underwear were around his ankles, and Velvette couldn't even begin to make out where Vox ended and the gore-soaked sofa began.
Her legs started to wobble.
"V-Vox..." she breathed.
"I know it looks bad, but it'll all heal and nobody will ever know. Just... just throw a blanket over me, pick up Val's gun and... Vel? Vel!"
Vel slumped to the ground in a dead faint.
"...fuck" Vox groaned, letting his head fall onto the sofa, feeling the cold fingers of death start to wrap around him "I would've preferred a bullet to the head, you know! This is going to be slow you selfish bi-"
Velvette woke up to a spotlessly clean penthouse, Valentino whistling cheerfully to himself as he sat on the other end of the sofa Velvette was lying on, painting her toenails. A magazine was lying on top of Velvette's chest, as though she'd fallen asleep reading.
Vox was watching some sporting event on the television, sipping from a martini glass as he did so.
"Welcome back, Princesa" Val purred as Velvette stirred "You were having a bad dream, you kept whimpering. Poor thing" he patted her ankle comfortingly.
Velvette stared at Val blankly, before looking around the room.
Nothing was out of place. There was no reason to be suspicious.
But you don't become the youngest Overlord in Hell by being stupid.
Velvette glared at both men.
"This is the most pathetic fucking attempt at gaslighting I've ever seen"
Vox and Valentino both groaned, Vox slumping back in his seat while Valentino put the nail polish bottle down.
"I cannot believe you, Vox. Your insides were all over the sofa and you're trying to gaslight me!?" Velvette snapped.
"They're not there anymore" Vox said, looking at Velvette sympathetically "Velvette, honey, I know this must all be very shocking but-"
"He flipped you inside out and you're defending him, Vox! Yeah! That is pretty fucking shocking!" Velvette screamed, trying to yank her foot away from Valentino.
Val rubbed Velvette's leg, before letting the limb go.
"You're not seeing my best side lately, hm? I am so sorry, Velvette. But I hope you can find it in your heart to-"
Velvette spat in his face.
"Oh you fucking cunt!" Val snarled, getting to his feet and grinding his teeth "Vox, I'm going to bed! Don't bother me!"
With that, to Velvette's relief, he swished away.
Velvette locked eyes with Vox.
"He's dangerous" she stood up, briefly admiring how good her toenails looked "I know you love him. I love him too. But he's dangerous. What happens on the day when he loses his temper and he's holding an angelic weapon?"
Vox didn't have an answer to that, rubbing his screen with exhaustion.
"You and I are both used to cleaning up the dismembered bodies Val leaves in his wake when he's pissy. You never gave a fuck about them. I gotta say, my dear, it's fucking hilarious that you suddenly care so much now that you're getting hurt" he pointed at Velvette for emphasis, before finishing his glass.
"Oh, fuck you" Velvette flipped him off with an inverted 'V' sign.
"Peace out" Vox said sarcastically, giving her the less offensive version of a 'V' sign as he got to his feet and walked away "Goodnight, Vel"
"The way I did it means you're a wanker, you American fucker!" Velvette screamed after Vox as he slammed the door behind himself.
"Uh... can I go home too?" A nervous-looking Angel Dust was loitering by the bar, looking uncertain.
Velvette whirled around to glare at him.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" she snapped.
"...I'm good at getting blood outta stuff" Angel offered with a small smile "Hey, uh. Vel. If you and Vox wanna slip out with me and come back to the hotel, Charlie's got an open invitation for you guys if you need it. She's really fucking worried and she doesn't even know about this shit yet"
Angel motioned towards the sofa that Vox had died on. Velvette narrowed her eyes.
"Piss off. Have fun laughing about this with the the Girl Scouts at the hotel" Velvette snapped, crossing her arms.
"I'm not gonna fucking laugh about it! This is fucking awful! But you know what, couldn't have happened to nicer people" Angel snapped "I'm outta here. Fuck you, Velvette"
"Fuck off, Angel Dust" Velvette turned away, flipping the spider demon off American-style.
Angel Dust was mere feet away from the door when Velvette suddenly changed her mind, turning on her heel with a gasp.
"Wait!"
He paused, turning to frown at her.
"Does Alastor use a mobile phone?" she asked.
"What the fuck? I mean, yeah. Charlie made him get one. It's real old-fashioned, for a mobile, but he's got one" Angel said, shrugging "...why?"
Velvette braced herself.
What the fuck am I doing? This is a terrible idea!
...but what other option do I have?
"Give me Alastor's number or I'll tell Valentino to come down here and turn you inside out on the sofa" she said.
"Charming. But sure, whatever" Angel Dust pulled his own phone out of his pocket "What do you need it for anyway?"
Velvette pulled out her own phone.
"...I need to make a deal"
To Be Continued...
Chapter Text
Velvette had always looked down on Angel Dust, considering him to be nothing more than a cocky bimbo who got what he deserved.
(Though, to be more accurate, she looked up at the 'Porn Demon', who towered over her at eight feet tall (in heels). He was even taller than Vox, though still far shorter than Valentino)
So it rankled her to have to ask him for help, like she was anywhere near as pathetic and needy as he was.
(The tragic thing was... she was probably more pathetic. Angel Dust had nothing when he sold his soul, Velvette had everything. He did it for love and pragmatism, she just did it for love)
Angel Dust smirked down at her, looking amused.
“Let me get this straight, Toots, you want to make a deal with Alastor? Did Valentino fuck your brains out after he blew them out or something, because that is dumb. You do know how dangerous Smiles is, right?”
Velvette went to respond before pausing with a quizzical tilt of her head, thinking over what Angel Dust had just said.
“Don’t you mean fuck my brains up?” she asked. Angel Dust snickered and shook his head.
“It’s Valentino, I meant what I said. After he'd killed you, did he line himself up with that hole in his head and..." Angel mimed holding something in front of himself and thrusting into it.
"OH! FUCK! Angel Dust, that's disgusting!" Velvette took an appalled step backwards "No! There's no way!"
"How can you know that for sure?" Angel Dust pointed out, raising a brow.
Velvette shuddered.
“As much as I hate to admit it... you're right. I can't. That’s why I’m contacting Alastor. Valentino doesn’t have limits and he is spiraling out of control. Vox won't stop him, and Charlie Morningstar is too moral; she'd want to see Val imprisoned or punished in some way for what he's done, and I don't want Val to get hurt” Velvette paused “Wait. Why the fuck am I opening up to you? Give me that number and get out!”
“You’re opening up to me because we’re both in the “Val fucked me up” club. We’re kindred spirits, Dollface!” Angel said cheerfully.
Velvette ran her eyes over Angel, who grinned and struck a pose. She took in his clothes with a critical eye; the provocatively-styled blazer, the tiny miniskirt, his Valentino-mandated gold tooth, and finally his carefully styled hair.
“You’ve got good style” she finally admitted “But I’m not a whore”
“Really? Because that’s not what I’ve heard you tell the other Vees. Oh, Val! Yes! Harder! Harder! Make me your mewling whore! Oh fuck me Vox, oh fuck, oh fuck, I’m just your slut, call me a slut!” Angel Dust even imitated Velvette’s accent as he mocked her, taking a few steps towards her with a sadistic grin on his face.
“You- you-!” Velvette was apoplectic with rage, flushing red with humiliation.
“That’s what you get for fucking around in Val’s studio; everyone listens in. Don’t worry, we all agree that you moan like a pro, and we should know” Angel patted her arm “You're plotting your revenge as I speak, aren't you? Sure, Toots, you could do all sorts of nasty shit to me- but I'm Val's, and right now you're too scared of the dusty fuck to risk angering him by touching me. So I’m gonna enjoy my window of opportunity to get back at you for being a fucking bitch”
Velvette seethed.
“What are you gonna do about it, huh?” Angel Dust smirked, crossing his arms “Don't forget; you still don’t have Alastor’s phone number. I could really make you beg before handing it over”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Velvette said, furious.
“You're trembling in your ugly, high-fashion boots over Val right now, but when you two were all lovey-dovey with each other he gave you permission to treat me like shit- and you did! You have poured drinks over me, you’ve called me names, you’ve encouraged Val to hurt me even more when he’s having a bad day, you’ve tested out your freaky potions on me, you’ve threatened to hurt Fat Nuggets, you’ve thrown shit at me when you’re throwing a tantrum, you’ve begged Vox to let you post humiliating and degrading stuff about me onto the Vees' social media, you’ve-”
As he ranted, Angel Dust counted his complaints on his many fingers, and Velvette shrank into herself in shame as he continued to list so many complaints that he ran out of fingers, even with his third set of arms temporarily popped out to help him count.
Maybe he had a point.
She was a fucking bitch.
"-and to really top it all off, you have never given a shit about the hell that Valentino puts me through- you encourage it!- but now that you’re getting just a small taste of it? Oh, now you’re going running to my friends for help! Fuck you, Velvette!”
With his rant finished, Velvette and Angel Dust stared each other down.
“So what do you have to say for yourself?” He finally said, baring his teeth.
Velvette was practically quivering with rage.
“...I..." she started to say.
"Yeah, Red-Velvette-Cakes?" Angel Dust mocked.
"I... fucking... I fucking deserve it! Okay! Just... please. Please give me Alastor's number. I don't want to see Vox get hurt again, and I don't want to go to Princess Morningstar and see Valentino be hurt. I love them" her voice cracked "I love them so fucking much and it's probably going to get me killed, but I do. I love them. Please help me help them. Please"
"Oh, Toots..." Angel Dust's demeanor softened, and he reached out to touch her arm more tenderly "Hey. Don't be like that. You're a fucking bitch, but even the biggest bitch in Pentagram City doesn't deserve what's happened to you"
"I am the biggest bitch in Pentagram City" Velvette choked out, close to tears.
"Exactly, and you don't deserve this... come on. A few seconds in my fluff and you'll feel better. No funny business, I'm not much of a taco guy anyway" Angel Dust held out his lower set of arms.
Velvette looked around to make sure they were alone, before nodding and letting Angel pick her up, wrapping both sets of arms around her tightly as he pressed her face into his chest-fluff, rubbing her back.
"There-there. Where's that #bitch we all know and hate, huh?"
"She got fucked to death" Velvette said, her voice muffled by fluff. Angel wasn't kidding, she felt much better, snuggled up against the other like he was some sort of fluffy pillow with spindly arms and a Brooklyn accent.
"...I really don't want Val to see us like this. Put me down" Velvette finally said, smiling gratefully as Angel immediately respected her wishes. It was a tiny thing, but it was nice seeing her boundaries respected in any way, shape, or form.
“You wanna know the difference between you and me, Velvette?” Angel Dust said gently, petting her head as he put her back down again.
“There’s only one?!”
“…the difference, you fucking bitch, Is that I don’t believe in putting the boot in when somebody’s already down” Angel Dust held out his phone “He’s all yours”
The phone was open on a contact called Big Gay (?) Al (Spooky Bitch). Velvette snickered, pulling out her own phone to copy Alastor's number into it.
"Thank-you" she said.
“You know, I loved Val once too… and sometimes I think I still do” Angel said softly "I do understand what you're going through, at least a little. If you need to talk or..."
But Velvette wasn't paying attention. She was staring blankly down at her phone, looking up and then down at the pot plant where she'd last seen it, frowning in confusion.
With her hands trembling slightly, she opened the photo library.
A video, hours long, was the last saved item in the library. She felt a sick lurch as she saw it.
"Velvette?" Angel Dust said, confused.
“Do you know who found my phone? I left it recording before everything went wrong. I don’t like to think that Val has a copy of that footage” she said.
“Oh, uh… I’m not sure. Vox was just waking up when we got back here, so it would've been found while we were all cleaning up. It could’ve been either of them, I didn’t find it” Angel Dust shrugged.
“What happened while I was out, anyway?” Velvette asked.
“I was having a shit time at the studio, Val was up here so Travis was in charge of the shoot, and there was this pack of disgusting, horny wolf demons and no safe word and-"
"Uh, excuse me? Did I ask about your pathetic fucking existence? What happened here" Velvette pointed downwards, indicating the penthouse.
Angel Dust rolled his eyes.
"Once Val was done fixing Travis's fuck-ups and finishing the shoot, he was acting moody. I'm sure you know how dangerous Val is when he's in a bad mood, so I was being all nice. Oh, Val, you look so sad, do you need your Angel to make you smile again? I was still on the fucking clock, and I'll be damned if I'm getting hurt even worse than I usually am because you and Vox pissed him off"
Velvette glared.
"Anyway, Val draped himself all over me, weeping that he'd fucked up and didn't know how to fix it. I did a little probing and found out he'd raped Vox and shot you in the head. So. Kinda a fucking understatement" Angel shuddered "He wanted help cleaning up, and it sounded better than continuing to shoot for the rest of the working day, so I came up here"
"...Vox was just waking up, right?" Velvette pushed "When did Vox and Valentino decide that gaslighting me was such a brilliant idea?"
"Vox was a mess when he woke up, his screen was going haywire. The place was a bloodbath, I don't even wanna think about what happened to him before he regenerated" Angel Dust shuddered again.
Velvette thought about the condition Vox had been in before she passed out, and felt her knees go weak again. Seeing her distress, Angel Dust grabbed her arms with both pairs of his, looking concerned as he kept her propped up.
"Hey, hey, easy there... Vox is okay now, remember? You just called him a wanker, it was hilarious!" he said gently.
Oh Angel. You're as much of a do-gooder as your friends at the hotel... it's no wonder you were naive enough to fall under Val's control.
"Vox woke up, then what happened?" she said, pulling herself together.
"Once Vox calmed down, he and Val were both nervous about how you'd be when you woke up, so they decided to get rid of the evidence and act like the whole thing had been a nightmare" Angel Dust shrugged "We did a bunch of cleaning, you woke up, and you know what happens next"
Velvette stepped away from Angel Dust, feeling steadier on her feet.
"I'm about to betray them both, could you make it easier for me? Is there anything bad you could tell me?" she asked.
Angel Dust laughed bitterly.
"Beyond what they already pulled with that gaslighting stunt? Personally, I think Val deserves to die just for his shitty fucking scripts alone" he joked.
In her fragile state of mind, Velvette didn't take it very well.
"Get the fuck out!" she screamed, regretting it when a furious-looking Valentino appeared at the balcony above them, wearing a fluffy pink sleep mask and looking ready to kill.
"Shut the fuck up! Get out!" he snarled, glaring blindly down at them "I'm trying to fucking sleep!"
"Fuck you, you dusty piece of shit!" Velvette screamed back at him, grabbing Angel Dust's arm and marching out of Valentino's apartments and into the elevator, hitting the button for her floor before shooting Angel Dust a concerned look "Call in sick tomorrow, he'll tear you to shreds otherwise"
"You love Val so much, huh?" Angel smirked.
"It's... complicated" Velvette shrugged.
"Hey, I get it, Toots! Trust me, I get it. What I don't get is why you and Vox are in such a bad place. I get that you're mad he's enabling Valentino, but Vox isn't that bad compared to the squeaky bitch"
Velvette snorted.
"I'm changing his name to 'Squeaky Bitch' in my phone"
"Ha, that's fucking hilarious. So; what's going on with tall, blue, and 8K resolution?" Angel Dust asked, not unsympathetically.
Velvette avoided his eyes.
"He... did something to me" she said.
"Shit, he didn't take a leaf out of Val's book, did he? Vox has slapped me around a few times but I didn't think he was anywhere near Valentino's level of crazy"
"No, no, it's nothing like that!" Velvette tried to think of a way to explain herself, without telling Angel Dust about the soul contract "There's something I gave him that I haven't given anyone else, and he's been holding it over my head"
There was a slightly awkward pause.
"Oh" Angel finally said.
"Oh?" Velvette felt a stab of fear that he'd worked out the truth.
"Anal, right? Was it consensual?"
Velvette's head whipped around to stare at Angel Dust, before she decided to just go with it, as embarrassing as it was.
"Yeah. He was fantastic, he's just... being a wanker about it" she said, feeling herself blush crimson at the intimate lie.
Angel Dust winked.
"You know, if you want to get him off your back, might I introduce you to the world of pegging? He can't be a bastard if you've also made him cum with a hard rod up his ass, can he?" he nudged her arm as Velvette laughed "Good luck with Alastor. I'm sure you'll be fine, though, he's got a soft spot for women in distress"
The elevator stopped at Velvette's floor, and she stepped out as Angel Dust hit the button for the ground floor.
"Oh, and Velvette?" Angel Dust added.
"Yeah?" Velvette smiled at him.
"Fuck you, you narcissistic, Bratz doll piece of Overlord trash" Angel Dust flipped her off with all four of his arms.
Velvette returned the favor, flipping him off with her meager two arms.
"Fuck you more, you worthless junkie whore"
The doors closed as they both burst out laughing.
Velvette smiled to herself as she entered her apartment.
She felt, as strange as the circumstances were, like she'd just made a friend.
Velvette's apartment was the most chaotic part of the V Tower. It was full of dummies with half-finished designs pinned haphazardly to them, while scraps of fabric and other varied sewing materials littered every surface, as did piles and piles of doodle-filled notebooks.
Velvette sat on the circular sofa that took up a huge chuck of her living space, drinking bubblegum-flavored vodka straight from the bottle as she stared apprehensively at her phone, currently resting atop a pile of last season's designs.
Call Alastor.
Don't call Alastor.
Call.
Don't call.
...to call or not to call...
She groaned, taking another swing.
Luckily (or unluckily) the choice was taken out of her hands.
Her phone suddenly rang and she shrieked in shock, dropping the bottle and smashing it against the floor, sending glass and syrupy-sweet vodka everywhere.
Smiling Freak From Voxxxy's Wank Bank flashed up on screen, along with deer and poop emojis.
"Oh, you antler-y fuck!" she snarled, shaking droplets of vodka off her fingers. She barely noticed a mass of shadows rise up behind her until she was being tapped on the shoulder by Alastor's microphone.
"May I be of assistance?"
Velvette screamed, scrambling backwards on the sofa in a blind panic and knocking last season's hottest looks everywhere. Alastor was in her apartment, looking as untouchable as ever, while she was alone, (approximately) two drinks in, and wearing nothing but a neon pink bralette and a pair of purple pajama pants with #Bitch written all over them in metallic lettering.
She couldn't have looked or felt more vulnerable if she tried.
"Velvette, Velvette, Velvette. It's quite alright, do calm down. I'm here to help!" Alastor said, his perma-grin spreading on his face as he reached out, taking her hand and squeezing it comfortingly "You have nothing to fear from me. I am so, so sorry that our little chat today caused you so much pain"
"How do you know about that?" Velvette asked with a glare.
"Weren't you paying attention, my dear? I can hear everything that goes on in this building"
His smile twitched.
"Poor, poor Vox... I did so hate hearing him scream like that"
"Bullshit, I bet you were eavesdropping with one hand down those prissy little panties of yours" Velvette snapped "What are you doing here? Get out!"
"But didn't you want to talk to me? I heard you say you were ready to make a deal! I was so delighted to hear it!" Alastor sat down besides her, crossing his legs "So, what will it be? Your soul, or a favor? What can you offer me, young lady?"
Velvette flinched away, curling up on the other side of the sofa with her legs pulled up to her chest and her hands held defensively in front of herself.
"I can't- I can't do this right now! Get out! Get out!" she screamed, picking up the nearest weapon (a jelly shoe) and throwing it at Alastor.
Alastor watched as the shoe sailed harmlessly over his shoulder.
"Perhaps my timing was... poor. How about we have breakfast tomorrow! There's this charming little place in Cannibal Town called Fava Beans! My treat!"
"GET OUT!"
"Be there before mid-morning, or my offer is off the table. I do so detest being stood up- have a lovely evening, my dear!"
With that, he was gone.
Velvette stared blankly at the empty space where the Radio Demon had just been standing, curling up into an even tighter ball.
She felt as if she was being torn into multiple directions. She wasn't even allowed the autonomy to call Alastor of her own volition, and in her own time. Now she had a deadline to make a decision by.
She wiped at her eyes, trembling badly.
Hating herself for her weakness, she got to her feet and fled her room, making a beeline for the one place that always made her feel safe...
Vox was the picture of supervillain-caliber luxury, wearing black silk pajamas and drinking whiskey out of a crystal glass as he relaxed in bed, watching a documentary on sharks while his own beloved pets swam in happy circles in the aquarium that was built into his bedroom walls.
He looked startled as Velvette suddenly slammed the door open, ugly-crying as she ran to his bed and threw herself into his arms without explanation, burying her head into his chest and wailing.
"Oh my God- Vel! Velvette" Vox sounded horrified, putting his glass down immediately and muting his documentary before wrapping his arms tightly around Vel "What's wrong? Are you okay? Did Valentino do something? ...are you... oh Vel... sweetheart"
Vox had never sounded softer, running his claws through her hair and rocking her slightly as she wept.
"Velvette, what's wrong?"
Velvette shook her head, continuing to wail and throwing her dignity out of the window. Fuck it. She'd seen Vox in a far worse condition just that afternoon.
After a few minutes of hysterical tears, Velvette only paused when she started to hear the sound of Vox singing.
It wasn't shocking to hear him singing, for all he was ruthless, crass, and temperamental, Vox was also surprisingly cultured and possessed a beautiful singing voice. But he usually saved his vocal chords for the purposes of either mocking his defeated opponents, rubbing his various victories in his as-of-yet undefeated opponents' faces, or for when he was showering alone and didn't think anyone could hear him singing along to hardcore rap.
She'd never heard him sing tenderly before. The fact that he was able to generate his own backing soundtrack certainly added to the softness of the gesture, too.
"Regrets, I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption..." he cooed, continuing to stroke her hair back.
"What are you doing?" Velvette sniffled.
"Hush. Why don't you just get it all out of your system and let me make you feel better" Vox rubbed her shoulder, chuckling as Velvette buried her head in his chest and went back to sobbing.
"I planned each charted course. Each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this. I did it my way"
Velvette let Vox's voice wash over her, holding onto him tightly as she cried her eyes out.
What the fuck am I doing?
The worst part of it was; she had no idea what she was actually admonishing herself for. Was she guilty because she was thinking about betraying The Vees, or was she guilty because she was thinking about standing by them and all the terrible things they did (her own actions included).
Vox reached down, carefully wiping the tears off her face with his claws.
"I've loved, I've laughed and cried. I've had my fill, my share of losing. And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing. To think I did all that, and may I say, not in a shy way. Oh, no, oh, no, not me... I did it my way" he continued to sing, pulling a handkerchief out from under his pillow and dabbing at Velvette's face.
Velvette straightened up, resting her hands on Vox's shoulders and continuing the song for him with a sad smile.
"For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels, and not the words of one who kneels" she trilled, utilizing her own impressive vocal range.
Vox took one of her hands, kissing it and holding it over his heart, harmonizing with her easily as they reached the final notes.
"The record shows I took the blows, and did it my way. Yes, it was my way"
The music from Vox's speakers died down, the two of them sitting in silence, bathed in the blue glow of the shark enclosure and the muted television on the wall.
They stared into one another's eyes, breathing the scent of one another in. Vox always smelled expensive, like high-end cologne and top-of-the-range electronics.
It had always been an aphrodisiac for Velvette.
She moved first, Vox's arms wrapping tightly around her as she kissed him, her lips buzzing with static before she jolted as he moved his tongue into her mouth. She felt like she was vibrating as they french kissed, Vox pulling her in until she was flush against him, kissing her like his life depended on it.
His thigh was trapped between her legs, and Velvette couldn't help but rock against it, whimpering at the friction.
"What do you need, Velvette? Tell me. No matter how much or how little, I'll do it for you" Vox whispered softly to her "You control everything in this room. You hold my leash in your hands. Whatever you need, I'll do it for you... I love you so much, Velvette"
Velvette moaned, speechless from arousal as she held onto Vox tightly, continuing to rock against him as they kept kissing.
She lost track of time, focused only on her pleasure and the buzzing sensation of kissing Vox, until it all became too much...
"You control this. You control me. Take what you need, take it. It's yours. I love you, I love you so much" Vox said against her lips, his cyan fangs catching against her mouth.
She tasted blood, too wrapped up in pleasure to wonder- as she always had- how exactly Vox's mouth worked. She kept kissing him, her moaning becoming more of a cry as she felt her orgasm crest and then crash like a wave against a beach.
She slumped against him, panting. Vox's breathing wasn't any more even, his screen glitching slightly before his breaths evened out.
"Fuck Valentino. There's a new Sex Demon in town" Velvette joked, propping herself up against Vox's chest and gazing lovingly into his digital eyes "You need a hand down there?"
"After that performance? It took care of itself, my dear" Vox smirked.
Velvette rolled off Vox and pushed the duvet back to see for herself, laughing at the sticky patch on Vox's silk pajama pants.
"I can't believe you just did that, and at your age too..." she taunted, settling down in bed.
"From what I just heard, you did the exact same" Vox joined her, lying on his back and smiling as she snuggled up to him, neither of them giving a shit about the state of their pants "Do you need anything else? I could finger you, eat you out... my dick is out of commission for now though, unfortunately"
"You have an old man's refraction time, you know. I'm so hot you should be springing back up again by now"
"Put on your little Alastor outfit again and I'll pop right back up again" said Vox, making Velvette giggle.
"It pissed Val off, but it was kinda hot seeing how horny you got watching Adam beat the shit out of your ex-boyfriend..." Velvette admitted.
"I didn't miss how much you were squirming when pretty little Lucifer Morningstar joined the fight. We really should re-watch that recording sometime, huh?"
They smirked at each other, before their expressions softened.
"I love you" they said together, blushing at the sentiment.
Velvette hesitated, before taking a chance.
"I just wish I wasn't under contract, baby..." she cooed, tracing abstract shapes on Vox's screen with her finger.
Vox caught her wrist, his expression hardening.
"I just wish I could trust you, Velvette"
The mood soured considerably, the temperature in the room seeming to drop.
Velvette's own expression hardened.
"...I have a breakfast appointment tomorrow, don't let me sleep in" she said, rolling away from Vox and crossing her arms.
"A breakfast appointment? Who with?"
"Oh, I'm going to sell us all out to Alastor. Fuck you"
"Oh ha, ha, ha. Sleep well, Velvette" Vox rolled his eyes, not taking her confession disguised as a joke seriously.
Without another word, they settled down to sleep, curled up with their backs touching. Despite their physical closeness, however, there might as well have been an ocean between them.
...the record shows I took the blows...
...and did it my way...
...yes, it was my way...
Velvette was at the cafe before Alastor was.
She fucking hated Cannibal Town. The clothes were gag-worthy, everyone was annoying democratic and fair, and Rosie had taken Alastor's side when he'd had his falling out with Vox.
Under normal circumstances, she'd be avoiding this place like the plague. But she had a deadline to meet.
She stirred another lump of sugar into her already sickly-sweet tea, staring out the window in growing impatience. Trust that smiling fuck-face to give her a deadline but not stick to it himself.
At least Fava Beans had comfortable chairs and a pleasant-enough ambiance, reminding Velvette of the countryside tea rooms she used to visit with her parents while on road trips.
She reached out to pour herself a fresh cup of tea, jolting as a dark grey hand with red, clawed fingers lightly touched her wrist.
"What a truly delightful bracelet, where did you get it from?" Alastor asked, sitting across from her.
Velvette resisted the urge to throw the teapot in his face, simmering with impotent rage at his casual violation of her boundaries.
She yanked her wrist away, Valentino's bracelet glinting as she did so. Despite everything she'd endured... she hadn't taken off the bracelet since Val had put it on her.
"It was a gift. Don't fucking touch me" she snapped, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms "Alright, Smiles, I'm going to make one thing fucking clear; you're not getting my soul"
"What the lady doesn't want, the lady shan't get. Not a problem! A favor for a favor it is, then!" Alastor said cheerfully "...I wonder if they have those finger sandwiches available today"
"Another thing I'm gonna be making crystal fucking clear, I will never, ever, agree to a favor that involves hurting Vox or Valentino in any way, shape, or form. Do you hear me? That goes doubly for doing harm to VoxTek, the Vees as a group, or Angel Dust"
She had no idea what possessed her to add Angel Dust to her list of protected people and things, but she did.
Alastor looked as surprised as she felt.
"I had no idea you cared for our dear permanent resident!"
"Fuck you. Do we have a deal? I'll owe you a favor that you cannot use to make me harm anyone or anything I care about, and you help me deal with my little problem" she made air quotes with her fingers.
Alastor held out his hand, smiling unnaturally wide, his antlers stretching out from where they were normally concealed by his hair, and his eyes darkening.
"Do we?" he asked, the static in his voice more pronounced.
Velvette stared down at the unnaturally elongated fingers that were offered to her, shuddering as she took his hand and shook it once.
"Deal" she said, wincing as the room filled with painfully bright green light and squeezing her eyes shut.
By the time the light dimmed enough for Velvette to open her eyes again, Alastor was gone. In his place, a small bottle full of green liquid sat innocently on the table with a note attached to it.
Velvette picked it up with a frown.
'All that you and Valentino will ever achieve with your pathetic little 'love potions' is drawing the ire of The Sin Of Lust. This one-of-a-kind formula is a true love potion! These contents promise to make the drinker transform before your eyes into the best possible version of themselves! Turn the love of your life into the Demon that you've always wanted them to be! Turn a slacker into a focused career-driven workaholic, turn a cheater into a dedicated monogamist, or turn an abusive rapist with mood swings worse than Vox's taste in clothes into a harmless, fluffy little darling that wouldn't hurt a fly!
Good-luck!
-The Smiling Freak'
Velvette stared down at the bottle, before looking around to make sure she wasn't being watched as she discreetly slipped it into her purse.
I'm sorry, Valentino. I know this isn't right but... you've left me with no other choice. I love you, I swear I love you.
Maybe one day we'll all be happy again...
To Be Continued...
Notes:
Vox and Velvette are singing "My Way" by Frank Sinatra.
Chapter 5: ...And I Will Do Nothing Less Than What I Please...
Chapter Text
"Val! Val! Valentino! Oh, fuck, you have got to meet this girl!" Vox was laughing uproariously, clutching a stitch in his side as he led Velvette into Valentino's studio, holding her hand tightly in his clawed grip.
Vox hadn't stopped laughing since Velvette had made her business proposition. To be fair, Velvette didn’t blame him for finding it hilarious. From what she’d gathered, Vox was a very seasoned businessman, and there she was; perched on his knee like some sort of hellish doll as she discussed strategies, business ideas, and the benefits of social media. She must’ve seemed ridiculous.
But she knew her proposal was good. All she had to do was convince two utterly terrifying demons with years of experience on her of that.
“I’m busy, querida, this better be good” purred a soft, hypnotically melodic voice as Vox pulled Velvette into what could only be described as a den of debauchery.
Valentino's studio reeked of sex, incense, perfume, and cigarette smoke. Velvette's head spun as she was led inside, staring at the studio lights and gaudy set in mild awe. She looked around for the source of the purring voice, but couldn't see anyone around who seemed dangerously seductive enough for it to belong to.
“Trust me, Val, this is fucking fantastic” Vox chuckled, squeezing Velvette’s hand as he dragged her towards an opaque cloud of pink smoke in the corner of the room "Look what just fell into my lap!"
"Oh, baby, you've brought me a gift!" the melodic voice spoke again, and Velvette realized it was coming from the cloud of smoke she was currently being pulled towards.
Velvette’s first thought was that Valentino was some sort of smoke demon, but then the moth-man himself emerged from the smoke like some sort of hellish Vegas magician, and Velvette took a startled step back, half-hiding herself behind Vox.
Standing at close to ten feet tall, and wearing heels that made him even taller, Valentino was terrifying to a newly fallen Sinner. Vox was also extremely tall, but he came off more like a lanky basketball player with a television for a head.
Vox was quirky, Valentino was a monster.
Vox laughed again, before pulling Velvette out from behind him, pushing her in front of Valentino while holding tightly onto her arms.
"Don't be shy, my dear. This is my old friend Valentino. He doesn't bite" he said, rubbing her shoulders comfortingly.
There was a scoff from the bed that the lights and cameras were focused on. Velvette turned her head to look at a pink-and-white demon with four arms, sharp teeth, and carefully quaffed hair, sprawled seductively on top of the pink-and-red bedsheets.
"Ha! He bites more than a rabid dog, don't listen to those two" he said, relaxing back on the bed "Is this my co-star for tonight? She looks prissy"
"Valentino, could you control your pet? I'm trying to do business here" Vox said, squeezing Velvette's shoulders in another comforting gesture before pressing the palm of his hand against her cheek to force her to look back up at Valentino "Pay no attention to the whore, my dear. It's all sex, sex, sex down here. But don't worry, if this doesn't work out, I'll be keeping you for myself. Valentino has enough down-on-their-luck losers"
He reached down again, stroking her face affectionately with the back of his hand. Velvette wanted nothing more than to lean into the affectionate gesture, but she wasn't about to show weakness or neediness to someone she was trying to impress.
She pulled away, pulling a face. Vox’s 'keeping you' comment hadn’t escaped her.
"What do you mean, keeping me? I'm not a fucking pet" Velvette said, narrowing her eyes "I'm here to offer you the deal of a lifetime, both of you. Let me have a seat at your table, and I'll make you even wealthier and more powerful than you already are"
Vox and Valentino both laughed, as if she'd done a particularly amusing trick. Still chuckling, Valentino took a drag from his cigarette holder, blowing out a heart-shaped smoke ring and watching it float away. As Velvette watched the smokey heart slowly dissipate, Vox tightened his grip on her.
"You are aware that the 'deal of a lifetime' means nothing when you're already dead, aren't you? What did you say your name was, again?"
"Dolores"
"Dolores, you dived into the deep end and now you're swimming with sharks. You can either swim your way out of this situation you so confidently put yourself in, or you can drown and be devoured. But there's no lifeguard here to save you, and no easy way out" he said softly, running his claws against her face.
"Dolores is such a beautiful name. It means 'sorrow', or 'pain'." said Valentino, taking another drag of his cigarette.
"When did you become such a scholar?" Vox said, raising one of his digital eyebrows.
"'Lolita' is a common derivative of 'Dolores'" Valentino smirked nastily, making Velvette feel sick "Oh, muñeca, your stage name isn't going to be hard to choose..."
Vox made a revolted noise.
"That's fucking disgusting, Val. You're not getting your hands on her anyway. I'd prefer her as my secretary. Wouldn't she look adorable underneath my desk?"
"We'll flip a coin for it" Valentino shrugged dismissively as he approached Vox, wrapping his arm around him and looking down at Velvette with a smile "But first, let's see what the little puta's proposition is..."
Acid rain was beating down against the window of the Vees' limousine. It suited Velvette's dark mood. She stared out blankly at the streets of Pentagram City as they whizzed by, the chauffeur whisking her away from Cannibal Town and back to the V Tower.
I'm probably the biggest idiot in Hell. Vox and Val saw me as just another hapless little idiot wandering into their clutches. If I hadn't been able to put my money where my mouth was, if I hadn't impressed them the way that I did...
...well. Who knows where I'd be right now...
Velvette pictured herself sobbing in a drug-fueled haze as Valentino, intoxicating saliva dripping from his fangs, filmed her being violated by a pack of ravenous wolves. She saw herself, wearing an all-pink outfit not unlike one of Angel Dust's, looking up blearily as Val forced her head up to look at him, a hand at her throat.
"Don't cry, Lolita, we've only just gotten started..." her nightmarish vision of Valentino whispered, blowing smoke in her face.
It hurts. It hurts so much. I love you, Val, why are you doing this to me?
Memory and fantasy swirled together in Velvette's imagination and she felt a lurch of nausea, wrapping her arms tightly around herself and shuddering.
But it wouldn't have necessarily been Val. Maybe she'd currently be kneeling underneath Vox's desk with his clawed hand in her hair, gagging as she was forced to deep-throat him while he calmly conducted a meeting. As far as Velvette knew, Vox didn't sexually abuse his employees. It was one of the few nice things VoxTek's indentured servants could say about their Overlord. However, Vox had once admitted that for all his mockery, he'd been in love with Velvette from the second he laid eyes on her.
Velvette knew how obsessive The Media Demon was about the people he loved...
...and now he owned her soul. Maybe that particular fate wasn't so much fantasy as it was her future.
The limo stopped at a red light, and Velvette rested her head against the window, smiling sadly as she found herself looking out at an electronics store with Vox's show playing on every screen. At this hour, Katie Killjoy normally had her show, but it wouldn't be the first time Vox had swiped her time slot for himself.
She couldn't hear what he was saying, but she could see him clearly through the layers of glass and acid rain that divided them. He was animatedly talking with a guest, plying them with his usual potent cocktail of charisma and charm. As the camera panned across to Vox's guest, Velvette realized with a jolt that Charlie Morningstar was sitting primly on the sofa across from him, answering his questions with an uncertain smile.
Vox went to commercial just as traffic started to move again, and Velvette had time for only a brief glimpse of her and Valentino's schlocky love potion commercial before the limo whisked her away.
As the acid rain continued to beat down, Velvette slowly smiled as she realized that Princess Sunshine's interview couldn't have come at a better time.
Velvette didn't waste any time once the limo finally pulled up at the V Tower. Slamming the door behind her, she walked briskly inside, making a beeline for Vox's studios.
She didn't know how much she could trust Angel Dust and Alastor's discretion, especially Alastor's. But she knew that Vox didn't trust her right now, and Valentino trusted Vox's judgement more than anyone else in hell.
Velvette needed to drug Valentino, and given how good Valentino was at drugging others... that wasn't going to be easy. Velvette once tried to put salt in Valentino's coffee as a prank, but he was onto her before she got so much as a grain in.
She needed to get Val's guards down, and to do that she needed to get Vox's guards down, and she had a half-cooked idea about how to do it.
Velvette was about to fling open to doors to Vox's studio when she was rudely interrupted.
"Miss Velvette! Miss Velvette!" Vox's assistant, the eel who perpetually looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown, was hurrying towards her. Velvette tried and failed to remember his name.
"What?" she snapped, her hands still poised to push open the doors.
"Mr. Vox was very clear, he is not to be disturbed during his interview with Princess Morningstar! Not by you, and not by Mr. Valentino. He says... uh..." the eel withered under her glare.
"He says... what?" Velvette asked with a dangerous smile.
"He said that Valentino is too much of a pervert and th-that... uh..."
"What. Did. Vox. Say. About. Me?" Velvette's smile widened, making her resemble one of Vox's beloved sharks more than anything else.
"He said that until you're feeling more like yourself, you shouldn't worry about his side of business" the eel smiled weakly.
"We both know that's bullshit. I want to hear exactly what he said" Velvette crossed her arms.
The eel sighed, before touching a button that was buried in the mess of VoxTek hardware that Vox had permanently wired into most of his employees’ brains. As if the eel’s head had suddenly become a speaker, Vox's voice rang out, sounding slightly tinny.
"Tell Resting Bitchface Barbie that until she gets her fucking tampon out about she knows what, she can stay the fuck out of my business. Got it?"
The eel shrank back fearfully once the recording finished.
"Oh wow. The 50's called, they want their sexism back" said Velvette dryly, turning back towards the doors.
"M-m-Miss Velvette. You can't go in. He'll kill me" the eel pleaded.
Velvette shot the eel a look, once more trying to remember his name.
"Eelijah, isn't it?"
"Uh, no, Miss Velvette. My name is-"
"Anyway, Eelijah, I'm an Overlord and you're not. So stay the fuck out of my way" Velvette patted not-Eelijah patronisingly on the head before slamming open the studio doors.
Vox was sitting behind his desk, smiling rigidly as Charlie practically vibrated in her seat, holding up a diagram that cheerfully (and with the aid of a lot of brightly-coloured stickers and glitter gel pens) demonstrated a Sinner being redeemed and going to heaven.
"Voxxy! You didn't tell me you had royalty on your show today, for shame!" Velvette called out, before smiling brightly for the cameras as she sashayed onto the set and took a seat next to Charlie.
Charlie stared at her with concern written all over her pretty face. Velvette just smiled and took Charlie's hand.
"It's so nice to see you again, Charlie. I hope this old fossil isn't boring you too much. Oh, he tries so hard to be hip and cool, but between you and me he's as outdated as your friend with the big smile" she said in a faux-sotto voice.
Vox's screen momentarily glitched, and Velvette resisted the urge to point and laugh.
Who needs to get their tampon out now, bitch?
My Way or no My Way, things were festering between Vox and Velvette, but neither of them wanted to be the first one to pull out a white flag. Vox would never break Velvette's soul contract, and for as long as that contract existed, Velvette would never forgive him for it.
Velvette was quietly confident that she had the moral high ground.
Charlie squeezed Velvette’s hands tightly, her eyes as wide and concerned as those of a dog hearing fireworks for the first time.
Are you okay? Do you need my help? her doe-eyed expression said.
"How have you been, Velvette?" Charlie finally said, her tone of voice even more concerned than her expression "I was hoping to run into you at the V Tower, it's honestly the only reason why I agreed to-"
"I don't think I've ever been happier!" Velvette said, waving her hand dismissively and cutting Charlie off before she could blab all about how she hadn't really wanted to come on Vox's show.
Velvette was mad at Vox, but she'd be double-damned before she let the simpering Princess of Hell damage his reputation as a talk show host.
Vox finally managed to recover from the indirect Alastor mention, shooting both women a sharp look.
"We're all very glad to hear that you're happy, my darling Velvette, but surely you aren't interrupting my interview with the Princess just to tell us all about your happiness?" Vox said, lacing his fingers together and looking suspicious behind his smarmy, television-ready grin.
Velvette winked, making Vox's smile turn into more of a sneer "You look good in Katie Killjoy's time-slot, babes. No, I interrupted your interview with the charming Princess Morningstar here because I have amazing news, and now seemed as good a time as any to announce it"
She got to her feet, twirling in front of the cameras.
In her peripheral vision, she could see Charlie look over at Vox, before rocking her arms like she was cradling a baby.
Vox stared at her in disbelief, before he shook his head, making a swimming gesture with one hand before forming a small 'x' shape with two of his fingers.
Velvette could translate the non-verbal conversation as easily as if they had subtitles.
"Is Velvette pregnant?"
"Fucking hell, I hope your Daddy isn't this stupid. Sinners are infertile. My swimmers haven't swum since the 50's"
Smothering her laughter, Velvette made eye contact with one of the cameras, cocking her hip and smirking confidently.
"My next collection will be coming out in just two weeks, and it will be themed around the two men I love more than anything else; our very own handsome as fuck Media Demon, and my beautiful Valentino. I don't think I've ever been happier, or so in love, and I want to commemorate that!"
She practically skipped over to Vox's chair, plopping down onto his knee and leaning against him with a love-struck sigh.
"Uh... Velvette, you know you're not supposed to drink your own love potion, right?" Vox finally said, taken aback.
There was laughter from the studio audience.
"I know, isn't this embarrassing? I'm making such a romantic fool of myself. But I can't help it..." Velvette slipped her hand between Vox's legs, squeezing his rapidly-growing erection and moaning like one of Val's pornstars.
Vox stared at her, his screen flickering between shock and error messages before he finally looked up at the cameras with a strained smile.
"...we're going to commercial, folks! We’ll be back in five minutes"
The audience laughed again, and it took Vox a few seconds to realise his mistake, a red glow spreading across his screen.
"Twenty! Twenty minutes!" he quickly amended.
A bell rang, signifying that the show had gone to commercial, and Vox looked back down at Velvette.
His smile dropped and his expression hardened.
Velvette smiled innocently, leaning in to whisper into Vox’s ‘ear’.
"Resting Bitchface Barbie? Get my tampon out? What the fuck? You fucking flat-faced dinosaur!" she whispered.
"Some people would kill to sell their souls to me, you know" Vox whispered back.
"Yeah, they'd kill themselves at the very prospect"
"We're already fucking dead" Vox snapped back, before they were interrupted by Charlie clearing her throat.
"Velvette, is... everything okay?" she asked, frowning.
Velvette straightened up before turning to look at Charlie with a carefree smile, snuggling up even more against Vox.
"Everything is fine. I wasn't getting enough dick from my boys and I was acting out, I'm so sorry that you and your girlfriend were pulled into it" she said dismissively "Please, it's me, Princess. Do you really think I'd be pathetic enough to stay with men who abuse me?"
"I'm sorry, Doll. You must think I'm pathetic, staying with him..." Dolores's mother was saying, blood dripping from her broken nose and all over the cream carpet of the living room.
Vox's arm wrapped around Velvette's waist, grounding her and pulling her from her reminiscence.
"If you'll excuse me, Princess. I need a minute alone with Velvette" he said, standing up and picking Velvette up with him in a surprisingly macho display of strength. Velvette played up the role of the lovesick and oversexed girlfriend, gasping and gleefully kicking her legs as she was carried out of the studio.
The second they were in Vox's dressing room, she was unceremoniously dumped onto his sofa, a glowing blue handcuff wrapping itself around her wrist as Vox abused his ownership of her soul (again).
"Talk" he said, his smile gone as he gave the chains attached to the handcuff a threatening tug "That Marilyn Monroe shit works for the cameras, and it works for morons like Princess Morningstar, but it doesn't work for me. What are you up to?"
Velvette rolled her eyes.
"Look, Charlie is suspicious. I'm trying to get her off our backs. She doesn't know me that well, so if she thinks I'm just a freaky bimbo with too much of an attitude to be fucked with, she might swallow your gaslighting bullshit from the other night. Besides, it makes you look hot as fuck, taking a break from your show to fuck your... girlfriend..." she trailed off, shrinking back in her seat fearfully as Vox leaned in towards her, his eye spinning.
Without a word, Vox used the chain connected to Velvette's handcuff to pull her to her feet, catching her face with one hand and making her look into his eyes.
Before she could even try to resist it, Velvette felt a hypnotic calm wash over her. Gone were her worries, as well as any panic that Vox might take the chance to ask what she was really up to.
Finally, his eye stopped spinning, and the chain and handcuff vanished into thin air. Released from his grip, both psychic and physical, Velvette slumped back onto the sofa.
"I'm not going to force you to tell me what's true and what isn't. That's not how our partnership works" Vox finally said.
"Aw! Vox! You finally got it!" Velvette said nastily "You've worked out the meaning of consent"
Vox glared her down, she shrugged and pulled out her phone, checking Sinstagram with one hand and flipping him off with the other.
She could hear the distinctive clink, squeeeeak sound of Vox facepalming and running his hand down his screen in exasperation.
"I love you, Velvette, so I'm going to trust you on this. But if I find out that you're planning something, or trying to deceive me..." he left the threat unspoken, leaving it's severity to her imagination.
Velvette felt a brief thrill of horror.
If Vox finds out that I've gone to Alastor for help...
She didn't let so much as a flicker of fear show on her face, however, continuing to scroll through Sinstagram without a care in the world.
"Now, I believe we have some unfinished business?" Vox said with a small chuckle, adjusting his bow-tie.
"Mm-hmm" Velvette said, ignoring him as she 'liked' a post from 'daddy_hoothoot'.
Vox leaned down, and Velvette gasped as she suddenly felt static lips against hers, dropping her phone and reflexively wrapping her arms around him before she came to her senses.
"No! Off, off!" she said, smacking his shoulder.
"What?" Vox got off her immediately, straightening his suit and frowning.
"No sex, fuck-face! Not while you own my soul!" Velvette said firmly, wagging her finger in his face.
"Velvette, what about what happened last night? Don't act like a nun now, it doesn't suit you" Vox teased.
"That was an error in judgement, and dry-humping is a far cry from sex, anyway. We're not fucking while you own my soul. Got it?"
Vox reluctantly nodded with a groan, and Velvette giggled as she saw his uncomfortable-looking hard-on.
"Come on, big boy, flip it up and tuck it in" she taunted. Vox just rolled his eyes, pulling his phone out from his pocket.
"I'm calling Val" he said, shooting her a dirty look as she bit the knuckle of her index finger to muffle her snickers.
“You do that” she finally said, picking up her phone again.
Vox tapped at the screen, before dialing Val’s number and holding the phone to his ‘ear’.
“Mi amor?” Vox's phone wasn't on speaker, but Velvette could still hear Valentino’s flirtatious greeting. She felt an icy stab of dread in her gut, masking it with continued indifferent scrolling on her phone.
"I'm horny, and I've got fifteen minutes before I'm back on air. Dressing room. Right now" Vox ordered, hanging up before Valentino could respond.
Velvette wolf-whistled, relaxing on the sofa.
“…and they say romance is dead” she teased.
Vox rolled his eyes, before his gaze softened.
"Would you be more comfortable leaving, Vel? I... understand that Valentino might not... that you might not want to watch this. Not right now. Not after… you know" Vox said, clearing his throat awkwardly.
Velvette settled back on the sofa even more, crossing her legs.
"Hmm... no. I think I'd like watching you two go for it" she said, masking her steadily-mounting nerves with cocky nonchalance.
I don't want to leave you alone with him.
Vox nodded, before looking up with a bark of laughter as Valentino suddenly slammed the door open, shutting it behind himself just as quickly.
“Someone’s excited” Vox taunted.
Valentino sneered.
"I'm not your whore, Vox. You can't just pull on my leash whenever you're horny- that's what you've got her for, isn't it?" he leered at Velvette, who stuck her tongue out, holding up her phone and hitting record.
"Velvette is sulking about the soul contract and doesn't want to have sex, so it's all down to you, Val" Vox said with a smirk, leaning against the sink and unbuckling his belt with a clink of claws against metal “You can protest all you like, but I snapped my fingers and you came running”
“…maybe I got jealous of my bitches and wanted to taste a little dick myself” Valentino said with a shrug, kneeling down and getting onto all fours, taking Vox's (impressive, by human standards) erection into his mouth as soon as Vox had pushed his trousers and underwear down enough.
Vox groaned, his hands gripping at Valentino's ruff. He looked up at Velvette and grinned as he saw her diligently filming the blowjob.
"You love filming Val and I, huh?" he said.
Velvette grinned, moving the camera in to focus on Vox's face. She’d done this a million times before, the familiarity soothed her unease.
"I like to watch the videos, sometimes" she said.
"Uh-huh, and what do you do when you watch them back?" Vox said with a teasing grin "I can't really imagine you masturbating, Babydoll. You come off as so needy in bed..."
"She does, I bought her a rabbit for her Death-Day one year and she used it in front of me" Valentino suddenly spoke up.
Velvette hadn't even noticed he'd stopped blowing Vox, his voice made her jolt.
A few days ago Valentino's voice, husky from deep-throating Vox, would’ve turned her on. Maybe she would've even put her phone down and gone crawling over to mess around with the overgrown moth while he sucked Vox off.
Now, his voice made her freeze up in fear and apprehension. She thought briefly about Angel Dust, about the years- no, surely it was decades by now- of abuse he'd suffered at Valentino's hands. But despite the hell he’d been put through, Angel Dust could still talk back to Val without flinching.
Meanwhile, Velvette was left recoiling at the sound of Val’s voice after just two half-remembered nights of abuse.
"Velvette?" Vox said softly.
Valentino was kneeling up, angling himself to look at Velvette. If Velvette didn’t know any better, she’d say he looked worried.
Velvette caught sight of her reflection in Vox’s mirror and realized that she had frozen up with a blank look of fear on her face.
I look like a moron…
“I’m fine. I didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all” Velvette lied, forcing a relaxed smile onto her face.
"Did I keep you up, dear?" Vox looked genuinely worried. Vox, who could be so manipulative, cruel, and ruthless... but not to her, never to her.
“If I don’t have your signature on the page in ten seconds, we are finished”
Velvette lowered her eyes back down to her phone without a word.
"You two slept together last night? Should I feel left-out?" Valentino joked, rubbing Vox's thigh affectionately.
Vox laughed, but Velvette panicked, only able to think about Vox lying on the sofa in a pool of his own blood.
"You wanted to sleep, I didn't want to wake you up again, and Vox was still up so I went to him! That's all! I didn't play favorites! I love you both equally- don't hurt him!" Valentino had stood up, his hand moving towards Vox's screen and triggering Velvette's panicked cry.
Valentino froze up, as did Vox, both men staring at Velvette.
All that work to get Vox's guard down, all for nothing. Because I panicked.
I really am pathetic.
"Oh, mi pobre amor, I wasn't going to hurt him" Valentino finally spoke up, approaching Velvette with all four of his hands held out in a soothing gesture "Muñequita, I'm so sorry I lost my temper last night. Things have just been so hard lately. Work has been so stressful, that little ungrateful whore Angel Dust decided to call in sick-”
Oh thank Lucifer.
"-and you know how love can make you crazy. I promise, it won't happen again"
He reached out, and Velvette couldn't stop herself from shuddering as she felt his rings brush against her face, the same way they had on the night he’d raped her.
"Is that what you told Vox the first time you beat him up and raped him? Or the time after that? Or the time after that? Over, and over, and over again, on a monthly fucking basis, since the fucking seventies!" Velvette snapped.
Vox groaned, rubbing at his screen like he had a headache.
Clink, squeeeeek…
Valentino pulled back from Velvette, crossing his arms and turning to face Vox.
"Is that what you told her?" he asked.
"It's not exactly a fucking lie, is it Val? But I didn't say you raped me. Get it into your head, Vel, I'm a man. I can't be raped!" Vox looked indignant, even as his arms were crossed defensively over his chest.
Velvette rolled her eyes.
"You can try to stay current all you like, but you are such a product of your time" she snapped.
Valentino got between them.
"Mis amores, I lost my temper. This is my fault. We're supposed to be a team, a happy little family... please. Let me fix everything, hm?"
Velvette glared up at the moth.
"You really think that-"
She stopped herself, catching sight of Vox, who was looking at her with hurt disapproval written all over his artificial face.
You need to get his guard down.
"We're in Hell, Velvette. Did you really think this was going to be some sort of fairy-tale romance?"
Velvette took a deep breath.
"...No. Wait. I'm sorry... Look, I'm the youngest. I died the most recently, and... I was physically the youngest when I died"
"How do you know that?" Val smiled indulgently down at her "For all you know, I could've been fifteen when I died. Maybe you and Vox are very bad people"
Vox and Velvette made identical noises of outraged disgust.
"That is disgusting, Val" said Vox.
"Don't be vile" Velvette shuddered, before pointing at Valentino and then Vox in turn "Late thirties, early fifties. Am I wrong?"
Valentino and Vox had identical looks of shock on their faces.
It was taboo to discuss your life and manner of death in Hell. So despite how close the three of them were, none of the Vees actually knew that much about one another beyond their afterlives.
"Good guess" Vox finally said "How did you know?"
Because you once told Valentino that you read about Alastor's crimes when you were a young man- and just look at Alastor's gimmick! That prick died in the Twenties or Thirties. As for Val, he once once said the only upside to his premature death was that he missed out on the existential crisis of a fortieth birthday by a few weeks. Velvette thought to herself.
"I'm smarter than I look" was what Velvette said instead "Anyway, look, I'm the youngest and the newest. So I'm still adjusting to life down here. I need to learn that things are different- even relationships. So..."
Oh, this is gonna suck... time to give the performance of a lifetime, Velvette...
"I forgive you. Both of you" she lied.
It was hard to tell which Overlord looked happier.
Vox smiled, his posture relaxing, while Valentino looked utterly delighted, reaching out again to take Velvette's hand and kissing it.
"Querida" he purred. Velvette smiled softly, playing along.
"So. I'm going to stop being such a cunt-" she shot Valentino a look, before glaring at Vox "-and I'm going to get my tampon out, and we'll be a happy little family again"
Valentino kissed her hand again.
"Oh, Velvette. You won't regret this, I promise! I'm going to take you both out tonight! We'll go dancing, we'll drink, we'll have freaky kinky sex in the limo- it'll be wonderful!"
Somewhere a bell sounded, signifying that the commercial break was nearly over. Vox groaned in frustration, tucking himself away.
"You finally lift the sex ban and I run out of time..." he grumbled.
"Break a leg" said Velvette with a smirk, internally praying she wouldn't have to go so far as to pretend she was comfortable with having sex with either of them before she got the chance to drug Valentino.
Vox kissed her and then Valentino in turn, before stiffly hurrying out of the room.
Valentino smiled indulgently down at Velvette.
"Go put on something sexy, Babydoll. Papá is going to spoil you both rotten" Valentino purred, kissing Velvette's cheek before sashaying out of the room, his ‘coat’ whispering around his ankles as he did so.
Velvette watched him walk away, before slumping down and curling up into a tiny ball on Vox’s sofa as soon as she was alone, her eyes filling up with tears.
Oh God...
"Sinstagram? She thinks fucking Sinstagram can do that much for our brand?" Valentino was sitting at the head of the Vees' conference room table, in a chair that looked like it should've been Vox's.
Vox himself was standing near a VoxTek laptop, one arm wrapped around Velvette as he patiently showed her how Hell's equivalent of social media worked. He looked up at Valentino's comment, shrugging.
"I died before this shit was even thought of, as did you. Maybe she's onto something. This is the one area we know nothing about... and if she's right, then she'll be a very valuable addition to our team" he pinched Velvette’s cheek with a patronizing smile.
"Keep treating me like I'm a child, or a pet, and I'll take my know-how to your competitors" Velvette said, making Vox laugh.
"Sweetheart, we've already devoured our competition- literally, in some cases" he motioned towards an old skeleton floating in the shark tank.
"Then I'll become your competition. You don't know how this market works, but I do" Velvette said with a smirk.
Vox laughed again, sitting down on the chair nearest to Velvette and slapping his knee "Oh, honey. You really think you can just waltz in here and threaten us? Do your thing, show us what you can bring to the table... and pray that we're impressed. For your own sake"
Velvette leaned in, proof-reading the first post she intended to publish on Sinstagram before nodding in satisfaction and uploading it.
"You'll be impressed, trust me babes. I'll be signing a contract with you both before the day is done"
For some reason, that made Vox and Val laugh again.
“Trust me. You do not want to do that. Contracts down here usually involve one thing: your soul. It’s how you become an Overlord, you seize control of enough souls and you get to play with the big boys” Vox taunted.
“Fine. What’s the fastest anyone’s ever become an Overlord?” Velvette asked, thrumming her talon-like manicure against the table.
Vox and Valentino exchanged a look.
“…two weeks? Maybe?” Valentino finally said.
“Good. Give me one week. By that time, I promise you both that I’ll have impressed you enough that you’d kill to have me on your team, and I’ll be an Overlord. I was an Influencer. If anyone here can convince a bunch of no-hope losers to give me their souls, it’s me. Do you know how many laxative-laced smoothies I've sold in my time?"
“A word to the wise, Dolores. You don’t talk about your past life down here. It’s… tacky. But alright. I’ll take that bet. One week, and you’ll be an Overlord that Val and I are begging to join our ranks…” Vox said, leaning back in his seat.
"Exactly” said Velvette, looking more self-assured than anyone dressed up like a Hot Topic Raggedy Ann had any right to.
“But if the week is up and you’re still just an unimpressive nobody? Then you sign away your soul to one of us. I hope for your own sake it won't be Val. He's not nice to pretty things like you" Vox reached out, playing with the hem of Velvette's skirt.
Valentino chuckled, blowing out yet another heart-shaped smoke ring. Velvette looked remarkably unbothered.
"You'll be impressed. I'll be a Vee before you know it. Oh, and one more thing?"
"Yes?" Vox and Val said at the same time, with equally insufferable smirks on their faces.
"I'd like to be called Velvette" Velvette said firmly.
Vox chuckled and touched his own screen, bringing up a timer set for exactly one week and activating it.
"Well, Velvette, you have one chance. Don’t blow it"
To Be Continued...
Chapter 6: Woo!
Notes:
Another loooooong chapter, and one that I'm sure will get me complaints. My deepest apologies.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Rule Number One: Never dress to please your man.
It was something that Velvette had once read in a glossy magazine, years and years and another lifetime ago, and it had left quite an impression on her. She didn't obey many rules, but she obeyed that one. In both life and death, Velvette had always tried her best to never allow the opinions of men to dictate her fashion choices.
But tonight was different. Tonight, she needed to get Vox and Valentino's guards down, and to do that she had to play along with their fantasies.
Valentino obviously liked his girls wearing next to nothing, you just had to look at the way his 'employees' dressed; lounging around his studio in either skimpy lingerie or nothing at all. Velvette wasn't self-conscious, but she didn't relish the thought of being naked in public, so she opted for lingerie when designing a 'Valentino' outfit.
Vox, meanwhile, had a thing for sharply dressed women. He was an extremely busy man with a hyper-sexual boyfriend and a girlfriend who (up until recently) had never turned him down, so it wasn't like he jerked off in his office every afternoon. But Valentino had been generous enough to let Velvette know exactly what Vox had requested, on those rare occasions that Vox took an interest in 'writing' one of Val's 'movies' for him. It seemed his sartorial fetishes were the same regardless of gender.
Fuck. I'd never turned Vox down before this. I'd rejected Val on occasion, but never Vox. Maybe I did have a favorite... Velvette mused to herself as she knelt on the floor of her room, looking between two meticulously-chosen outfits.
On her left was a set of purple lace lingerie that sparkled with sequins, accessorized with a black leather mini-skirt and boots to at least give the illusion that she wasn't going out in public in nothing but her knickers (Valentino).
On her right was a red blazer and skirt, with a black button-up shirt, nylons, and red-bottomed stilettos. If styled the right way, it would look slightly like she was wearing a Slutty Radio Demon Halloween costume (Vox).
In between them was the one item she was sure about; a sparkly, cross-body handbag with tassels, containing nothing but that guilt-inducing bottle of green potion with the note from Alastor still attached to it.
Velvette studied her outfits like a detective studying a crime scene, tilting her head on the side as she weighed up the pros and cons.
Finally, she picked up the purple lingerie set, leather boots and skirt, and the red jacket, putting them on her bed along with the sparkly handbag before heading for the shower.
Velvette didn’t like straightening her hair, but Alastor had pin-straight hair, as did Angel Dust, so she spent about an hour of her life she was never getting back extensively heat-damaging her curls.
Smelling vaguely of smoke, she jolted at the sound of her bedroom door opening, twirling around to face her bathroom door with her straightening iron held defensively in front of her, her free hand clutching the neck of her bathrobe closed.
“Who’s there?” she demanded.
“Vox and I are ready, amorcito. What’s taking you so long?” Valentino’s voice called out.
Velvette swallowed around a lump in her throat “I’m just finishing my hair, I’ll do my makeup and be ready soon”
Valentino cursed in Spanish, and Velvette flinched as he suddenly barged into her bathroom, wearing a tight black dress and fishnet tights. His wings were folded down like a cape, whispering against the high heels of his boots.
Velvette realized with a pang of nostalgia that she and Valentino were wearing the same boots tonight. They’d bought the same style in different sizes together during a shopping trip, what felt like a lifetime ago.
Velvette smiled sheepishly as she looked up at Val, doing her best not to look as apprehensive as she felt.
“I’ll be done soon” she said, switching off her hair straightener and putting it down, examining her reflection critically "Do you think I look straight enough?"
"You look as straight as I don't, mi precioso tesoro, now would you hurry up?" Valentino huffed "We're late enough, get dressed and I’ll do your makeup in the limo"
Before Velvette could protest, Val was stalking over to Velvette’s vanity and grabbing a makeup bag, sweeping seemingly random products into it.
Not that Velvette had any complaints about Val doing her makeup. Valentino was actually an extremely talented makeup artist. Velvette had no idea if it was a leftover skill from whatever it was that he'd done in life, or if he’d picked it up while immersed in the adult film industry.
"Fine" she said, dropping her robe and starting to pull on her chosen outfit as quickly as she could.
There was a huge upside to Valentino doing her makeup in the limo, too; it meant that neither Val nor Vox would spend the journey fucking her.
It wasn't that Velvette didn't feel physical attraction towards her boys anymore, but the reality of having sex with them was too much. Not now. Not after Valentino had raped her. Not after Vox had essentially stolen her soul from her.
“Are you going to wear a necklace? Or anything around your neck?” Val asked, holding up Velvette’s rhinestone kit and distracting her from her grim musings as she fastened up her bra. It clipped in the front, pushing up her cleavage artificially.
“No, I’m fine like this” Velvette said. She was wearing the skull earrings she almost always wore, with Valentino’s bracelet still twinkling on her wrist "This is enough jewellery, I don't want to distract from the main event"
She motioned towards her breasts, winking. Valentino chuckled, rattling the rhinestones.
“Don't worry, this won't distract from those beauties in the slightest, trust me” Valentino said, slipping the rhinestones into the makeup bag and zipping it up, tucking it under one arm.
Velvette shrugged on her Alastor-esque jacket and pulled on her boots, slinging her bag across her shoulders and keeping a casual but protective grip on it as Val approached her.
"Vox is already waiting in the limo, are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be" Velvette said, trying and failing to shake the feeling of impending doom closing in on her.
Valentino just smiled, ushering her out of the room without another word.
Velvette's choice of jacket couldn't have been more effective. Vox looked like he was about to blue screen from arousal when he saw her, practically drooling as Val ushered her into the limo. He didn't bother keeping his hands to himself, reaching out to rub her thigh as she sat down besides him.
“I hear traffic’s bad tonight, maybe we can kill time by-” he started to say, before Val cut him off by threateningly rattling Velvette's makeup bag.
“Uh-uh. I’m doing her makeup. Keep your dick in your pants” said Valentino, a rare sentence to hear from him.
Vox rolled his eyes, leaning over to open the mini-fridge that he'd insisted the limo have, before fussing around with a cocktail shaker.
"Hey, what the fuck happened to my Kina Lillet?" he asked, holding up the bottle with a critical eye "The color's all wrong"
"It's white, Vox. How the fuck can the color be wrong?" Val asked, sounding exasperated "...and I thought that fridge was for all of us to use?"
"You and Velvette fucking hate Vesper Martinis, so the Kina Lillet is mine, and it doesn't look right" Vox kept staring at the liquid in the bottle, tilting it from side to side.
"Vox. Please shut the fuck up about your pretentious fucking taste in cocktails" Velvette pleaded as Valentino started patting serum into her face, shaking a bottle of multi-purpose setting spray with his other set of arms.
Vox shrugged, setting to work making his cocktail as Val spritzed Velvette's face down with the spray.
"Any requests?" he asked as he fanned her face dry with all four of his hands.
“Nah. Just don’t cover up my lip marking” Velvette said, tracing the line that vertically bifurcated her lips “I like it”
“Your wish is my command” Valentino purred, using his upper set of hands to start picking out what tools and products he'd be using, while his lower set mixed several shades of foundation and highlighter on the back of his hand.
“You should do my makeup someday, Val” Vox joked as he took a sip of his drink, before pulling a face and muttering to himself "...why is this sweet?"
“Doing your makeup would be easy. All I need is glass cleaner and a sponge” Val shot back, applying the shimmering foundation all over Velvette’s face, neck, and chest before starting to blend it in with two sponges and a brush, expediting the process.
“Aren’t you overdoing it?” Vox commented, watching them with a critical expression on his screen "She doesn't need all that shit on her face"
“Aren’t you a little opinionated for someone who’s never worn makeup in his life or death?” Val smirked, picking up a brush that twinkled with powder in the artificial lights of the limousine "Close your eyes, Velvette"
Velvette took a moment to enjoy Valentino's tender expression, squinting behind his glasses as he looked at Velvette's face like she was a priceless work of art.
"Velvette, eyes" Valentino gently nudged her leg with one of his hands.
Velvette giggled, before doing as Valentino asked. The fluffy brush felt like the kisses of butterfly wings as he danced it delicately across her face. The limo fell silent, asides from the purr of the motor, the sounds of Vox sipping his drink, and Valentino contentedly humming to himself as he worked on Velvette.
I wish your mind worked like a computer, Val. I wish I could get into your files, rifle through them and find all the ones labelled 'abusive piece of dusty shit' and 'rapist scumbag' and 'violent psychopath who can't control himself', and wipe them completely from your system. I wish I could find those files labelled 'artistic', 'passionate', 'funny', 'charismatic', 'loving', 'worships the ground Vox and I walk on', and I wish I could put them front and center on your desktop.
I love you, Val. I love you so much. I wish I could fix you. Maybe I can. Maybe I will.
I love you. Please let me fix you...
"Open your eyes" Valentino said.
Velvette avoided looking him in the eye as he kept working on her, keeping her gaze on her glittering handbag as Val worked on her mascara, flicking her eyes to the ceiling of the limo every time he needed her to look up.
As put the finishing touches on her eyelashes, his lower set of hands were carefully dotting glue and rhinestones across her upper chest and clavicles. Velvette couldn't see what he was doing, but Vox could.
He leaned over, martini glass in hand, chuckling affectionately at whatever it was he could see.
"Oh, cute!" he said, winking at Velvette.
"What is it?" Velvette asked, genuinely curious.
"Ah, ah, ah, no spoilers, Voxxy" Val said, applying something glittery on her face with a flourish "Nearly done, stay still..."
Velvette frowned as Valentino picked up a white liquid liner.
"...what the fuck are you doing?" she asked.
"I never get the chance to do anything fun with my whores, it all gets fucked off before the first shoot is even done. I wanted to treat you like the work of art you are, muñeca"
Velvette couldn't help but smile, before jolting as she suddenly felt Vox's fingers rake through her artificially-silky hair. She hadn't even noticed him switch his seat.
Mercifully, Valentino hadn't yet put the eyeliner on her skin, glaring at Vox in disapproval as the other man finished his drink with a toss of his screen.
"Fuck, I'm so fucking hard..." he groaned, shifting in his seat "I haven't had a proper fuck in so long, do you know what that does to a man?Val, can you spare a hand, please? Please Val?"
Valentino muttered something foul-sounding under his breath, before moving one of his hands over to Vox's thigh, rubbing it gently.
"Settle down, you're acting like a brat. It's not very becoming of The TV Demon, is it?. Do you think Alastor acts like this when he's aroused, hm?" he teased.
Vox's screen glitched. Velvette bit her lower lip, unable to stop herself from fidgeting as Valentino taunted Vox, squirming in much the same way that Vox was, and for the same reasons too.
Sue her, she was turned on by watching the men she loved engage in foreplay.
"That outdated fucker wouldn't know a hard-on if it smacked him in his smiling face" Vox snarled, his grip on his glass tightening so much it cracked. He quickly put it down, it was empty anyway.
Vox and Velvette exchanged looks, before bursting out laughing at the mental image of Alastor being physically assaulted with an erect phallus.
Vox, however, wasn't laughing.
"Val, jerk me off. Please jerk me off, please..." Vox pleaded, shifting in his seat like he'd had one martini too many and not enough breaks. Velvette snickered as Valentino picked up a tube of purple lipstick, motioning for Velvette to look at him before carefully painting it over her lips.
"There, all done... now do you mind if I fix our television? It appears to be malfunctioning" he said with a flirty smile.
Velvette nodded, shifting to the side to give Val room to get on the floor of the limo.
"Alright, you overgrown mocoso, stop squirming and let papá look after you" he said, hooking Vox's thin legs over his shoulders with one set of hands while undoing Vox's fly with the other.
Velvette took the opportunity to pull out her phone and open up the front-facing camera to see what Valentino had been working so hard on.
She gasped.
"You're a fucking artist when you're not being a scumbag, babes" she flattered, genuinely impressed.
Her skin glimmered with every motion, the high points of her face and clavicles were highlighted with glitter, while purple highlighter and blush was blended in a sunset of lilacs and violets across her eyes and cheeks. Around her eyes, Valentino had painstakingly drawn the outline of white wings.
It took Velvette a second to realize what he'd been inspired by when he'd painted her face, examining her purple lips before gasping again in realization.
"You turned me into a butterfly!" she said, delighted "Oh, it's beautiful, Val!"
"I'm good at what I do! Whether it's fucking, filming, or just making you even prettier than you already are" Valentino winked.
"Look at your chest, darling" Vox advised, breathless as Valentino ran the palm of his hand over the front of his increasingly-sticky underwear.
Velvette angled the phone down, laughing as she realized what Val had done with her rhinestones. Three interlocking pink, blue, and purple v-shapes were carefully dotted across her clavicles in glittering rhinestones, mimicking the structure on top of the V Tower.
"I love it" she said, grinning, before settling back to enjoy the show.
Vox shivered, his claws raking gashes into the limo seat as Valentino pulled out his erection. Val briefly paused to pull off his sunglasses and hand them over to Velvette, who took them with a giggle and slipped them on. She watched her boys through the rose-tinted lenses, smiling with carefree adoration at them both.
Val stroked his hand over Vox's erection a few times, smirking at the noises he elicited. It sounded like a television speaker that was suffering from severe interference.
Vox's penis looked far more human than Valentino's, and it was a regular (if large) size by human standards. But it didn't look completely normal; asides from being dark blue with a luminescent cyan tip, it was ringed with equally-luminescent cyan streaks.
The glow wasn't enough to penetrate fabric, or keep Vel and Val awake at night, but it was enough to leave Valentino's face slightly illuminated as he leaned down and took Vox into his mouth.
Velvette watched them, too entranced to even think about pulling out her phone as Valentino expertly sucked off his long-time partner, making Vox whimper and gasp.
Valentino hadn't prostituted himself for a while, but he was good. Good enough that he soon had Vox clinging to his ruff, his screen glitching and his voice distorting as he whined "Val, Val, Val!" and came down the other's throat mere moments before they pulled up outside the club.
Valentino swallowed, making eye contact with Velvette as he did so.
Velvette shivered, licking her lips subconsciously.
Val leaned back, licking the tip of Vox's cock affectionately before he sat back down on one of the seats.
"We're here" he said, wiping his mouth with the back of one of his hands as Vox quickly tucked himself away, a blush gracing his screen.
Vox wasn't really an exhibitionist, even fucking in the car made him squirm. He must've been unbearably pent-up to have gotten so needy. The thought made Velvette cross and uncross her legs, shifting in her seat once more as Val opened the limo's door and pulled himself out, offering one hand to Vox and another to her.
They exchanged a smile, before taking Valentino's hands without hesitation.
Club Chernobog was one of the most exclusive clubs in town, comparable to Forbidden Fruit in terms of exclusivity. The line to get in snaked around for longer than the eye could see, but The Vees were waved through without question by the bouncer; an axolotl with tattoos all over his arms.
As they were guided through the club- a dark, gothic, multi-story affair full of dark nooks that overlooked a pulsating dance floor illuminated by flashing neon lights and smothered with artificial fog-Valentino glanced down at Velvette, smirking.
"You look excited" he teased.
Valentino had decades of experience with sex, of course he could tell that she was aroused. It was a turn-on to Velvette, in the past, but now it made her squirm in a less desirable way.
Vox needed one of Val's arms around his waist and another around his shoulders to stop himself from stumbling, he was so unsteady after his orgasm. Even so, he glanced at Velvette with a smirk, wolf-whistling.
"Fuck you" Velvette flipped him off.
"Don't worry, my dear, we'll be doing that soon enough" Vox said.
"Yeah, if by some miracle your old man dick gets hard again before the end of the financial year"
"Oh ha, ha, ha. Guess who's not getting eaten out tonight?"
"You fucking suck at it anyway" Velvette lied, making Vox and Val both laugh.
Valentino had booked them a private booth, tucked away in a corner that was within easy walking distance of the dance floor, while still enjoying privacy and quiet enough for them to talk to each other. A velvet rope and a sign with "Reserved By: Valentino" proclaimed in cursive blocked access to the little nook, ensuring nobody would bother them asides from the serving staff.
They had been led to their table by a terrified-looking girl with fox ears, who practically shrank in size as Valentino leered down at her.
"You're wasted here, why don't you come work for me? I'll pay you far, far better than this shit-hole ever could" he cooed, slipping a cigarette holder into his mouth and grinning as Vox wordlessly lit his cigarette for him.
"Uh... um... I..." the fox girl stammered.
"You suck dick, don't you? Do you do anal? You'd look good bending over" Val continued, reaching out and brushing his hand against her face.
Velvette was straddling Vox in Valentino's bed, shivering as Val's rings brushed against her skin...
"I thought tonight was supposed to be about us, Val!" Velvette whined, wrapping her arms around one of Valentino's arms "This trollop couldn't make it as a set dresser in my studio, don't waste your time. She'd be a terrible pornstar"
Valentino sighed, but nodded.
"Fuck off" Velvette shooed the fox girl away, she wisely fled.
Vox and Val settled down into the booth, getting comfortable while Velvette awkwardly stood to the side, feeling sick.
"Vel?" Vox asked.
"I... need the bathroom" Velvette lied.
"Do you want me to order for you?" Val asked causally, while Vox adjusted his sweater-vest, looking self-conscious.
"Sure, thanks. Make it something greasy, I'm fucking starving"
Valentino nodded, while Vox smiled up at her, before his eyes flicked to her sparkling handbag.
The potion felt like it weight a hundred pounds, though it was likely Velvette's own guilt making it seem so heavy. She kept adjusting her bag as though it bothered her.
"I can hold your bag for you" he offered, kindly.
"NO!" Velvette said, a little too fast.
Vox and Val stared blankly at her.
"I have some intimate... things in here. I don't want to give Val ammunition to mock me with" she lied, flushing red under the club's lights.
"Sweetheart, if you brought in a vibrator, I'm the last person to make fun of you. If you need to relax, you need to relax. I've jerked off in practically every bathroom in Hell, I get it" Val said.
"Valentino, you don't jerk off in the bathroom because you need to relax, you do it because you're a fucking pervert" Vox ran his eyes over Valentino's outfit.
"Keep the judgemental looks to yourself, babes. Valentino cross-dressing is the least creepy thing about him" Velvette said, narrowing her eyes.
"Aw, thank-you querida. She's got a point, Vox. I can't do a fucking thing if I've tucked my dick away" Valentino smiled innocently.
Vox snorted, scooting over in the booth so he could lean again Val.
"Don't be too long, Vel. Or I might need to rip off Val's stupid fucking clothes so he can do his worst to me" he said, rubbing Valentino's knee.
"Take your time!" Val said with a wink.
Velvette laughed without mirth, before turning and walking away, her smile vanishing the second Vox and Val couldn't see her face anymore. With guilt weighing heavily on her mind, she began weaving through the crowd as she made her way to the bathroom.
In life, Velvette was used to shoving her way across dance floors, but in Hell, the crowd fearfully parted before her. She was at the bathrooms in record time, skipping the line without so much as a peep of complaint and making her way to a stall.
She locked the door, hanging her bag on the hook and sitting down on the lid of the toilet before burying her head in her hands.
It was hard, to face reality that the happily ever after she thought she'd found was just her own personal hell in disguise. That she thought she'd found her Prince Charmings, but they were as monstrous as their demonic appearances made them look.
But it was even harder to face the other reality. The reality that her happy illusion wasn't completely fictional. The reality that there were going to be moments like this, moments when everything was perfect...
...moments when, despite the perfection, the horror of Valentino's true nature would still flicker through. She thought about the way he'd propositioned that poor fox girl and shuddered. She thought about how it felt, knowing that Valentino could just as easily decide to victimize Velvette in place of the vulpine waitress, and knowing that Vox wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop him.
She choked back a horrified sob.
Velvette had always known that Vox and Val were dangerous and cruel people, but she had assumed that she was the exception to their sadism. She'd always assumed they'd never hurt her.
"Stupid. Selfish. Fucking. Idiot" she snapped under her breath, leaning forwards as she felt tears well in her eyes, ripping off Val's rose-tinted glasses and letting her tears drip straight onto the floor to try and protect her makeup.
Velvette was the youngest Overlord in Hell. She was feared. She was respected.
She was cowering in a toilet stall, muffling her whimpers and leaning over so her tears wouldn’t ruin her makeup, a potion that promised a dubious outcome hidden in her handbag and dread clutching her heart in an icy grip.
Angel Dust sometimes said he always thought his story would end with him dead from Valentino’s poison, Velvette envied him for how certain and swift his doom was.
Vox and Valentino didn’t take betrayal well. If she was caught, her suffering could last for all eternity.
Even the thought of her plan, shaky and uncertain as it was, actually working was no comfort. She didn’t trust Alastor. Nobody in their right mind trusted The Radio Demon. She could be inadvertently planning to murder one of the men she loved.
…and once the dust had settled, Lucifer only knew how long Vox would make her suffer for.
Speak of The Devil and he shall appear…
“Velvette, right? I’m sorry to intrude, I tried to call out but you wouldn’t answer” someone was whispering to her, a warm hand resting on her trembling shoulder.
Despite the gentle tone of the intruder’s voice, Velvette startled so badly that she shrieked and lashed out, kicking the newcomer in the shin.
The newcomer yelped in pain, and Velvette recoiled back with a curse on her tongue that quickly died when she saw who she was looking at.
Her first thought was; Lucky Charlie Morningstar, getting to call this delicious twink Daddy.
Her second thought was; I just assaulted The King of Hell. I’m toast.
"...oh fuck. Oh fuck. I am so sorry, your Majesty!" she pleaded, staring at Lucifer fucking Morningstar as the fallen angel rubbed his injured shin with a wince, his other hand gripping his apple-topped cane so tightly that his grey knuckles were turning white.
The stall's door was open, but the bathroom was empty. The other club-goers had understandably cleared out at the sight of The King of Hell.
"What... what are you doing here?" Velvette said, shocked and confused. Lucifer smiled kindly, recovering from his kicked shin and taking a step back to give her some space.
"I came in here to wash my hands, and I could hear you crying. Is everything okay?" he asked gently.
"What are you doing here?" Velvette repeated instead of answering "...and wasn't that door locked?"
Lucifer glanced at the lock of the door, which locked and then unlocked itself with barely a flick of the wrist from him.
"Angelic power" he explained brightly, making Velvette smile a little bit. It was intimidating, to be alone with the King of Hell, but the warmth of his personality was infectious.
…not to mention that The Prince Of Lies was surprisingly fun-sized in person. That fact alone gave Velvette the confidence to be slightly cheeky.
"It's a bit rude of you to just force your way in here, I could've been doing anything!" She said, more than a little suggestively.
"I was knocking on the door for five minutes, and I did warn you I was coming in- you were upset, not to hear me. Is there anything I can do to help?" he ignored the innuendo, pulling out a monogrammed handkerchief and handing it to her with a flourish "Keep it"
Velvette smiled gratefully, dabbing carefully at her face.
Velvette didn't know much about Lucifer, asides from his status as a fallen angel and the fact that he was Charlie's father... but one thing she did know was how much of a reclusive loner he was.
Why the fuck is he so keen to do charity for a Sinner? Word on the street is that he doesn't even like Sinners...
…oh. Wait. I know what’s going on.
"Charlie told you about what happened at Forbidden Fruit" she remembered with an exasperated and slightly embarrassed sigh "Your Majesty, as I already explained to Charlie, I was-"
"Velvette, I'm the oldest thing down here. I know what it looks like when someone's in pain. I know the look in their eyes" Lucifer said softly "Even if it wasn't a skill learned from millennia of people-watching, it would be a skill learned through lived experience. Lilith wasn't as horrific as your moth friend is, but she was not a kind spouse"
Velvette's eyes widened, and she stared at Lucifer, momentarily lost for words.
"That... That's... Vox would kill for that sort of intel, why are you telling me? I could destroy the entire Morningstar family's legacy!" she finally said, shocked.
"I'm telling you because I am trying, as Charlie has tried, to get you to come with me and leave this place. Please, Velvette, leave your 'friends' and come to the hotel. You will be safe there, I can protect you"
Lucifer reached out, taking one of her hands in his. His hand was warm, as though he were running a fever, but it was also dry and smooth without so much as a trace of clamminess.
“There are few crimes I abhor as much as rape, Velvette. When I’m summoned by a low-life piece of shit who has violated and degraded others in the most intimate way possible in my name? I do things to them that would make Valentino go green” he smiled so sweetly that Velvette didn’t even have time to shiver “Nothing would make me happier right now than to take you away and wrap you in blankets, safe from anyone who’d ever hurt you”
If Velvette didn’t have a crush on Lucifer before…
The offer was tempting. Extremely tempting.
But there was just one problem…
"Vox-" she started to say.
"Vox has made his decisions. That chain around your neck tells me everything I need to know about his character- I can see contracts, Velvette, don't lie to me" Lucifer said, holding up a finger to silence Velvette before she could protest.
Velvette was once again speechless with shock.
Lucifer sighed sympathetically.
"Look, Velvette. It's Charlie's birthday, and Angel Dust booked a private room for her here. It turns out that using my name without asking me first opens all sorts of doors” Lucifer explained with a smile "Come join us, then come home with us. You can have some cake. It’s Devil’s Food Cake…”
Velvette was shaking her head before he had finished speaking.
"I came here with my boys. I'm going to have a night out with my boys" she said firmly.
"Velvette..." Lucifer sighed "I could force you to change your mind, you know. But I gave you assholes free will, and I might be The King Of Hell but I’m not such a douche-bag that I’d go back on that. I’m honor-bound to respect your choice”
Velvette's eyes widened minutely at the not-threat. Lucifer let go of her hand and straightened himself up.
"...at least let me escort you back to your... uh... boys?" he offered, holding out his arm chivalrously with a cocky smile “Come on, nobody will forget seeing you on my arm”
Velvette sighed, before she finally returned Lucifer's smile, getting to her feet and taking his arm.
Lucifer’s smile spread as he pulled her close to his side, and Velvette was polite enough not to make a scathing joke about being taller than the King of Hell, allowing him to escort her out of the stall.
“Oh, and don’t forget this” Lucifer handed her the sparkling handbag with a flourish.
Velvette’s heart skipped a beat as she saw her hard-earned potion, still concealed within the bag, dangling from the fingertips of The King Of Hell. She quickly took the bag and slung it across herself, stuffing Lucifer's handkerchief and Val's glasses inside before zipping it up again.
"Thank-you. Oh… Is Alastor here?" Velvette asked, changing the topic quickly to get Lucifer’s mind off the handbag she was so protective of.
"He is. He wasn't keen on the idea, but I begged him to be my date" Lucifer said breezily.
"Your date?" Velvette stared at Lucifer in horror as he opened the bathroom door, the noise of the club washing over her.
"Mm-hmm, we've been going steady for a month now. That's what they say, isn't it? Going steady?" Lucifer asked casually.
"Holy shit, you're fucking the Radio Demon?! Vox is going to have a full system meltdown if he finds out about that. Please don't tell him, it’ll ruin the night" Velvette said, not without a shocked giggle "I always thought Alastor was... you know... uh... not into that?"
Lucifer raised a brow.
"You know. Isn’t he Asexual? I don't know if he'd use that exact terminology though, being so old. Not that there's anything wrong with being old, ha..." Velvette quickly corrected herself as she remembered who she was talking to.
Lucifer laughed, not offended in the slightest.
"He is, but he's not repulsed by sex. He says making love to me is no more uncomfortable for him than a brisk cardio session” Lucifer said.
”That’s… surprising. But seriously, I just want to have a nice night out. Please don’t tell the boys about you two, I don’t want to deal with Vox’s temper tantrum right now” she pleaded.
Lucifer looked up at her, before nodding.
“I’ll be discreet” he said with a kind smile.
Everyone openly stared from a safe distance as the fallen angel and the Overlord passed by, but their reactions were nothing compared to the open looks of shock on Valentino and Vox’s faces as Lucifer escorted Velvette back to their booth.
“Here we go, one misplaced Velvette” he said, letting go of her “Have a wonderful evening, sweetheart, and don’t be afraid to reach out if there’s anything I can do for you”
“Y-your Majesty” Vox said, too shocked to say anything else. Valentino was just speechless, a nacho halfway to his mouth as he stared blankly at Lucifer, watching the tiny king walk away.
“Velvette… what the fuck?” Vox said, finally.
“I could make a fucking fortune off him” Valentino sighed, with dollar signs practically in his eyes as he brought his cigarette holder to his lips and took a deep drag.
Velvette sat down next to Vox, reaching out to grab a nacho chip for herself.
“Fucking royalty in the bathrooms is one hell of a way to raise our profile” Valentino said "I'm impressed, chica"
“Screw you, I’m not that cheap. I ran into him at the sinks” Velvette said, shaking her head in disapproval before reaching into her handbag and pulling out Valentino's glasses, leaving the bag open as she grabbed another chip.
“I didn’t think angels even had to piss” Vox said, Valentino just shrugged, slipping his glasses back on.
"He was so desperate to stake a claim on Velvette, he should've just pissed on her. Ooh, he did not want to let you go, muñequita. 'Don’t be afraid to reach out if there’s anything I can do for you', he was more transparent than Voxxy's crush on the Radio Demon"
Velvette felt a blush spread over her cheeks, saying nothing.
Is Lucifer actually that worried about me?
"Come on, I do not have a fucking crush on that freak!" Vox complained as a terrified young waiter approached the table with a tray of drinks, putting them down in front of The Vees. It wasn’t the fox girl from before, and Velvette didn’t blame her in the slightest for changing tables.
“Spill one drop and you don’t want to know what I’ll do to you” Valentino threatened as the waiter placed a round of shots on the table.
The waiter swallowed, but did as he was told, placing all the glasses carefully on the table without spilling so much as a drop.
“Anything else?” he asked timidly as Velvette examined the Cosmopolitan that had been ordered for her.
“No. Leave” Valentino waved him away, and he gratefully fled.
“They forgot the sugar rim…” Velvette complained.
“Really? What a shame. You might actually have to taste the alcohol like a grown-up” Vox needled her while Valentino examined the shot glasses closely, leaning in to compensate for his terrible eyesight.
“Val, my dear, I know you’re a sadist but this is silly. Terrorize the waiting staff another night, this evening was supposed to be about us” Vox finally said “Anyway, I don’t see any spills”
Valentino sighed, but nodded, sitting up straight and picking up a shot glass, snuffing out his cigarette holder on the table.
“To us” he said.
Vox and Velvette took their own glasses, smiling and clinking them against Val’s, before all three of them downed the elixirs in one.
“Ugh. That’s a bit sweet” Vox shuddered “I was checking my phone when you ordered, what the fuck did you get?”
“It's sickly, Val, what the hell did I just drink?” Velvette complained, just as morbidly curious as Vox was.
Val looked at his own empty glass contemplatively, slipping his cigarette holder back into his mouth and lighting a fresh cigarette.
“It’s just a gummy bear shot. It’s not that bad” Val pouted, blowing out one of his signature, heart-shaped smoke rings “I thought you’d like it, cariño”
“Where the fuck is the gummy bear?” Velvette complained, her eyes falling on the other drink Valentino had ordered for himself. She slowly reached out towards it, before Valentino casually picked it up and out of her grasp.
“That one's mine, Vel. Yours is the pink one, remember? As for the gummy bear, they must’ve forgotten it. Oops. The glasses were too full anyway” Val brushed it off in a surprising act of mercy for someone ready to kill over spilled drinks “Come on, I’m bored, let’s dance”
Vox and Velvette exchanged a look at Valentino’s exhausting mood swings as the moth got to his feet and swished away towards the dance floor without another word.
“Do you want to dance?” Vox asked.
“Do you?” Velvette responded.
Vox grinned suggestively down at her, reaching out and rubbing her knee.
“Anything to be pressed against you, my dear” he teased.
“You’re such a dirty old man, you know” Velvette got to her feet. Maybe it was the shot, or maybe it was meeting Lucifer, but she was starting to feel the warm glow of arousal spreading across her body.
Vox stood up, taking her hand and pulling her towards Valentino. The crowd parted swiftly to make way for them, scattering enough to give them their own little space on the dance floor.
Being feared had its perks.
Velvette didn't know the song that was playing. It was mostly just synthesized rhythm, easy to dance to but hardly catchy or easy to distinguish. Vox took her hands to pull her into a swing, before nearly stumbling as Valentino suddenly grabbed Velvette and pulled her away from Vox by the shoulders, pulling her flush against him and swaying with the beat.
"Save the Jitterbug for another day. Don't exhaust yourself, Vox, the evening's only just begun" he advised.
Vox frowned, approaching the two and taking Velvette's hands so he could sway with her, looking annoyed.
"This isn't dancing, Val" he complained. Despite the wide berth everyone was giving them, the Vees only took up about a square foot of space on the dance floor.
Vox and Valentino were both talented dancers, Velvette had been on the receiving end of enough impromptu Lindy Hops to know that, she had know idea why Valentino was forcing them to all stay so close together. Nevertheless, she closed her eyes and let herself sway with the beat, endless what-ifs making her frown.
How the fuck am I going to drug Val? Do I slip it in his drink while he's not looking? What the fuck happens if he catches me? What if Vox catches me? What if... what if...
Oh my God...
One of Valentino's hands had run down her back, before slipping between her legs so that one of his long fingers could slowly start rubbing at her clitoris through her panties.
Velvette felt like she should've been repulsed and afraid, but she wasn't. All she could feel was the steadily creeping ache of arousal and need, making her hold onto Vox's hands even tighter and whimper.
"Vox, Vox, Vox, look at the state our muñeca is in..." Valentino purred, leaning down and licking Velvette's cheek, her skin tingling where his saliva left a glistening trail.
Vox stared at Velvette, and she couldn't help but grin when she saw he had another erection. She pulled her hands out of his grip, reaching between his legs and squeezing him gently.
Vox groaned, his claws suddenly grabbing Velvette's arms and forcing her hands up.
"Take off her panties" he said, his voice a surprisingly raspy growl.
"My pleasure" Valentino purred, a cloud of pink smoke washing over them both as he hooked his fingers in Velvette's underwear, ripping them off easily and tossing the torn fabric aside without a care.
Vox and Velvette stared at each other hungrily, Velvette desperately pawing at Vox's sweater-vest, squirming on the spot as he held onto her arms.
"Pick her up" Vox said. Valentino nodded, his lower arms hooking underneath Velvette's thighs to scoop her up. Meanwhile, his upper arms moved to her chest, unclasping her bra and letting it fall open, exposing her breasts in the middle of the dance floor.
Velvette didn't even feel embarrassed, spreading her legs and wrapping them around Vox's waist as he unzipped his fly, pulling out his erection again.
"Are you ready?" he asked kindly, reaching out and stroking Velvette's face. She nodded eagerly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
She was in the middle of a crowded dance floor, with two men she was only pretending not to be furious with, with a man who'd raped her only a few days ago holding her in place against a man who'd tricked her into signing her soul to him.
Shouldn't I not want this? Why do I want this so badly?
All thoughts were driven out of her head as Vox thrust into her, one of his hands cupping her face while Valentino caught the other one, pressing it against one of Velvette's breasts.
"Doesn't she feel nice to play with, Vox?" he whispered, another cloud of smoke washing over them both.
Vox nodded, groaning as he leaned in and kissed Velvette, his tongue slipping into her mouth. Velvette whined at the delightfully familiar, static-y buzz against her skin. She reached up, holding onto the corners of his screen as she moaned.
She came quickly, clinging to Vox even tighter as she did so. As quickly as she started to recover from her first, she could already feel her second orgasm building. She buried her head in Vox's shoulder, giving in and letting herself be used, whining and moaning like one of Val's whores.
She didn't know how long it went on for, she didn't even know how many times she came. Everything went a little hazy, and it didn’t stop being hazy until Vox climaxed. His speakers emitted a few glitching noises as his hips stuttered, coming inside Velvette.
Velvette's thighs were already slick, so Vox's semen ran down them and dripped onto the dance floor with little resistance as Valentino gently pulled her off him, lowering her back to her feet before turning her around so he was smirking down at her.
Vox doesn’t like having sex in public… what’s going on?
"Hold her up for me. I want a turn" said Val, and that was when Velvette realized he’d taken off his clothes at some point, leaving his modesty intact only by virtue of his wings wrapping around his body like a coat.
He was still wearing his heels, towering over Velvette and Vox as he pulled out his intimidating erection.
Vox nodded at Valentino’s request, picking Velvette up by the waist and helping her wrap her arms and legs around Val, his hands staying at her waist as he and Valentino carefully guided her as far down onto Val's erection as she could take.
Velvette felt like she should've been horrified, to be being penetrated with the same organ that had killed her not too long ago. But all she could think about was how horny she was, and how much she wanted Val.
She kissed him without a care in the world, sighing as he slipped his long tongue into her mouth.
Valentino was close to orgasm, she could feel it, she could taste it as he kissed her, his saliva dripping down her throat and making her head spin...
...but before he could come, they were interrupted.
"Get off her. Right now" warned a dangerously soft voice.
It was like time had suddenly stood still, the music cut out, and the entire club was suddenly flooded with florescent lights, chasing away the shadows and bringing everything into sharp relief.
Velvette slowly looked up, blinking in the sudden brightness. Behind her she could feel Vox stiffen up, and heard the faint beep of an error notification. He was probably just as stunned as she was.
Standing not a few feet away, Lucifer was leaning on his cane, his expression murderous and his sharp teeth bared in a furious snarl.
Velvette wasn't sure when it had happened, but the dance floor had completely cleared out, save for the Vees, Lucifer, and what seemed to be every inhabitant of the Hazbin Hotel, staring at Velvette with a mix of horror and pity.
"You really fucking thought you could come here, to a public place, on my daughter's birthday, and rape your partners in front of me?! You sick, disgusting, low-life piece of shit!" Lucifer snarled.
"You'll annoy Vox. He doesn't think men can be raped" said Velvette quietly. She knew she should've felt embarrassed, with so many eyes on her as Valentino held her in his arms in the middle of an empty dance floor, ten inches deep inside her as Vox's come dripped down her legs, but she wasn't.
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, I'm doing no such thing. Tell them, Velvette"
"I'm happy" Velvette smiled dreamily, frowning in confusion as she heard several shocked gasps.
"...what's wrong with Vox?" she heard Angel Dust's voice whisper, but she was too far gone to turn her head to check on her other partner.
"See? She's happier here" Valentino purred.
"I SAID GET OFF HER!" Lucifer snarled, his wings unfurling behind him.
Velvette had seen Lucifer's true form during his fight with Adam, but one thing the cameras didn't pick up was that it hurt to look at in person. She buried her head in Val’s ruff, whining in pain. She could feel Valentino covering his own eyes with a cry, nearly dropping her in the process.
Wait, where's Vox?
She was only dimly aware of someone gently pulling her off Valentino and putting her back on her feet, pulling her skirt back down and wrapping her jacket around her as she was escorted away from her lovers.
"It's okay, everything's okay. I've got you, Toots" Angel Dust whispered in her ear, holding her in his arms and letting her hide her burning eyes in his fluff.
"She's coming back to the hotel with us, and that's final. How fucking dare you!? What is wrong with you!?" Lucifer's voice sounded normal again, albeit still murderously furious, and Velvette dared to look up.
Lucifer was using his wings to bring himself to eye-level with a cowering Valentino, holding the dangerously pointy-looking end of his cane against the other's throat.
"I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Valentino sputtered, staring down at the cane with an increasingly fearful expression.
The cane.
Lucifer's cane.
Lucifer, the fallen angel's cane.
"DON'T!" she screamed "Don't kill him! Please don't kill him!"
Angel Dust's arms tightened protectively around her, trying to gently pull her away.
"Vox! Vox! Where's Vox?!" Velvette wept, feeling helpless, sick, and confused.
She'd only had one shot... what was wrong with her?
"Velvette, it's okay, you're safe now. Let us take you home" Charlie and Vaggie were suddenly standing in front of Velvette. Velvette felt a pang of guilt as she saw Charlie's sparkly red dress and Vaggie's black crop-top and metallic white skirt. They were dressed for a party, a party that The Vees had inadvertently ruined.
“No, no… leave me alone. I don't want you. I want Vox. Where's Vox? Vox! Vox!” Velvette called out, looking around the dance floor wildly.
When she saw him, she felt her heart sink down to her high-heeled boots. Something was very, very wrong with Vox.
He was standing to the side, worryingly unsteady on his feet, and with a neutral expression frozen on his screen. Error messages flickered on and off as he stood there looking helpless. Humiliatingly, his now-flaccid penis rested against his leg, completely exposed for all to gawk at.
The crowds of Club Chernobog had cleared off the dance floor, but they were still gathered around, spectating the confrontation before them with hushed whispers and giggles.
Poor, poor Vox...
A mass of shadows rose up behind Vox, and Alastor materialized next to his former friend, grinning ear-to-ear with more than a little bit of vindictive pleasure at Vox's public humiliation. It was a testament to the severity of Vox's condition that he didn't even react when Alastor rested his claws on his shoulder, leaning in to stage-whisper in his ear.
"Vox, old pal, it's quite alright. There's no need to make such a spectacle of yourself. Allow me to make you decent again" he said with his usual anachronistic brand of charm, reaching around to slip Vox's cock back into his trousers and zip up his fly in one deft movement "All better"
Vox barely reacted, despite having at least half of his fantasies fulfilled by virtue of The Radio Demon touching his dick.
"Now come along, my dear. It's not safe for you with that monster, we all know what he's been doing to you behind closed doors, and we know it'll only get worse without dear Velvette there" Alastor continued, wrapping a protective arm around Vox and guiding him towards Angel Dust and Velvette.
Vox's expression was still terrifyingly blank. Velvette whimpered in concern, shivering as Charlie reached out to cup her face in her hands.
Charlie's hands were soft and warm, just like Lucifer's.
"Velvette, listen to me. You're both safe, Valentino's not going to do anything to either of you. Come home with us. Let us look after you" Charlie was saying, practically pleading as she started brushing aside tears Velvette wasn't aware she'd shed.
"What's... wrong with me?" Velvette slurred "Everything feels wrong, it's too much! It's just too much!"
Angel Dust squeezed her gently.
"Val's spit acts differently depending on how much you have, what it's mixed with, and his mood when he hocks it into your mouth. I know this feeling. Val gave you the nastiest dose possible. It'll pass soon, don't worry"
"I didn't do anything wrong! My saliva's an aphrodisiac! I can't fucking help it!" Valentino was shrieking in outrage "They're my family! Let them go! Give them back to me!"
Lucifer pressed his cane against his jugular, and the moth demon wisely shut up.
"What did you do to Vox? Why's he acting like that?" Lucifer asked, shooting Vox a concerned look as the Overlord swayed helplessly in Alastor's grip. The Radio Demon waved a hand in front of his face.
"Yoo-hoo? Vox? Is anyone home?" he tapped a finger against Vox's screen gently, getting no response.
"...alright, maybe he had too much... he practically drank a whole fucking martini made of my spit on the way over, but I didn't force him to!" Valentino said, shrinking into himself as Lucifer glared him down.
"What?" Velvette stared at Valentino, shocked.
"The Kina Lillet is… not Kina Lillet anymore. Vox was right. I tampered with it" Valentino finally admitted "What? You've never pulled a prank on either of us in your life? You once dyed all my whites bubblegum pink!"
"That's not a prank, you sick psycho, that is just fucking revolting" Angel Dust shuddered "Is he going to be okay?"
"I don't fucking know, I'm not a chemist!" Valentino snapped, even as he shot Vox a surprisingly concerned look.
Alastor kept trying and failing to shake Vox out of his reverie.
"Don't you have some mediocre insult to toss at me?" he queried, chuckling darkly "Nothing? No? Oh dear, I see..."
"Valentino's saliva shouldn't be doing that" Velvette said, fear creeping up inside her "No matter how much he's drunk"
"It's not the spit, Velvette. He's gone into a partial shutdown" Alastor said "I've seen it before, when he couldn't cope with reality enough to face it. I think he came back to his senses enough to realize he was essentially raping you in public, and couldn't cope with the guilt. He really does love you, you know"
"Vel, come on. Let's go home" Angel Dust said softly "Al and Lucifer can look after Vox, okay? You need a shower, and you need to get the fuck out of the public eye"
"Will Vox be okay?" Velvette asked weakly.
To Velvette's complete shock, Alastor casually moved his hand to the back of Vox's screen, fiddling around until a VoxTek logo replaced Vox's face. Vox was loathe to let Velvette or Val mess around with his wiring, but Alastor's familiarity with his system indicated that The Radio Demon had a more intimate understanding of Vox's biology than even Vox's long-time partners.
Given that Vox had completely upgraded himself since he and Alastor had fallen out, Velvette couldn't help but wonder how Alastor was so copacetic in handling Vox's cyborg-like intricacies.
"There we go, he'll be as good as new in just a few moments" Alastor promised, patting Vox's shoulder.
Lucifer turned away from Valentino, approaching Velvette with a warm smile.
"I think it's time for a mug of cocoa and some pancakes for you, Miss Velvette. Allow me" he offered her his arm again "I'll give you the best room we have available- it's duck themed! I designed it myself!"
Charlie and Vaggie looked pained, Velvette felt a tiny smile tug at her lips. She could only imagine what sort of an eyesore Lucifer had designed to elicit that reaction.
"That's very generous of you, sir, but I'm not going to the hotel. Please. I know... I know that this doesn't look good, but I promise... everything is just fine"
Alastor shot her a look, inclining his head curiously.
Velvette allowed herself a tiny nod that nobody but Alastor would pick up on.
I have the potion. I'm going to use it.
"...if she's going to be so insistent..." Alastor started to say, but Lucifer cut him off.
"Velvette, honey, I am not comfortable with sending you home with that overgrown agrotis exclamationis-"
"The fuck?" Velvette interjected.
"-it's a species of moth with hearts on it's wings. In any case, I'm not comfortable with just walking away. Please. I'm the King of fucking Hell. There is nothing he can do to hurt you if you're under my protection"
"...your majesty, please. You don't understand. We love him. This is just a bad night, they happen, it'll all be fine in the morning"
"Velvette... it's like you're reading from a playbook. You're in a horrific cycle that's going to end badly for both of you" Lucifer sighed.
Velvette shook her head, despairing, before she slowly slid out of Angel Dust's grasp and to her knees. She looked up at Lucifer, before holding her hands in front of herself like she was praying "I'll do anything, Lucifer, don't do this. Don't break up The Vees"
Lucifer's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh, ooh... sweetheart, you don't need to do that. Please don't do that. That's not appropriate. Not for me of all people" Lucifer crouched down and took her hands in his "Velvette. I'm not going to force you, or Vox, to do anything you don't want to. But this isn't right. You are being abused, both of you. I can stop this shit-show dead in it's tracks, please let me do that for you"
Velvette shook her head, feeling ready to burst into tears, looking down at the floor and gasping as she fought against the urge to sob.
"Velvette?" Vox's voice made her look up, her eyes glassy.
Vox was looking down at her with a horrified expression. Velvette tried and failed to remember the last time he'd looked so wretchedly guilty about anything.
"Velvette, I'm so sorry. I..." he looked over at Valentino, narrowing his eyes as rage consumed him, his voice starting to distort dangerously "You fucking piece of..."
His rage was tempered as he slowly realized he was in Alastor's grip, flinching away from his former friend with a blush spreading over his face.
"I was just trying to help, my dear" said Alastor, stepping back and smoothing down his suit "You were quite the mess!"
Lucifer gently touched Velvette's face, looking into her eyes.
"Come back to the hotel. I will keep you safe"
Vox took a step towards them, looking at Lucifer nervously as he held his hand out.
"Come on, Babydoll. Let's go home" he said gently "Val, you're in some deep fucking shit!"
He was so obviously trying to claw back his authority, but nobody in the club was buying it. Even Valentino just smirked, crossing both sets of arms.
"Vox, our doors are open to you too. We'll keep you both safe" said Lucifer softly "Please, listen to me; this story isn't going to have a happy ending. I know that I'm far older than you, but you're still old enough to have seen this dance before"
Vox's expression flickered, before he looked back at Velvette.
"This evening has been well and truly fucked. We'll get take-out and watch whatever bullshit you want to, I won't even complain about the dialogue" he smiled weakly.
Velvette slowly looked between Vox and Lucifer, before getting to her feet and self-consciously tugging her skirt down.
Semen was still dripping down her legs, the sensation made her want to vomit.
"Well... thank-you, for the kind offer, Lucifer" she finally said "But... who would pass up the chance to force Vox to watch Mean Girls?"
Vox pretended to groan, but his heart clearly wasn't in it.
Velvette walked away from Angel Dust, Vaggie, Charlie, Lucifer, and the other assorted Hazbin do-gooders (and Alastor). She walked away from the people who wanted to help her...
...and she walked over to where Vox was standing a few feet away from Valentino, staring blankly at the moth-man as she wrapped her arms around Vox's thin waist. Vox rubbed her back comfortingly, running his claws through her hair.
"I am so, so sorry" he whispered to her, sounding close to tears himself.
"I'll break your contract" said Lucifer, making everyone turn to look at him in shock.
Velvette didn't say anything, squeezing her eyes shut and holding onto Vox even tighter.
"I didn't tell him, I swear I didn't tell him" she whispered.
"I believe you" Vox whispered back "You learned your lesson about spilling our secrets to well-meaning Morningstars in public bathrooms the other day"
It was a joke, but it made Velvette sob, holding onto the manipulative prick so tightly that Vox winced.
"We're going home. All three of us" he said to the group surrounding them "I'm sorry about your party, Princess. I'll be happy to reimburse you for any costs"
"...it didn't cost anything, I'm the King of Hell" Lucifer pointed out quietly, glancing at Charlie, the two exchanging looks of despair.
Everyone looked miserable, save for Valentino and Alastor, both of whom were smiling (but for different reasons).
Finally, Lucifer nodded.
“I sacrificed too much to give you all free will, just to take it away on a whim. But please, please… if you ever change your mind…”
“I won’t” said Velvette "Take us home, Vox"
Vox nodded, walking off the dance floor with his head held high and Velvette securely wrapped in his arms.
Velvette turned her head to watch Valentino, who paused as he passed by Angel, reaching out and stroking his face with one of his hands.
"I'll see you at work, amorcito, and I won't forget this" he threatened, making both Angel Dust and Velvette shudder.
"Using your victims as bodyguards is fucking sick, Val. If you weren't already in Hell, I'd say you've got a one-way ticket down here"
"Oh, Angel... do you really think I'm being punished? Look at everything I have. I'm being rewarded. Sweet dreams, precious"
With that, Valentino swept after them, chuckling to himself.
Velvette buried her head in Vox's chest, feeling sick.
"I have to pee" Val whined as they approached the limo "Wait a minute, I'm going to double back"
"Are you fucking insane? Hold it or piss on the tire, they'll tear you to pieces in there" Vox snapped, opening the car door for Velvette and ushering her inside.
Velvette and Vox made identical noises of disgust as Valentino shrugged and approached one of the tires of the limosuine.
"You're a pig!" Vox called out, getting inside and slamming the door shut, sitting next to Velvette and leaning back in his seat with a huff.
Velvette dropped her glittering bag down between them, feeling guilty as she heard the bottle clink inside. She leaned forwards, rubbing at her eyes.
I don’t want to keep lying to Vox…
“There’s something I need to tell you” she said “I lied, I never forgave you. Either of you. The truth is-”
But before she could work up the courage to confess, the decision was taken out of her hands.
"Velvette, what the fuck is this?" Vox asked, his voice so cold you practically had to scrape icicles off it.
Confused, Velvette turned to look at Vox, before she felt her whole world shatter to pieces around her.
Vox, however, was not looking at her. Her handbag was still open and the bottle was now in Vox’s clawed grip as he read the label. Slowly, Vox looked over at Velvette, his glare nothing short of murderous.
“Velvette, what the fuck have you been doing?”
To Be Continued…
Notes:
The "Vesper" is a cocktail popularized by Ian Fleming in the 1953 James Bond novel Casino Royale. It's the cocktail that the 'shaken, not stirred' line originates from. Don't bother trying to order a traditional one now, though, they don't make Kina Lillet anymore.
Chapter 7: I'm The Backbone Of The Vees
Notes:
If you're eating while reading this chapter... don't.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Vox’s claws clinked ominously against the bottle as he slid it back into Velvette's handbag, zipping the sparkling material up before putting it on his other side, out of Velvette's grasp.
Velvette watched him closely, trembling in fear. Vox was nowhere near as monstrous as Valentino, but he wasn’t harmless. Velvette had learned to be wary of his temper very early on, mere weeks after joining The Vees.
As a lighthearted joke, she'd posted a covertly-taken photograph of him to her Sinstagram. Vox had been messily eating a burger, with half of the contents down the front of his suit, and his mouth open and full of half-chewed junk food. It was hardly the most flattering impression of The TV Demon.
She and her followers had found it hilarious, while Valentino had laughed so hard he'd nearly wet himself, sprinting out of Velvette’s penthouse with one of his hands between his legs.
Vox, however, wasn't amused. Before Velvette could pick up on the danger cues enough to run, he'd advanced on her and slapped her so hard that her earring was torn out and there were bloody scratches across her face.
Groaning in pain, she'd met Vox's eyes as he'd leaned in, holding her face in place as his eye started spiralling threateningly.
"A word to the wise, my dear. Don't make me hurt you again"
He'd apologized for years after it happened, regretting it from the moment he'd calmed down enough to feel guilty. But maybe Velvette should've thought about it more before getting herself into this situation; trapped in a limousine with a furious Vox who knew she’d betrayed him.
She shrank back in her seat as Vox glared at her, unable to stop her eyes from continuously flicking down to his claws.
"...I was scared! I was so scared! I didn't know what to do, Valentino had hurt me more than I'd ever been hurt before, and you weren't listening- you just stole my soul! I wanted to protect myself and I wanted to protect you! So I... I went to Alastor! He can hear everything that happens in that fucking building, he knew I'd been raped! So I went to him for help and I made a deal with him! Oh God, I made a deal with Alastor..." Velvette babbled, going pale with horror.
Vox's eyes widened a fraction.
"You made a fucking deal with him?" he snarled, his claws digging into the seat, carving out gouges.
Maybe in another life, Velvette wouldn't have put up with Vox's fury. Maybe in that life she would've driven her heel into his screen, grabbed her bag, and fled to the Hazbin Hotel without looking back.
But in that other life, she wouldn't have loved Vox, and she wouldn't have loved Valentino. So she stayed put, shackled to danger by the chains of adoration.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I just wanted to h-help, I just wanted to p-protect y-y-you!" Velvette wept, screwing up her eyes and curling into a protective ball with her hands over her ears.
Vox is going to kill me. Oh God. Oh God. Vox is going to kill me. This is it. This is how it ends.
She cried out as she suddenly felt a collar form around her throat, dropping her hands and clinging to the chain it was attached to, weeping hysterically.
"Just make it quick, please make it quick" she begged "I don't w-want to die seeing how much you're enjoying hurting me"
"...Velvette" Vox said, his voice far softer and far closer to her than she'd been expecting.
Velvette opened her eyes, and flinched as she realized Vox was mere inches away from her face, his hands at her collar.
He's going to choke me to death. The man I love is going to choke me to death. Oh God. Oh God, please help me. I'm so sorry, for everything I've done I am so, so sorry... God, Lucifer, ANYONE?! Is anyone listening?! Don't let him do this! Please! Not Vox!
She let out a confused sob as the collar suddenly unlocked, falling away from her neck and dissolving into mist along with the chain. Vox reached into his jacket's pocket, pulling out a slip of paper that she recognised as her contract, waving it in the air as it also dissolved into mist.
What?
"You're free" Vox said, his expression completely unreadable.
Velvette sniffed, staring at him as she wiped her face with the sleeves of her red blazer. Vox's gaze softened, and he opened her handbag again, fishing out Lucifer's handkerchief before zipping the bag closed once more.
He handed the handkerchief to Velvette with a comforting smile.
"There, there. It's alright, my dear. It's all over" he said, leaving Velvette momentarily speechless as she dried her eyes.
"I don't understand, aren't you angry?" she finally said.
"I'm completely furious. But I'm angry with myself, not you" Vox leaned in, kissing her softly before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against his side "I fucked you, Velvette. Not in the way I'd like to, either. I fucked you over so badly that I drove you to go to Alastor for help. I am so, so sorry Vel. I truly am"
He ran his hand through her hair.
"Tell me about the deal you made with Alastor. How much danger are you in?" Vox asked.
"H-he just wanted a favor. If I agreed to do him a favor when he asked for it, he agreed to give me something to help with the... Valentino problem. I specified that the favor couldn't be used to harm you, or Val, or The Vees" said Velvette quietly.
"What the fuck is that green shit, anyway? This note is about as clear as mud. Fucking Alastor" Vox spat. He was holding Alastor's handwritten note in his hand, Velvette hadn't even noticed him slip it off the bottle.
"I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine" Velvette sighed.
The limo door was suddenly slammed open, and Vox quickly slipped the note into his pocket as Valentino climbed inside, dropping down onto the seat furthest away from Vox and Velvette.
"Sorry I took so long. I needed to jerk off" Val said, making the universal 'jerking off' motion with one of his hands.
Vox shook his head in disgust.
"I'm slashing your budget, and you're getting your studio's floor space cut down. VoxTek needs more warehouses anyway. You don't get to fuck around without finding out anymore"
"Like hell you are, Vox! What the fuck is everyone's problem!? I didn't even bruise either of you!" Val waved a dismissive hand "Or are you that prissy about me jerking off out there? I kept myself covered"
"You raped Velvette, and you tricked me into joining in!" Vox said, furious, holding Velvette a little closer to himself "...and you did it at Charlie Morningstar's fucking birthday party, for Lucifer to see!"
Valentino looked genuinely shocked.
"...I just oiled the wheels a bit, calm the fuck down! Weren't we going out to fool around anyway?" he said "Who gives a shit what that angelito thinks about us, he's barely a fucking King"
Vox shook his head, disgusted. Valentino pulled out his cigarette holder and a fresh cigarette, lighting it and taking a deep drag.
"You need to get that stick out of your ass, querida. Maybe this is new to Velvette, so I can forgive her being a mewling little cunt over a bit of fun, but you know what I like to do. You have forgiven me for it time and time again, even when I've done far worse"
Valentino chuckled, breathing out a plume of red smoke, looking more and more demonic by the second.
Vox glared at him.
"Fuck you" he snarled. Valentino just laughed again.
"You know, I think you like it, Voxxy. You can call it rape all you like, but I've seen you squirming against the bed, or the sofa, or wherever we end up. I've seen you rubbing your cock against whatever friction you can find, puta. I've seen the way you pant and moan, even while my dick is lubricated by your blood" Valentino purred "I've heard you moaning my name, when you're too weak to leave my bed after I'm done with you. Rubbing yourself under the covers, half-asleep, thinking I won't hear you. Angel used to do the same thing, you know"
His red gaze fell on Velvette.
"While you were trying to become a Vee, Vox spent every night that week masturbating to fantasies of fucking you so hard you'd be vomiting come, la perra"
Velvette gagged, looking away and covering her mouth.
"Val, shut the fuck up" Vox said, tightening his hold on her even more. Velvette was starting to feel uncomfortable "That isn't true and you know it"
"I'm sorry, am I upsetting our precious niñita? The sweet, innocent little princesa who never does anything wrong?" Val pretended to simper "You've ripped your models to shreds as many times I have have, you dollfaced little cunt. You knew what I was and you had no issue with it, but I lose my temper a couple of times and stop treating Princesa Velvette like a queen and suddenly you're crying to any fucker who'll take you seriously!"
"Valentino, I fucking swear-" Vox's voice was starting to distort and echo.
"You seriously have an issue with the way I fuck, Vel? You knew I was doing worse to my employees for years and you didn't bat an eye. You selfish, egotistical little bitch!" Valentino laughed mockingly.
Vox lunged before Velvette could react, tackling Valentino to the floor of the limousine and raking his claws against the other's face, leaving bloody gashes across his purple skin, blood gushing out of the fresh wounds and soaking Valentino's ruff in seconds.
"VOX! NO!" Velvette begged, terrified for Vox's safety and horrified at seeing the damage done to Valentino. She jumped off her seat, wrapping her arms tightly around Vox's shoulders and trying to drag him off.
Vox shrugged her off, shaking his screen.
"Velvette, sit down" Vox said darkly "I can handle this"
Before either of them could react, Valentino was up and had one of his hands around Vox's throat, choking him with a sadistic grin as he pinned him to the floor. Velvette scrambled away, curling up in the corner and grabbing her handbag, holding it close to herself.
"What was that, Vox? I can handle this, that's what you said, no?" Valentino chuckled "You are the most arrogant fucking bitch I've met, and I've met some stuck-up coños in my time. But what should I expect from someone who's been humiliated over, and over, and over again by The Radio Demon”
He glared at Velvette, who flinched.
"We're in fucking Hell, you assholes. Normally you get that, Vox. What changed?”
"...you... you..." Vox rasped, and Valentino loosened his grip so Vox could talk "You started hurting Velvette. Our love for her aside, she is our backbone"
"She's not worth the pity party everyone seems desperate to throw for her" Valentino sneered, glancing up again at Velvette, who was curled up tightly in the corner with tears dripping down her face, clutching her handbag protectively "Some fucking backbone. I know what you really are, Velvette. So does Vox. Do you really think Lucifer would coo over you so much if I told him what happens when you lose your temper with your models?"
Valentino looked down at Vox again, before letting go, getting up and sitting back down with a huff.
"Hurting her, you are pathetic, Vox. You both fucking are. Just like my whiny little bitches, just like fucking Angel Dust. You have no idea what pain actually is..." he lit another cigarette, the previous one having been stubbed out when Vox attacked him.
Vox sat up, crawling over to Velvette stiffly and wrapping his arms around her, bringing his legs up as he curled protectively around her. Velvette ended up curled against Vox's chest, peeking at Valentino over the top of Vox's knees.
Val smirked at them both, shaking his head.
"I was on the streets since I was a kid, by the time I was in my thirties my body was breaking down, and it was nasty. I would've agreed to anything to make the suffering stop. You know what a snuff film is, don't you? You're looking at the world's first snuff star. I spent the last weeks of my life locked away in some hellhole in South America with no friends except a fucking plague of silk moths, filming... you can't even fucking imagine! I was praying for death long before it finally came"
"...holy shit" Velvette breathed, staring at Valentino as he poured himself a drink.
"I might not always be an angel to my bitches, but their lives are heaven compared to what mine was" he said, downing his drink in one before looking back over at his lovers, his red gaze softening and his antennae drooping "I'm sorry. I went too far. I love you both so much, you just drive me a little crazy sometimes"
"No shit" Vox muttered.
Velvette curled one of her arms around Vox's knee, propping her chin on top of it as she looked at Val, trying to gauge how sincere he was being. Finally, she spoke.
"I was an influencer, and I'd just turned thirty. Everyone would reassure me that it made no difference, but I saw the opportunities I'd worked so hard for being taken away from me and handed on a silver platter to brain-dead, barely legal bimbos who did nothing to earn it. So one day, I cornered one of those useless sluts and I smashed their head in with an Influencer of the Year award they'd stolen from me"
Valentino wolf-whistled.
"Oh, that's interesting. Was it messy, cariño? Did you get blood all over yourself?" he asked eagerly.
"I did, and I had no idea how to hide my tracks. So I got caught, sentenced, and locked away. I made friends in prison, but I made enemies too. I ended up getting throttled and shanked in the face"
She traced the line on her lips.
"...but it’s okay. I woke up and found a better life here. With my flat-faced prince, and a psychopathic, ten-foot-tall rapist with wings" she batted her lashes at Val.
Val chuckled, pouring himself another drink "I bet you had all sorts of fun in prison, beautiful. How many bitches did you have?"
"None. I was raped a lot, though. Do you want to hear about that?" Velvette asked nonchalantly. Vox tightened his grip on her, looking worried "It's fine. I think I'm more angry that my father abused and murdered my mother and got away with it, but I was so swiftly punished for losing my temper once"
"Mm, I can certainly do something with the thought of you being fucked behind bars, but I'm not sure about your mother- was she as sexy as you?" said Valentino with a filthy grin, laughing as Velvette spat in his direction "Spicy! You know I like it, muñequita"
He turned to look at Vox, as did Velvette.
Vox stayed quiet, glancing between them.
"Well?" Velvette finally asked "Come on, we both bared our souls!"
Vox sighed.
"I was a cult leader. I led a congregation of fanatical devotees in a compound up in Alaska"
"Ooh, this is getting juicy. What was your cult about? Money? Power? Sex?" Valentino asked "I bet you got so much pussy"
"We believed that you could hear the word of God through the static of the television set, but only I could divine His messages. They gave me all their life savings and moved to an isolated compound with me to wait on me hand and foot. It was a cult. I was manipulating them" Vox shrugged, looking self conscious "...and yes. I fucked them. Regularly"
Valentino laughed as Vox averted his gaze, looking ashamed of himself.
"Ooh, and you have the nerve to look down on me? Say what you like about Velvette and I, but we weren't as bad in life as you were"
"So how did you die? Were you executed? Was there a shoot-out? Did your followers turn on you?" Velvette asked, morbidly curious.
Vox looked even more embarrassed.
"I was wearing my ceremonial robes and I tripped, my head went through a television set and the glass cut my jugular while the electricity fried my brain. The end"
Vox and Velvette burst out laughing.
"That's pathetic! I was murdered!" Val said.
"So was I!" Velvette giggled.
"...and you tripped?! Velvette and I were both victims, you had power and influence and you tripped?!" Valentino leaned back, almost cackling with mirth.
"So. Now we all know" Vox said, his screen glowing red "One of the biggest taboos in Hell, and we all broke it. Happy?"
Velvette shrugged, while Valentino sighed.
"Mi amado, I'm sorry about the spit, and I'm sorry about all those horrible things I said, and I'm sorry I embarrassed you both in public. Truly. Can we forget about it all and move on, please?" he pleaded, his voice getting slightly whiny "Now we've all opened our hearts to one another? Surely that must mean something?"
Velvette and Vox looked at each other, before Velvette looked back over at Valentino, frowning.
"I love you so much, Valentino. Do you have any idea what I've been going through since the night you raped me?" she said, her voice raw and broken as she spoke from the heart "Please, Valentino. You can be as much of a monster as you like to the outside world-"
"-as long as it doesn't hurt our brand" said Vox.
"As long as it doesn't hurt our brand. But we're partners. We're equals. Please don't make us afraid of you, please... I want to stop being afraid of you" Velvette begged, crawling out from the safety of Vox's embrace and over to Val, taking two of Valentino's hands in hers.
She couldn't have looked more pathetic, kneeling between Valentino's long legs, clinging to his hands as tears dripped down her face. The Velvette who hadn't yet been raped by Valentino would've scoffed at her.
Valentino's gaze softened, holding onto her tightly as he looked into her eyes. Finally, he reached up to pull off his sunglasses.
"...Velvette. Oh, Vel. Our beautiful little backbone. I know it can be hard to believe sometimes, but I do love you. The same way that I love you, Vox"
Vox smiled, something unreadable behind his eyes as he watched Valentino stroke Velvette's face with another one of his hands.
"My darlings. How can I say no to you? I can't promise I'll be perfect, but I can promise to do better" Val purred, crossing his fingers over his heart as the limo pulled in to the V Tower.
Vox cleared his throat, before leaning over to tap Velvette's shoulder.
"I have a lot of damage control to do. Velvette, could you help me? Get yourself comfortable in bed and we'll join you soon, Val" he said.
Valentino finished his second drink, nodding.
"I'll slip into something more comfortable, querida" he cooed.
Vox didn't respond, threading his fingers with Velvette's before he pulled her out of the limousine without a second look back, marching her to the elevator and closing the doors before Valentino could catch up with them.
Once the doors had slid shut, Vox slumped against the wall.
"I had no idea Valentino went through that when he was alive. Maybe... maybe we can help him. He might just need a different approach, to stop him from losing control and hurting us again-" Velvette started to say hopefully.
Vox shook his head with a hollow laugh.
"Velvette, I have had this conversation with him hundreds of times before. He always apologizes and makes promises and... and I have been so determined to sweep everything under the carpet that I have let him get away with it, time, and time, and time again" Vox said, groaning.
"...so what he said about his life, it's not true?" Velvette asked, crestfallen.
"No, I think it's true. There's probably something he's not telling us, given that he's currently in Hell, but I've heard it enough times to tell that he's being mostly honest. That being said, I've only ever seen his dark and troubled backstory come up when he's really crossed a line" Vox rolled his eyes "He told Angel that story once, when Angel was going to kill himself with an angelic weapon he'd scavenged"
Velvette lowered her eyes, thanking Lucifer that Angel no longer lived with Valentino.
"So it's just him charming his way back into our hearts, as always" she said, wrapping her arms around Vox's waist and leaning heavily against him, groaning against his shoulder "I fucking hate how much I love him"
Vox wrapped his arms around her.
"...I do too, Velvette. I do too"
Alastor’s modern-technology-averse presence meant that there was no footage or even audio of The Incident at Club Chernabog. But there was enough chatter going on about it that Velvette couldn’t start doing damage control fast enough. She only took a quick break to give herself a whore's bath (she loved Vox, but she could only cope with being covered in his cum for so long) before getting right to business.
“It seems that most of you have never had good sex in your fucking lives, you bunch of pearl-clutching nuns!” Velvette said, holding her phone up as she did a live-stream.
She was in her bedroom, standing by the window. She’d taken off her soiled leather skirt, replacing it with the tights, red skirt, and black shirt she'd contemplated wearing earlier.
She looked polished and put-together, exactly the sort of image she wanted to project to her gossiping followers.
“I was having a wonderful date night with my beautiful partners, and we had sex on the dance floor. But apparently most of the people there had never had a good orgasm in their life, because they freaked out so much that the fucking King of Hell got involved!” She spat.
She had to acknowledge the intervention of Lucifer, while not insulting the king, his daughter, or his daughter’s friends. It was a delicate balancing act.
“…so now the boys and I need to have a fucking awkward chat with Lucifer at some point, and worse than that, date night was ruined. I hope you’re all happy. Oh, and for those of you saying Valentino’s a monster? He is. But he’s my monster”
Vox’s last-minute broadcast was more polished, but no less annoyed.
He sat at his desk, sipping from a glass of whiskey and looking furious, his eye spinning threateningly as he brainwashed everyone unfortunate enough to tune in,
"You are going to shut the fuck up about this slanderous bullshit. Nothing happened. Valentino, Velvette, and I are perfectly happy. Oh and don’t think, if I keep seeing this being gossiped about on Sinstagram, that I won’t come crawling through your screens to silence you myself”
The broadcast ended, and Vox slumped over at his desk, groaning. He looked up with a small smile as Velvette approached him, getting to his feet and wrapping his hands around her waist. He easily hoisted her into the air, kissing her while the last of his crew slipped out of the studio, before continuing to hold her up so they were making easy eye contact.
“I wouldn’t complain about you crawling through my screen” Velvette said, resting her hands on his shoulders.
“I’ll have to try it out sometime” Vox promised with a wink, before glancing around to make sure they were alone “…Velvette. About that potion Alastor gave you-”
“I’ll dispose of it tomorrow, don’t worry” Velvette said quickly “It was a stupid fucking plan, anyway”
“Actually, I was going to suggest that we use it” Vox’s cyan grin grew, a malicious gleam in his eyes “Lucifer was practically tripping over himself to be your knight in shining armour. He has a soft spot for you, for whatever reason”
“Hey. I’m plenty lovable!” Velvette protested.
“Lucifer doesn’t usually get soft spots for Sinners, that’s all I’m saying. Anyway, Lucifer likes you, and Alastor has put it in writing that he gave you this potion to help you. If this hurts Valentino, and by extension you, we just go to Lucifer and tell him what Alastor did and get him to fix it” Vox was so excited at the prospect of using Lucifer to fuck with Alastor that three red lines appeared on his screen, giving the impression that he was drooling blood.
The red lines were one of Vox's most noticeable tells. If he was sitting behind a desk, it was the fastest way to tell if he had a hard-on or not.
"You want to risk poisoning Valentino, just on the off-chance you can fuck up Alastor's day? Wow. You're either really mad at Val, really hot for Alastor, or both" Velvette teased "But we have to be realistic. What if it's fatal?"
“I don’t think it will be. It would break our hearts, and weaken our empire, but Valentino dying would mean I wouldn’t be being beaten and r-raped regularly. I think Alastor prefers that I am”
Velvette's gaze softened sympathetically.
"Alastor can hear everything that goes on in this building, be careful" she whispered "You don't want him to use that audio against you"
"I don't care anymore, Velvette. Are you happy?! You smiling freak?! I'm being raped! Val is raping me! Does that make your dick ache?!" Vox called out, his words echoing around the empty studio.
Velvette moved one hand and softly touched his screen, resting her fingertips gently against the glass.
“It doesn’t make you less of a man” she said.
“It does” Vox said "Fuck me, Velvette. I've skinned people alive for less than what Valentino's done. I know I can't physically overpower him but it's not like I have no means to overpower him. But I don't... I don't..."
"You love him. I love him. We love him. But he's a fucking monster" Velvette smiled sadly.
"We're monsters too, Vel. We're Overlords in Hell. We shouldn't have to put up with his shit" Vox groaned.
"Maybe we won't have to for much longer" Velvette said "So, we're going to use the potion? You're sure?"
It felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders, even more-so than when Vox had broken their contract.
She and Vox were a team again.
"Well, if Valentino thinks he can just drug us to keep us in line, I think he can get a taste of his own fucking medicine" Vox's grin became cruel, the red lines re-appearing "...and if he embarrass himself, I'm going to plaster his shame over every fucking inch of Sinstagram"
Chuckling, Vox put Velvette back down on the ground, petting her head patronizingly.
"Don't make me kick you in the nuts again" she threatened, her eyes flicking between his legs before she gasped "Do you seriously have a boner right now? Oh my God. You need fucking therapy over Alastor, you freak!”
Vox laughed, palming himself over his trousers lightly before leaning in to whisper "...I think it's actually because I just had the most beautiful woman in Hell in my arms"
Velvette glared daggers up at him.
"You're such a wanker. Now I have to suck the bloody thing, if you're going to sweet-talk me like that" she sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically "Sit down, I'm not hurting my neck bending over"
Vox and Velvette's height difference actually made oral sex difficult for them both unless the receiving partner was lying or sitting down.
"I should've torn up that contract sooner" said Vox, approaching his desk and unbuckling his belt "...could you be a doll and tie your hair into ponytails for me? I like pulling them"
"I'll bite down" Velvette threatened as she got between his legs under the desk, sighing contentedly as she ran her hands along the inside of Vox's thighs.
Fuck, I missed you.
"Aha, I'll go without, then. Let's try and make this quick, we don't want to keep Valentino waiting and I don't want you to pass out from hunger. You must be starving"
"Why do you think I'm so keen to get something in my mouth, V?" Velvette teased, kissing the luminescent tip of his erection before taking him in her mouth, sighing as she felt his hand cup the back of her head.
Velvette decided to shower on Valentino's floor, mostly because he had the best water pressure. Valentino's bathroom was attached to his bedroom, so she had to pass by Val as he lounged on his bed, watching a news report about some unimportant medical breakthrough in Sloth.
Sometimes Velvette yearned to see more than Pride. At the same time, she genuinely feared for Valentino's safety if the moth ever set foot in Lust, so perhaps it was for the best that Sinners were trapped in The Pride Ring.
(Angel Dust had once gleefully reported to Valentino that he'd overheard Charlie and Vaggie discussing The Sin of Lust's utter loathing of him. Apparently Valentino's aphrodisiac spit and his rampant abuse of it had put him on Asmodeus's shit list).
"...you sucked Vox's dick" said Valentino with a smirk as Velvette approached the bathroom door. Velvette paused, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks "Ooh, look at that. You don't usually give a shit who knows what you've been up to"
"How can you tell?" Velvette asked, glancing at him.
He was wearing a black chemise with a neckline so low-cut that his heart-shaped and pierced nipples were on display, along with the thin gold chain he'd strung between the two piercings. He was wearing multiple gold chains around his neck to compliment his body jewellery, making his well-toned chest twinkle in the dimmed red lights of his bedroom.
"You reek of Vox's cum, and I can practically hear your pussy squelch from here" Valentino said crudely.
Velvette flipped him off.
"If you need it, you're welcome to sit on my face. I won't tell Vox..." Valentino enticed "Five minutes, and I'll make you moan"
Velvette looked up at the door. Vox was showering on his own floor, but who knew when he'd be back. She was comfortable being intimate with Vox again, but Valentino was a different story...
...a very sexy, different story.
"Mm, that's it, tesoro..." Valentino purred as Velvette pulled off her tights and got onto the bed, lying down so she could easily straddle his head with her vulva pressed against his mouth.
She didn't even want to think about the noises she made as he slipped his tongue into her, his saliva tingling against her clit as he probed deeper and deeper inside her. Valentino wasn't kidding, after five minutes she had to grab one of his pillows, burying her head in it as she came with a shudder and a moan.
She couldn't even look at him when she was done, throwing the pillow aside and fleeing for the bathroom with Valentino's smug laughter ringing in her ears.
After showering, Velvette paused as she wrapped one of Valentino's fluffy pink towels around herself, realizing that she hadn't thought to bring any pajamas up with her. Her clothes were lying in a dejected heap on the tiled floor, but they were hardly comfortable enough to sleep in.
She pulled a face, slipping out of the bathroom and looking at Valentino, who was blowing heart shaped smoke rings around the room.
"Can I wear something of yours to sleep in? I don't want to have to go back to my floor" she said.
Val looked over at her, openly leering at her.
"Of course you can, but I don't think any of it will fit you. My tits are out in most of my outfits, you might as well go shirtless"
"Don't you have a t-shirt or something?" Velvette asked. Val rolled his eyes.
"Do I have a t-shirt? Of course I fucking don't. Why don't you just sleep naked, it's nothing I haven't seen before"
Velvette crossed her arms over her chest, averting her eyes as another dark blush ran across her cheeks. She felt utterly pathetic, her eyes hurt from crying, she couldn't control her own hormones enough not to fuck Valentino, and now she couldn't even look him in the eye from humiliation.
Valentino's expression softened, before he got to his feet and approached the chest of drawers, pulling it open and rifling through it until he tossed a white t-shirt and boxer-shorts with cartoon spiders all over them at Velvette.
"If you'd rather wear Angel's cast-offs than sleep naked, be my guest" he said, getting back into bed and getting comfortable once more, taking another deep drag of his cigarette.
Velvette held the clothes to herself, before turning to leave, opening the bedroom door again. She didn't overly want to change in front of Valentino, that felt far too vulnerable a position to be in.
While the door was open, Val called out "Vox! Shame on you! You didn't look after our muñeca after she sucked your dick, I had to lick her clean!"
Velvette went scarlet, slamming the door shut behind herself and staring at Vox, shamefaced.
Vox was standing at the bar in blue silk pajamas, pouring champagne into three glasses that were far too tall for it, leaving the third glass half-full.
"You don't have to look so embarrassed. Val and I both know he makes you wet, my dear" Vox said with a wicked grin "It's alright, he makes me wet too, muñeca"
He did a surprisingly good impression of Valentino, waggling his brows suggestively as he put away the champagne.
"Fuck. You" Velvette snapped as she dropped her towel, pulling on Angel's old clothes with a murderous look on her face.
"You have no idea how embarrassing it is that I can't turn my attraction to that fucker off, and you have no idea how wet he actually makes me. I used to masturbate thinking about Valentino! I used to have wet dreams about him, I used to sneak into his studio to spy on him while he was fucking Angel Dust!"
Vox stared at her.
"...why didn't you just fuck him more if you were getting that horny?" he finally said.
"I'm not about to start giving it up easily, darling, you two would take me for granted" Velvette said primly.
"Really? You've never kept your hands to yourself when it came to me" Vox smirked, picking up a jigger from behind the bar "Do you have a favorite?"
Velvette flipped him off.
"You were scared Valentino would use you up and spit you out, but you figured I'm a gentleman, so I wouldn't do that to you, right?" Vox said casually, picking up an absinthe bottle.
Velvette's jaw dropped.
"How the fuck did you know that? Even I didn't know that! I thought I did have a favorite! I felt fucking guilty!" she said, furious.
"You're not the only person here who assumed they wouldn't get their heart broken because the object of their affection was a classy fucker" Vox said darkly, pouring absinthe into two of the champagne glasses.
"What the fuck is that?" Velvette asked, changing the topic quickly.
"Death In The Afternoon" said Vox, producing and opening up Velvette's potion bottle before holding a finger to his lips in a shh gesture.
"You put the absinthe in first in a Death In The Afternoon, you fucking idiot" Velvette huffed, trying to make enough noise to drown out what Vox was doing.
"That's not how I was taught" Vox said, pouring the bottle into the half-empty glass "You put it in after and the... uh. The color looks more vivid than you'd expect"
Valentino's drink looked significantly more green than the other two once Vox was done spiking it. Vox cringed, looking around the bar.
"Who fucking cares about the color?! You've ruined the taste! Is there something on the third shelf on your left maybe?" Velvette hinted.
Vox picked up a bottle of green food coloring, staring at it in confusion.
Velvette shrugged.
Valentino was so obsessed with aesthetics he could, and had, spent hours forcing Kitty to mess around with artificial food coloring until his drinks (that would just end up smashed against the wall anyway) were the perfect shade to suit his mood.
Vox leaned over, fiddling with his and Velvette's drinks until they all looked uniform. Velvette gave him a thumbs up, jolting as Kitty suddenly slid up towards them, seemingly out of nowhere.
She was holding a stack of pizza boxes in her arms, and Velvette's stomach growled at the smell. She was absolutely starving. She was subsisting on two nacho chips and a cup of cannibal-brewed tea, after all.
She grabbed the boxes, opening the top one and shoving a slice of pepperoni into her mouth with a moan.
"Thank-you, Kitty" Vox said, surprisingly politely, before he dropped his voice "I need you to do me a favor, my dear"
He smiled ingratiatingly, approaching the robot and bending over as he spoke to her.
"Babes, don't flirt with the robot. It's weird" Velvette whispered, approaching them so she could keep her own voice down, grabbing another slice of pizza as she did so.
"Shh, shh" Vox waved her off "Kitty, I need this to have never existed. I want all trace of it destroyed, and I want Valentino to never know about it. I know you were programmed to obey us all equally, but it's very important for Val's happiness that he doesn't know about this"
He held out the empty potion bottle for her. Kitty stared at it, slowly taking it. Vox reached out, chucking her under the chin affectionately.
"You can be a good girl for me, can't you Kitty?"
"Oh my God, you're trying to fuck the robot" Velvette laughed, holding her side.
"I'm making sure this gets hidden, Velvette"
"Throw it in the fucking trash, then!"
"Valentino goes through his own trash, he's paranoid!"
"Then throw it in your trash, or mine" Velvette waved dismissively "You're jealous about the I masturbated to Val thing, aren't you? You're trying to get the robot wet to prove how hot you are"
"Velvette, would you keep your voice down?!" Vox hissed at her, before breathing a sigh of relief as Kitty wordlessly zipped away.
Velvette was about to say something else, when Valentino opened his bedroom door, peering out curiously.
"Is that pizza?" he asked.
"No, it's my next collection. Fucking hell, Val, you're a moron" Velvette rolled her eyes, approaching Valentino's door with the pizza boxes still in her arms. He stepped aside to let her in.
"...you used to touch yourself over me?" he asked with a smirk.
"Fuck you" Velvette spat.
"Don't be jealous, Vox. I masturbate thinking about you sometimes. When we got home, I imagined you were cellmates with Velvette, and you did terrible things to her once the lights went out" Valentino purred as Vox followed Velvette, holding their drinks on a tray.
"Fuck you, Val" he said, rolling his eyes.
Valentino was a twisted piece of shit who was clearly trying to rile them both up, but Velvette still had to carefully school her features so neither Vox nor Valentino noticed how intriguing she found Valentino's fantasy.
Mean Girls felt too cheerful to watch after the evening they'd had, so Velvette eventually decided on Jennifer's Body.
"Is it sexy?" Valentino asked, holding his (spiked) drink and settling down in bed, smiling as Vox and Velvette got on either side of him, cuddling up against him with their pizza boxes scattered around them within easy reach.
"...if you're a freak, I guess. You'll probably cream yourself" Velvette taunted.
Valentino tilted his head back, downing his drink in one. Velvette and Vox exchanged relieved looks.
Valentino pulled a face as the titles started to play.
"...Velvette was right, you ruined the taste" he complained.
"I don't think these are meant to taste nice. They're meant to fuck you up" Vox admitted, picking up a slice of Hawaiian pizza.
"Delightful. I'll have another" he handed Vox the empty glass. Vox rolled his eyes, shoving his pizza slice gracelessly into his mouth and returning to the kitchen, leaving Velvette and Valentino alone.
Velvette nestled against Val as she chewed on her third slice of pizza, half-watching the movie and half-watching Valentino.
He looked down at her, rubbing her back.
"I'm sorry I ever made you cry" he said.
Velvette didn't have any response to that, at least not one that wouldn't leave her crying and angrily yelling at Valentino for what he'd put her through, so she just nodded and chewed her pizza.
Vox soon returned with another Death In The Afternoon, and Valentino took it without so much as a nod of acknowledgement, downing it in one as he had the last one.
"What am I? A fucking maid?" Vox snapped "I don't even feel guilty that I spat in it"
Valentino nearly choked, looking at Vox in disgust.
"Hypocrite!" Vox and Velvette said at the same time, before laughing as Valentino glared at them both, hoarding one of the pizza boxes to himself as they settled down to watch the movie.
Valentino had left for work before Vox and Velvette had even woken up. He’d left a note on the pillow between them, written in his usual loopy cursive.
“I have to remind Angel Dust who owns him. Love ya! -Val xx”
“If the potion had any effect… well, it’s certainly not cooled his tempers when it comes to Angel” Vox said "I've got nothing against the whore, personally, but I'd rather it be him than us"
"Angel's okay. I hope Val doesn't hurt him too badly" Velvette said sadly, causing Vox to look at her in surprise "What? Am I not allowed to make friends now?"
Vox's eyes widened.
"Friends, with Angel Dust? Fucking Angel Dust?!" he sputtered. Velvette got to her feet, shaking her head.
"I have to work. I don't want to argue about this" she said.
"Velvette, I'm not arguing, I'm just shocked. You treat him like garbage! When did this whole friends thing happen?" Vox said, laughing a little "Maybe you feel fondly towards him after he looked after you last night, but Vel... I doubt he likes you"
Velvette swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling dry.
"I need to get ready for work" was all she said.
"Velvette, I'm sure you could make a hundred friends quite easily if you put your mind to it... but Overlords don't have friends. You should know that by now" Vox said.
"You're my friend" Velvette said, immediately wanting to shoot herself in the head with an angelic-steel-tipped bullet the second the simpering, affectionate words left her lips.
Vox just smiled sympathetically.
“Have a nice day at work, my dear”
Velvette's employees were terrified of her, and for good reason, so she was used to them keeping their distance. But today they were treating her like she was radioactive.
It was like there was an impenetrable bubble around her, one that was perpetually ringed by models and assistants, whispering behind their hands and staring at the Overlord in mixed horror and sympathy.
By the first coffee break of the day she'd had it.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS SO FUCKING FUNNY YOU ANOREXIC FUCKING FUCKS!" she screamed, throwing her cup at the wall so hard that the Styrofoam split, sending coffee everywhere.
The girls all exchanged looks, before Melissa slowly approached her.
"Miss Velvette, there have been some rumors going around online-"
You gotta be fucking kidding me. These bitches have the fucking nerve to gossip about it?! After my livestream? After Vox’s broadcast?
Velvette shot her a murderous look, before she reacted on impulse.
Furious, cruel, bloodthirsty impulse.
Melissa choked as a purple chain suddenly appeared around her neck, gasping as Velvette pulled at her end of it, bringing her to her knees.
Velvette's Overlord chains resembled choke collars more than anything else, tightening around the victim's throat as she pulled on her end. Vox once joked that it said something about the fashion industry that Velvette had one of the most sadistic Overlord's chains he'd ever seen. Valentino thought it just meant Velvette was secretly extremely kinky.
In truth, Velvette knew why it was a choke chain that she wielded. She'd died with a knife in her face and a hand at her throat, and now Hell had given her the power to inflict her suffering on anyone foolish enough to sign away their souls to her.
Melissa's choking turned into a whine of pain as the tiny spikes that lines the inside of the chain pierced her skin.
"Let me make myself so crystal clear that even the most smooth-brained of you bitches gets it. I. Am. Not. Being. Abused" Velvette snarled, tightening her grip on Melissa's chain even more "...and the next time I hear so much as a peep about this I swear I’m going to…”
Valentino's voice echoed in her mind.
"I bet you had all sorts of fun in prison, beautiful. How many bitches did you have?"
He'd approve of what she was doing to Melissa. He'd probably get hard over it.
Her fury dissipated like the purple smoke that she allowed the chain to dissolve into.
Melissa wheezed and sputtered on the ground, crawling away while she had the chance.
Velvette felt her stomach rebel, bile clawing its way up her throat as she turned and tried to run for the bathroom.
She didn’t make it, gagging and vomiting up her breakfast and coffee all over her studio’s floor.
She stayed in place, her arms wrapped around her stomach and breathing heavily.
“M-Miss V-Velvette? I’ll get a b-bucket and mop” Melissa was stammering as she slowly got to her feet.
Velvette shook her head, shooing Melissa away with one hand.
“Go home, take the day off. Someone else, clean this fucking mess up. I… I need…”
“The Vees must’ve eaten something bad last night. Tiffany told me that Valentino’s been spewing his guts up all morning” someone whispered, and Velvette whipped her head around 180 degrees to stare at her.
She looked much more human than Valentino and Vox did, but she didn't just look like a living doll, she had the dexterity of one too.
“Valentino’s sick?” She asked, spinning her body to line back up with her head.
The model flinched, chewing on her lower lip.
“Yeah. He got five minutes into a shoot and projectile vomited all over the set. Everyone got sent home except for Angel Dust” she said.
Velvette’s eyes widened.
“…clean this up!” She repeated, snapping her fingers at the vomit on the floor as she swept out.
With only a brief stop to brush her teeth and rinse her mouth out, Velvette made a beeline for Val’s studio, slamming open the doors without so much as knocking.
She immediately regretted it. The studio reeked of vomit, even with a small army of the V Tower's janitors desperately trying to clean it up. The puddles of vomit told a story as easily as any novel; Valentino must've gotten sick while sitting in his chair, before being (slowly) guided to Angel Dust's dressing room.
“Fuck, Val…” Velvette said, a hand over her mouth as she went green.
Swallowing back bile with more success than her earlier attempt, she stepped around the vomit and the janitors, sweeping into Angel Dust's dressing room without warning.
"Hey! I said nobody can come in- oh, hi Velvette" Angel Dust, wearing a slutty French maid outfit, gave her a weak smile "Whatever he’s eaten recently, throw any leftovers out. He's got some sort of nasty fucking food poisoning"
Valentino was curled up on the floor, clutching a bucket between his knees as Angel Dust knelt down besides him, rubbing his back with one set of arms while the other set massaged his stomach.
Valentino stared at Velvette, trying to say something before he had to bend over and vomit into the bucket.
“It’s okay, Papito, it's okay” Angel whispered. Valentino's glasses were balanced on top of his fluffy hairstyle, he must've saved them from falling into a puddle of vomit while guiding Valentino to privacy.
"Thank you so much. You didn't have to do all this for him" Velvette said.
"Yeah, I kinda fucking did. Tall, purple, and puke-y ordered me to look after him" Angel Dust pulled a face.
“What happened?” Velvette demanded as Valentino threw up again.
Angel Dust winced at the sound of gagging.
“I don’t know. I’d just finished lubing myself up for my scene when he starting hurling” he said.
“Val…” Velvette sighed, approaching Valentino “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m here V-” she reached out to touch his face, but his head snapped up and he grabbed her wrist before she could, yanking her in closer with a snarl.
“What. The fuck. Did you and Vox do to me?” He asked, his breath smelling of bile and blood.
Velvette's eyes widened.
Oh fuck...
“Nothing! We didn’t do anything! I swear!” Velvette pleaded, trying and failing to pull herself out of his grip.
“Do you think I don’t know when I’ve been fucking poisoned?!” Val shoved his sick bucket at Angel and drew himself up to his full height, tightening his grasp on her wrist before throwing her at the wall.
Velvette cried out in pain as she slammed against a poster of Angel, shrieking as Val grabbed her wrist again and pulled her up to her feet by it, nearly dislocating her arm in the process.
The security camera blinked at them both, and Velvette shot it a desperate look before Valentino slapped her across the face.
"Vox can't save you, bitch. What the fuck did you two do to me?!" he growled, grabbing her by the front of her shirt and slamming her against the wall.
“Valentino, please, please, you’re sick! You’re not thinking straight! Let me go, let me- OH MY GOD!” Velvette screamed in disgust as Valentino suddenly and involuntarily threw up on her, trembling in complete horror as bile dripped off her clothes.
Unapologetic, Valentino wiped the back of his mouth, glaring her down.
“Angel, go get me that whip from the set. I’m going to get the truth out of this lying little bitch if it kills her. You think you're the backbone of The Vees? I'm going to shatter that backbone like a fucking twig” he snarled “I opened my heart to you, and this is how you repay me… when I’m done with you, I’m going to find that arrogant new media fucker and I’m going to-”
Without lead-up or forewarning, there was the sudden eruption of a gunshot, before blood sprayed all over Velvette’s face and the walls of Angel Dust’s dressing room, and Valentino slumped to the floor with a hole in his head.
Vox was standing by the security cameras, still sparking slightly from traveling through the wires, and holding Valentino’s bedazzled gun as it smoked in his hand.
Everybody just stared at each other silently, before Angel Dust timidly spoke up.
“…so… do I have to clean up this shit or…”
To Be Continued…
Notes:
According to Wikipedia (so take this with a pinch of salt), in the early 1970's rumors circulated that snuff films were being produced in South America and circulated in the United States for fun and profit.
Chapter 8: Mad That I Acted Respectless?
Notes:
I decided to give Velvette a break. Sinners rejoice!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Velvette loved Vox, but she didn't respect him. She'd seen Vox throw too many childish temper tantrums for her to truly respect The TV Demon.
Valentino she respected. Yes, he also threw temper tantrums when life didn't go his way, but his tantrums always projected fury. Vox's tantrums, meanwhile, projected petulance more than a three-year-old in time out.
That wasn't to say that she was any less attracted to Vox. Even after he'd slapped her for posting humiliating images of him to Sinstagram, and even after all the times she'd walked in on him throwing a tantrum on the ground while Valentino tried to console him, Velvette still felt warm all over when she thought about Vox for too long.
She felt even warmer still when she realized that Vox was not only openly Bisexual, but in a highly physical relationship with Valentino, who was monstrous sex on legs.
Velvette knew there were words for women like her, and none of them were particularly flattering or kind. Fujoshi was probably the most elegant way to describe herself.
Voyeuristic creep with a fetish was another way.
It was a lazy afternoon in Pentagram City, a couple of months after Velvette's induction into The Vees. Everything felt slow and sluggish under the hellish red 'sunlight'. Traffic was light, the streets were mostly empty, and Vox and Valentino were fucking slowly and tenderly in the meeting room. If it weren't for Velvette's ever-blossoming lust for them both, she would've been furious that they'd so flagrantly defile a communal living area like that.
Vox's dick was pressed against her drink coaster, for Lucifer's sake!
Velvette was hidden behind an overfull drinks trolley, her phone in hand as she recorded the two men, staring at them in rapt attention. Vox was bent over the table with his trousers around his ankles, error messages flashing periodically across his screen. Valentino was behind him, his 'coat' flipped aside enough to allow him to fuck Vox with his monstrously huge cock.
"F-Fuck... I'm thirsty" Vox suddenly said, turning his screen to look at Valentino, shooting him the closest thing to puppy-dog eyes that a man with a screen for a face could muster.
"You want a break, cariño?" Valentino panted, grinning down at his lover. He was drooling more than Velvette was, his chin and ruff slightly pink and dampened.
Vox nodded, before rolling his eyes as Valentino wiped his mouth with his 'sleeve'.
"Could you try not to drool on me while we're fucking? It's disgusting!" he said huffily, grunting in discomfort as Val pulled out and stepped away, flipping his 'coat' modestly over himself.
"I can't help it, amorcito, when I get excited it ah..." he motioned towards his mouth "It builds up. It's just how I'm designed, it seems"
"Keep your fucking mouth closed, then" Vox muttered, adjusting his posture. From her vantage point, Velvette got a good look at his asshole. The dark blue ring was slick with lube and pre-cum, viscous fluids running down Vox's skinny legs, into his trousers and underwear, and onto the floor.
The sight was raw, and sexual, and slightly disgusting. Velvette realized she was dangerously close to actually drooling herself, blushing red.
"What would you like to drink?" Valentino asked casually.
"Whisky on the rocks" Vox said as he straightened up and turned around, lazily yanking up his trousers and sitting on the edge of the table, leaving his fly undone and his shirttails out.
"Whisky on the rocks it is, hermoso!" Valentino promised with a flourish of one of his hands, approaching the drinks trolley.
The drinks trolley that Velvette was hiding behind.
She didn't have a hope of sneaking out unnoticed, so she slipped her phone quickly into the pocket of her striped trousers, before attempting to sprint for the door as fast as she possibly could.
Valentino looked at her in amusement as she darted past him, before easily scooping her up with his four arms. She cried out indignantly, but was powerless to resist the much stronger Overlord.
"Oh Vox, look what we have here... it seems our precious little muñequita isn't quite as innocent as she looks" Valentino purred, cradling Velvette in his arms as he spun around to face Vox "...and to think what a good girl she was when we first met her"
"I'm not your fucking good girl, Val" Velvette snapped, glaring up at Val while he grinned down at her. She should've been terrified, but she was still arrogant enough at that point to believe that her fellow Vees would never harm her.
Still sitting on the table, Vox chuckled, sounding as amused as Valentino.
"Did you enjoy the show, my dear?" he asked smoothly, as though his backside wasn't currently covered in strawberry flavored lube and moth-semen.
Velvette glared, a furious blush across her face, as she met Vox's smug gaze with a defiant one of her own.
"Oh, fuck you" she snapped "I was getting leverage. This partnership is great, but it hasn't escaped my notice that we're in Hell. You can't trust anyone down here. I need all the shit on you I can get, in case... in case..."
Valentino had started walking across the room towards Vox and her lie dwindled away the closer she got to Vox's shark-like grin. She grunted as she was dropped unceremoniously onto his lap, narrowing her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, his claw-like hands rubbing her back.
Velvette took stock of the undignified position she was in, feeling her blush darken and spread. She was sitting with her backside resting directly on the table, between Vox's spread legs. Her legs were hooked over one of his thighs, and she had reflexively wrapped her arms around Vox to steady herself when she was dropped. Vox's trousers were still undone, and she could feel his erection pressing against her hip, covered only by his shirt and his hastily pulled-up underwear. She didn't know whether to taunt Vox for it, or to press herself against it more.
"Do you know what I would do to someone so close to me, who planned to betray me like that?" Vox murmured, catching her chin in one hand and gazing into her eyes "I'd feed them to my sharks. Slowly. Piece by piece"
Velvette's eyes flicked over to the shark tank that bordered the meeting room, watching as Vox's partially-cybernetic sharks circled around one another, looking no less dangerous than their master.
"But luckily, I know you weren't trying to betray me. You were really going to tell such a dangerous lie, and risk my wrath, just because you were embarrassed to admit that you had a crush?" Vox chuckled "Oh, that is fucking hilarious"
"Fuck you" Velvette snapped.
"We'll get to that, my dear. But first, I want the truth. Whatever were you doing, hiding behind that cart and filming us?"
Velvette glared, narrowing her eyes. Vox's hypnotic eye momentarily spiraled, seemingly out of reflex rather than an intent to hypnotize her, before his gaze returned to normal and his smirk widened.
"...alright, how about this?" he continued "What were you doing last week, hiding behind the sofa in my penthouse? Or the week before that, hiding behind the curtain in Val's penthouse, or a few weeks back when I saw your little boots sticking out from behind my breakfast bar, or-"
"Oh my God, I get it!" Velvette snapped, going deep red as she realized she hadn't been quite as sneaky as she'd assumed "Fuck you! Fuck you both!"
"Can we cut to the fucking chase and drill her already, Vox? I've been waiting for so long!" Valentino whined, actually squirming on the spot, one of his hands cupping his own intimidating erection through his 'coat'.
Vox held up his hand.
"Ah, ah, ah. Patience, Val, you'll scare our beautiful new business partner away" Vox purred, brushing the back of his hand against Velvette's face "There's no need to feel embarrassed, sweet girl. Tell us what it is that you want, and we'll give it to you. You like watching? We'll give you front row seats"
Valentino leaned down, kissing the side of her cheek. The kiss tingled against her skin, making Velvette's breath catch.
"If you want our partnership to be more than professional, there is more than enough room for you in our bed, amorcito..." he purred.
"Just be honest with us, Velvette" Vox cupped her face with both hands.
Velvette stared into his eyes, before she threw all reluctance to the wind and leaned in to savor the unusual sensation of kissing Vox.
She broke away, gasping as one of Valentino's hands caught her cheek and tilted her head up to kiss his lips, sweet saliva dripping down her throat as they kissed.
Finally, she looked back at Vox, her pupils blown out so much that her cherry-colored eyes were almost black.
"You want honesty? I want you both, so much. But fantasy and reality are very different things, Vox. You and Valentino are... um..." she tried to think how to politely phrase it.
"We're monsters" Valentino said plainly, crossing his lower set of arms and slipping a cigarette into his mouth and lighting it with his upper set "...I don't know how many dicks you took in your time, but we're so much bigger and scarier than you that it intimidates you, huh?"
He was good, Velvette had to hand it to him. She nodded.
Valentino waved a dismissive hand.
"Don't worry about it, muñeca, I don't have to go all the way in to feel good- or to make you feel good" Valentino winked "Anyway, just give my spit time to work and all your worries will melt away"
"You're also welcome to leave and ride it out in privacy" Vox added quickly, smiling comfortingly down at her "Nothing is ever going to happen to you that you don't want, Velvette"
Velvette smiled slowly back up at him, and like a fool, she nodded.
"I want to be a part of this" she said.
Vox grinned, looking more and more shark-like by the second.
"Let me give you something extra" Valentino said, taking a drag of his cigarette before leaning in and blowing smoke into both Vox and Velvette's faces.
Maybe Velvette should've been scared, allowing her mind to be addled by a man she knew raped and abused his 'employees' regularly.
But the spit, the smoke, and Vox's comforting promise made her feel safe. It made her trust them. Besides, she was the baddest bitch in Hell. Nobody could touch her, nobody could hurt her.
Not anymore.
As her vision blurred from synthetic arousal, she felt the warm, static buzz of Vox's lips on her cheek.
"I'll protect you, Velvette. Don't be afraid" he whispered.
She didn't respect Vox, but she trusted him.
I'll protect you.
The first time Velvette ever felt true respect towards Vox, she was staring speechlessly at him in Angel Dust's dressing room as he held a smoking gun. Valentino's blood and brains were all over Velvette, and the moth himself was lying temporarily dead on the floor.
"Oh... fuck..." Angel Dust groaned, standing up "Fuck, fuck, fuck. I'm so fucking dead"
"Relax, Angel. I'll make sure Val doesn't take this out on you" said Vox, holding up a hand in a comforting gesture "Velvette, are you okay?"
Velvette slowly wiped the blood off her face, trembling violently as she stared down at Valentino. His eyes were wide and glassy, blood dripping into his ruff.
She looked up at Vox and tearfully shook her head.
Don't cry in front of Angel, don't cry in front of Angel. Do not cry in front of Angel...
"Velvette" Vox slipped Valentino's gun into his jacket, approaching her and wrapping his arms tightly around her.
She slumped in his grip and he swiftly moved to pick her up, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders, burying her head in his shoulder.
"It's okay, Doll. Those horrible boys are gone now. I can't believe what they said to you! Come inside, I'll make you a cup of tea" Dolores's mother was whispering as she rubbed Velvette's back.
"It's okay, Velvette. It's over" Vox whispered, tightening his grip on her and kissing the top of her head.
Velvette looked at Angel Dust over Vox's shoulder, embarrassed at her obvious display of weakness. She didn't want to think about how childish and pathetic she must've looked to the spider.
Angel was polite enough not to make a comment, just smiling comfortingly at her before speaking up.
“So. Uh. Are we gonna clean this up?” Angel motioned vaguely towards the vomit and blood staining his dressing room's carpet and walls.
"Do I look like a fucking maid? I think Val deserves to wake up in this mess" Vox said, a malevolent note to his voice. One of his hands left Velvette's back and he motioned Angel over.
Hesitantly, Angel approached them both, before freezing up as Vox slung an ingratiating arm around his shoulder. He was taller than Vox, and no doubt could kick Vox's ass in a one-on-one fight, but he shrunk so much into himself at the friendly touch that he seemed half his size.
Without a word, Vox carried Velvette and guided Angel Dust back out into the studio. Everything had been scrubbed clean, and the janitors had cleared out, so Vox didn't have to stop and hypnotize anyone into forgetting the sight of him and Velvette covered in Valentino's blood.
It was a small mercy.
“Let me make you an offer, Angel” Vox suddenly said, patting Angel's shoulder “You keep your mouth shut about what happened today, and I’ll make sure you get paid triple your usual salary, and for doing nothing at all!”
Angel Dust bit his lip, looking conflicted.
“You're making a mistake, keeping this under wraps. I know your ego is bigger than this building, but trust me, telling Charlie and Luci the truth is a decision you won’t regret” he sighed “But I won’t spill the beans for you, don’t worry. Are you okay, Toots?” He offered Velvette a smile.
Velvette was staring into space.
“I need to start working on designs. For my collection” she finally said, tightening her grip on Vox.
“Yes you do, but I think you need a stiff drink first” Vox let go of Angel Dust and tightened his grip on Velvette in turn “How about we take a liquid lunch up in my penthouse?”
“I’m drinking too much, I need to cut down” said Velvette “I just want to shower and get back to work”
Angel Dust offered her a comforting grin.
“You’ll be just fine, Velvette. How about you give me a smile, huh?”
Velvette looked up at him, before smiling rigidly, and in a way that didn’t meet her eyes. Angel grimaced.
“I’ll look after her” Vox said “Just go home. Have a nice day with your friends, make daisy chains together or whatever it is that you do over there”
“Ha, I’d love to make a daisy chain with a few of the fellas there, let me tell you” Angel Dust winked suggestively.
Vox stiffened up in shock at the indirect reference to Alastor being involved in group sex with Angel, before clearing his throat.
“Just go, Angel”
“Gladly. I’ll give Smiles your love” with a laugh, Angel Dust stepped into the elevator, still snickering as the doors closed behind him.
Vox let Velvette slide out of his arms, dropping her back down onto her feet and resting his clawed hands on her shoulders.
"You saved me" she said quietly, looking up at him. Even without a mirror, she could clearly picture the soppy admiration on her face.
Vox grinned, tweaking her nose.
“I saw you while I was checking the cameras and I reacted on instinct. I was just so angry at seeing you being treated like that” he admitted “Val had left his gun in my office the last time he was bedazzling it, so I blew his brains out with his own weapon”
“Poetic” said Velvette, looking up at Vox “You saved me. I was so scared and you saved me, like James Bond or some shit… I don’t know how I can ever repay you”
As she recovered from her shock, she felt something else running white-hot through her veins.
Arousal.
“You don’t have to repay me, Velvette. I love you” Vox said gently "I love you so much, and I am never going to allow harm to-"
Velvette cut him off.
“Vox. Babes. I am so fucking hot for you right now that I’m ready to jump you even while covered in blood and puke, so I don’t want to hear any soliloquies. I want to take a shower, and then I want you inside me”
Vox looked startled, before he slowly began grinning evilly.
“What?” Velvette said with a suspicious narrowing of her eyes.
“Oh, I don’t know if I can do that, Velvette. What about my poor, worn out old man dick? I don’t know if I have the stamina at my advanced age to- hold on!”
Velvette gave up on restraint and threw herself into Vox’s arms, kissing him passionately and smearing Valentino’s blood and brain matter over his screen.
She leaned back with an evil smirk, giggling at the shocked look on Vox's face.
"Shower! Right now!" she demanded.
"Yes, Ma'am" Vox winked as he recovered from his shock, carrying her to the elevator.
After a thorough shower, Vox and Velvette ended up locked together underneath Vox's sheets. Velvette's legs were spread and her knees were drawn up as Vox thrust into her in a steady rhythm, while the static buzz of his tongue lavished attention against her nipples, making her keen and her back arch.
"F-fuck... fuck... fuck... you feel so fucking good, Velvette. So fucking tight. You're perfect, so fucking perfect" Vox was moaning, his screen glitching and his voice distorting on every other word.
"Ha... ha... ah... V-Vox..." Velvette moaned, so overwhelmed that it took her a moment to speak clearly "How long have we been at this?"
She'd lost track of time after her third orgasm, and Vox didn't have any clocks in his room. He didn't need them, after all.
"Shh, don't worry about it, Velvette. I cleared our schedules for today. Melissa and Eelijah are pathetic, but they're not incompetent. They can run the show in our absence" Vox whispered against her right nipple, before brushing his fangs lightly against it and making Velvette whine.
"H-his n-n-name isn't Eelijah" Velvette finally managed to say.
"Oh, really? What is it?" Vox asked as he changed the angle of his thrusts slightly, making Velvette see white.
"Who cares! Mm... ha! Oh fuck, fuck, that feels good... oh, fuck me harder, Vox! Yes, just like that! Oh... ha... Valentino's going to be furious" she sighed, grinning mischievously at Vox.
With a diabolical grin of his own, Vox slipped one of his hands between her legs to toy with her overstimulated clitoris, making her whine something that barely qualified as speech.
"I shot him in the head, that would make anyone angry" Vox said, before pausing his thrusts and staying as still as he could on top of her. His digital brows furrowed in concentration as he touched her in slow, sensual circles, making her gasp and squirm against the sheets.
"...I... I m-meant... h-he'll be furious t-that we fucked like this without h-him" Velvette finally panted out "V-Vox, can I ask you s-something?"
"Anything" Vox said, still tense and unusually still, but smiling fondly at her all the same.
"Is there any truth to what Valentino said? That you would wank off thinking about 'fucking me so hard I'd be vomiting come'?"
Vox shook his head without hesitation.
"I'm not as sick as Valentino is, Velvette. Truth be told, for all he is a fucking monster, even Valentino isn't as sick as he acts" Vox said with a lopsided grin, before thrusting back into her.
"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck!" she clawed her hands down Vox's back, leaving bloody scratches against his blue skin as she did so. Vox quickly grabbed one of her hands and licked his own blood off her manicured fingernails, smirking at her.
"You're taking the shark thing too far" she said, even as she held her other hand to her mouth, licking off Vox's blood and sighing at the taste. Neither she nor Vox were cannibals, but they loved one another inside-and-out "Where's my phone? I want to capture this, that look on your face is beautiful"
"It's in my kitchen, on a charger. Shh, you can take all the photos you want later" Vox promised, stroking back her hair.
My phone.
"I need to ask you something else, when we're finished" Velvette said in a breathless moan.
She was more than slightly annoyed when Vox's hips stilled again.
"Yeah? What's on your mind" Vox asked casually, as though he wasn't currently buried several inches deep inside her. If anything, he seemed weirdly eager for another distraction.
She frowned, confused.
"Don't come crying to me about ruining the mood. The other day, before Val shot me, I hid my phone in a pot plant. When I woke up, my phone was back in my pocket with a video that ran for hours in the photo library. It... would've recorded everything that Val did to me, and to you. I'm just worried about who had access to that video" she finally confessed.
Vox didn't look concerned in the slightest.
"Ha! I bet you weren't expecting to get a video that juicy, were you? Don't worry your pretty little head about it, it was probably Val, he's got a knack for finding hidden cameras" Vox shrugged "Ask him about it when he wakes up"
He moved his hips again, making Velvette whimper, before wrapping his arms more securely around her and slipping his tongue into her mouth as he resumed thrusting into her.
"Speaking of juicy..." he taunted, his voice barely an octave louder than the increasingly slick and sticky sounds of their lovemaking. Velvette just kissed him harder.
They stayed like that for a good two minutes, before Vox groaned, stilling his hips once more and tensing up. He was starting to look like he was in pain.
"Vox, are you okay?" Velvette asked, rubbing his chest as he trembled on top of her "Please don't tell me you're gonna have a fucking seizure or something. Getting electrocuted snatch-first is only fun the first time it hap- ah... AH!"
With a growl, Vox's concentration snapped and he thrust back into her like a wild animal, gripping her shoulders so tightly that his claws pierced her skin as he came, error messages flickering all over his screen. Velvette gasped, whining at the familiar, tingling, but not unpleasant sensation of his cum painting her vaginal walls.
Velvette sometimes wondered if she should be more concerned about how prolonged contact with Vox or his bodily fluids left her feeling tingly and more than a little like she'd been standing next to machinery with radiation symbols and "DANGER: KEEP OUT" signs all over it, but she was already dead.
What's the worst that could happen?
Looking irritated, Vox pulled his rapidly-softening cock out of her, slumping onto the bed next to her and gritting his teeth.
"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" he snapped, running his hands down his screen and looking outright furious as he sat up, propping himself against the pillows.
"What? What the fuck's wrong?" Velvette asked, curling her lip "I just gave you nearly an hour of kegels, you ungrateful fucker!"
"Oh please, you were too busy having multiple orgasms to focus on kegels" Vox said, leering at her before tapping at his screen, causing his face to be temporarily replaced by a glowing cyan-and-red stopwatch that was stuck on 57:52.
"...the fuck?" Velvette frowned in confusion as Vox's expression blinked back into existence, his red eyes narrowing so much that his cyan pupils vanished.
"I was so fucking close to an hour. I was this close-" he pinched his index finger and thumb until they were millimeters away from each other "-from marathon sex. Every fucking time you decided to be a little brat and call me an old man, I could've rubbed it in your face that I fucked you for an hour straight and you loved every fucking second of it"
Velvette stared at him, before she burst out laughing, leaning against Vox and wrapping her arms around one of his biceps as he huffily crossed his arms.
"You are so fucking pathetic, Vox. I love you so much" Velvette practically cackled, slumping against Vox and sliding down until she was hanging off his forearm, muffling her laughter against his stomach "This, you glowing bitch, this is why I find it so fucking hard to respect you"
She kissed his blue skin affectionately, nuzzling against him as she let go of his arm and wrapped her arms around his middle.
"But I love you, so much" she continued.
She felt Vox stroke her hair, and she felt a warm glow inside her that had nothing to do with Vox's potentially radioactive semen. Inspired by the glow, she kept talking.
"It's more than that. It feels like I've fallen in love with you all over again. It made that almost-marathon sex feel so fucking good. I didn't realize you could be such an animal, babes. Have you been popping a little blue pill or something, I don't know where you got all this stamina fr-"
Vox's head slumped to the side and he started snoring.
Velvette smothered laughter, before quickly grabbing one of Vox's charging cables from the wall behind the bed and plugging him in. Vox's face blinked out of existence and was replaced by his VoxTek branded recharging symbol.
"Have an afternoon nap, Granddad, you've earned it" she teased, before slipping out of the room to grab her phone.
...and a damp facecloth. The euphoria of orgasm wore off quickly as the itchy stickiness between the thighs set in.
Velvette was younger than Vox, something she relished rubbing in his face. But she wasn't some sort of automaton. She couldn't remember falling asleep, all she knew was that one second she was lounging across Vox's chest, checking her Sinstagram...
...and the next she was dreaming of sitting on a flowery garden swing, the wind whipping through her hair as she was pushed higher, and higher, and higher...
"Vox?" her dream-self breathed, leaning backwards.
But it wasn't Vox that smiled down at her, it was Valentino. He caught the swing with two hands, caressing her face with the other two.
There was no fear, no pain, no betrayal. All Velvette could feel was love.
"...Val..." she reached up, but before she could touch Valentino, a dark hand in a white sleeve gently caught her wrist.
Valentino dissolved into mist as an apologetic-looking Lucifer Morningstar stepped into her field of vision.
"...um... hi?" Velvette said, confused at the unexpected guest appearance. She'd dreamed of the pretty-boy fallen angel before, but never like this.
For one thing, he normally didn't look so guilty.
"My apologies, Velvette. I didn't want to startle you when you woke up. I'm in your bedroom right now" Lucifer said with a kind smile "Whenever you're ready, I'd like to talk to you"
"Uh-huh..." said Velvette, a slow smile spreading on her face.
This is more familiar...
"I'll be right there, Your Majesty" she purred.
Velvette stirred, shifting under the duvet and blinking her eyes open as she felt someone sit next to her on the bed, the mattress dipping slightly under their weight.
She opened her eyes, barely startling when she saw Lucifer sitting on the edge of her bed, his legs crossed and his foot bouncing in the air.
"...your majesty" she said sleepily "How did you get up here?"
“You left a balcony door open” Lucifer shrugged.
Velvette giggled, imagining The Prince Of Lies fluttering onto her balcony like an oversized pigeon.
"Angel Dust came home early. He wouldn't tell us much, just that Valentino is sick and he and Vox got into a fight... would you like to tell me more?" Lucifer asked kindly.
"Val threw up on me, and Vox defended my honor" Velvette half-lied with a shrug, very much wanting to move on to the sexier part of this dream "I'm sorry about last night. Charlie's party must've been ruined"
Lucifer shook his head, patting her knee comfortingly.
"No, no. Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault. I'm not here to recriminate you, Velvette, I’m here to let you know something; that room at the hotel I told you about? With the ducks? It's yours. Nobody will ever be given the key to it but you. You can bring Vox, or you can come alone. But it will always be there for you" he patted her knee again.
Velvette nodded with a grateful smile, before shifting in bed so she was sitting cross-legged next to Lucifer, looking at him with a dreamy expression.
“Velvette?” Lucifer looked puzzled.
“Does Alastor ever tell you how pretty you are? Because you are so fucking pretty” she whispered, before leaning over and pressing her lips against Lucifer’s.
The kiss woke her up faster than any cup of coffee, and three things ran through her head in rapid succession;
- Lucifer's lips were amazingly soft.
- Lucifer tasted like blood and jambalaya.
- Velvette was definitely not dreaming.
She broke away quickly, scrambling backwards and clutching the sheets to herself, going as red as her cherry-colored eyes.
“Oh fuck! I’m so, so, so sorry! I thought I was dreaming!” she pleaded.
Lucifer barely even reacted. He just smiled sympathetically.
“It’s okay, Velvette. I was the most beautiful angel in heaven, once upon a time. Now I’m trapped in Hell with all the perverts. If I had a penny for every time someone came onto me- literally in some cases!”
Lucifer laughed airily, while Velvette looked appalled.
“That sounds fucking awful”
“It’s not fun. So my point is; that kiss wasn’t so bad. It was very cute” Lucifer said, before getting to his feet "That room is yours, no matter what. Do you have any questions?"
Velvette nodded, touching her lips gently.
"Why do you taste like jambalaya of all things? Does Alastor do the cooking at the hotel or something? Vox always said he was addicted to that stuff, he'd eat it for breakfast some-"
Velvette's eyes widened in horrified realization, at the same time that Lucifer smiled sheepishly
"Alastor kissed me goodbye before I left the hotel" he confessed.
“Oh my God! Oh fuck!” Velvette shrieked, too horrified to even care that she was naked as she got to her feet and raced past Lucifer to the bathroom, desperately rinsing her mouth out before grabbing her toothbrush.
Lucifer chuckled, and Velvette was so distracted that she didn’t hear him vanish in a twinkle of red glitter. She used her toothbrush to scrub near-hysterically at her mouth until Vox, wearing a lazily-tied dressing gown, lay a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
Velvette was enjoying her rediscovered trust and partnership with Vox, but her every instinct was screaming at her not to tell him about Lucifer and Alastor, or about Lucifer's offer of a room at the hotel.
…and it was just plain old common sense that told her not to tell her notoriously temperamental boyfriend that she'd kissed the King of Hell in his bed, while he was sleeping.
(There was a chance Vox would just find the kiss hot, but Velvette didn't want to take the risk that he'd get pissy. After all, as Velvette had found out the hard way, kissing Lucifer meant kissing Alastor by proxy)
“I felt nauseous, I wanted to stop it in it's tracks” she lied, smiling weakly “I think there’s been enough puking in the V Tower to last us a lifetime”
Vox smiled sympathetically, squeezing her shoulder “I should get back to work… and you should check on Val”
“Me?! Why me?! What if he’s still in a bad mood?!” Velvette said, shocked that Vox was putting her in harm's way.
Vox's smile became a smirk. He reached into his dressing gown's pocket and pulled out Val’s bedazzled gun, handing it to Velvette.
“Open the door with this in your hand and make him beg for forgiveness. If he’s not willing to behave? Bang” Vox winked “I think you should get a chance to remind him that you’re not some trembling Babydoll”
“Fuck, I think I’m getting wet again. You’re the best, babes. Guess who's wearing their little Alastor outfit again tonight?” Velvette grinned up at Vox.
Looking intrigued, Vox tilted his screen.
“It seems I'm going to be putting my tongue to very good use tonight" Vox ran two fingers against his screen, making the gesture for cunnilingus "Don't have too much fun with Val"
"Ha! Don't worry, I won't" Velvette said darkly.
Standing outside of Angel Dust's dressing room, with her heart hammering in her chest, Velvette cocked Valentino’s gun so roughly that she knocked several rhinestones off it.
“VAL!” Velvette finally called out “Listen up, you giant fucking pissbaby, If you try to fuck with me again I’ll shoot your dick off!”
With that, she opened the door, bracing herself to see-
-the room was empty. It reeked of blood and vomit, but there was no sign of Val.
Velvety looked around, confused, before her gaze landed on a discarded purple blazer and white trousers on the floor, along with a familiar pair of boots.
“Val?” Velvette said, confused.
Something suddenly rushed towards her face and she flinched back, squeezing her eyes shut before wrinkling her nose as something soft and fluffy whispered against her skin.
It reminded her of how Valentino had swept powder over her cheeks, and she breathed “Val” again before she could stop herself.
She opened her eyes and found herself looking at a large, purplish moth with red, black, and white wings, currently sitting on Angel Dust's vanity and squeaking indignantly at her.
Velvette stared at the moth, before something compelled her to move closer and take a better look.
The moth kept squeaking, and Velvette leaned in.
Its antennae were asymmetrical. One was full and fluffy, streaked in black and white, while the other was barren and stick-like.
The moth stared right back at her, it's red eyes boring into hers.
“Val?!” Velvette realized, remembering the parting remarks of Alastor’s note.
"... turn an abusive rapist with mood swings worse than Vox's taste in clothes into a harmless, fluffy little darling that wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"...a harmless, fluffy little darling..."
The moth squeaked excitedly, jumping off the vanity and fluttering around her head happily, elated that she recognized him.
Velvette could only stare into space, one trembling hand slowly covering her mouth.
Lucifer help me, what have I done?
To Be Continued…
Notes:
🦋~Nature abhors a power vacuum, it leaves room for you and me~🦋
🦋 ~The future of Hell belongs to......Well. Not The Vees, that's for sure!
(P.S, can we talk about how fucking rude it was in "Finale" for Vox and Val to sing about "you and me" while Velvette was RIGHT THERE!!!)
Chapter 9: Well, It's 'Cause No One Could Respect This
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Velvette had only been a Vee for a year, give or take, and being so new to the world of polyamory she was trying not to play favorites with her boys. But tonight happened to be the first night that she was alone in the Vees' penthouses with only Valentino for company, and she was left sleepless from a vague sense of dread that her conscious mind couldn't fathom the source of.
Vox was hosting a telethon. Sixty-six-point-six hours of non-stop entertainment from 666 News. It would be a highly impressive feat, if Vox managed to pull it off without having a breakdown. Velvette had been involved with the event for the first couple of days, but she'd soon grown bored, and Vox had given her permission to bail.
She was exhausted, despite the numerous power naps she'd taken in Vox's studios. But something kept her tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Of course, as she only subconsciously recognized where the vague sense of dread was coming from, her conscious mind led her straight to the belly of the beast.
"You're up late" Valentino purred as Velvette padded sleepily into his penthouse, her footsteps muffled by monogrammed pink slippers (a gift from Vox) "...and they say I'm the nocturnal animal"
Val was standing behind his bar, dumping ingredients carelessly into a blender. He was wearing his wings folded back like a cape, a pair of sparkling diamond barbells in his nipples, and red lace panties.
Velvette shrugged, feeling overdressed in her pink chenille robe and silk hair bonnet. Even after a year together it still made her feel hot under the collar to see Valentino wearing lingerie.
"I couldn't sleep, and I missed my lover" Velvette said with a pout, approaching Valentino and wrapping her arms around his upper thighs, before pitifully holding her arms up like a child.
Velvette knew that she had 'Daddy Issues', and she'd spent her adult life searching for a non-existent Prince Charming to satisfy them. Vox and Valentino were everything she'd ever wanted, everything she'd ever craved. But Velvette wasn't foolish enough to ask them to engage in outright age-play. Vox would never let her live it down, and Valentino would take it too far.
Case in point: the way that Valentino was looking down at her, an evil smile slowly spreading across his face.
"If you want me to give you a grown-up cuddle until you're ready for your nap, ask Papito to fuck you with your big girl words" he said, leering.
"You're disgusting" Velvette quickly stepped away from him, shuddering.
"You're the one asking for uppies, muñequita" Valentino smirked, turning on the blender as Velvette took a seat on a bar-stool "So, you missed your lover, hm? Is that toy I got you not doing it for you?"
Velvette laughed "My toy doesn't have the attributes of my favorite lover... like having a television for a head"
She tried not to play favorites with her boys, but she enjoyed winding them up from time-to-time.
"Would you like to wear this?" Val threatened, holding up the blender.
"Oh, don't. If you do that, I'll have to take this off..." Velvette joked, undoing her robe and pulling it open before yanking up the VoxTek-branded t-shirt she'd been sleeping in, exposing her breasts.
Velvette expected Valentino to start drooling at the sight of her, but his expression became alarmed rather than aroused as he glanced at something over the top of Velvette's head "Velvette, querida, we're not-"
"I'm not looking! I'm not looking!" Angel Dust's distinctive, nasal Brooklyn accent called out, and Velvette blanched as she quickly covered herself again. She swiveled on her chair, glaring murderously in the direction of Angel Dust.
He was lying on his side on one of Valentino's purple sofas, curled up into an unhappy ball with his knees tucked up against his chest.
"Hey" he said listlessly.
"...Val, your pet is on the furniture" Velvette snapped, narrowing her eyes until they were nothing more than angry red slits.
Velvette had never warmed to Angel Dust. He was nothing more than a cocky bimbo who got what he deserved, and yet he received so much of Valentino's attention? It hardly felt fair.
(A small part of her that she didn't want to listen to whispered that her antipathy was guilt over Angel Dust's pitiful existence at the hands of her boyfriend)
"Play nice, cariño, my poor little chico bonito had a bad dream. We're going to have some drinks and watch Vox's broadcast, and all those scary thoughts will just melt away! Won't they?"
"Yes, Valentino" Angel said, his voice robotic.
"See!" Valentino grinned "Stay with us, have a Piña Colada!"
"Oh, is that what you're making? Sure!" Velvette said, squealing in delight as Val handed her a hurricane glass full of citrus-shaded goodness.
She couldn't have cared less about Angel Dust's nightmares. Truth be told, she couldn't have cared less about Angel Dust, either.
"...hey! The first one's mine!" Angel complained, sitting up and reaching out like he expected Velvette to hand it to him. She smacked his hand away as she approached the sofa, dropping down next to Angel and sticking her tongue out at him.
"I'm an Overlord, you're not. Sucks to be you"
"Real fucking mature! Why don't you go annoy V Senior? I'm sure he'll be thrilled if you interrupt his telethon- go ahead, try it!" Angel Dust snapped, jerking his thumb towards the doors of Valentino's penthouse.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea! He might even slap you again, that was sexy, you naughty girl" Valentino teased as he put the finishing touches on two other drinks.
"You're a freak, Val. No, I'm not going to bother Vox when he's so close to finishing the telethon" said Velvette, a little haughtily.
"He's only had about three hours of sleep over the past sixty-four hours, he's going to cause another city-wide blackout, any second now" Valentino chuckled "Now that's good television"
Velvette and Angel Dust both tilted their heads, shocked at just how bad Valentino was at imitating his boyfriend of decades. Considering that Val used about six different accents in a single sentence, it was strange that he couldn't nail Vox's Northeastern US accent.
"Vox is only two hours away from finishing the telethon. I can't bother him. He'd be furious" Velvette paused, wondering if Vox would consider spanking her if she was bratty enough.
But Valentino's skin-crawling comments had put her off Daddy Kink for the evening, so she left the idea alone. Valentino sat down in-between them on the sofa, handing Angel a glass and taking a sip of his own drink before turning on the television.
Vox was sitting at Katie Killjoy's desk, grinning manically at the camera as Katie herself stared at him dubiously.
"...and the thing about radio is that it's obsolete! It's over! It's a thing of the past! It's just a has-been relic!" Vox was ranting, his eye spiraling weakly as he gesticulated wildly.
"Oh, fuck. This is worse than I was expecting" Valentino chuckled, taking another sip.
Angel Dust stared at him balefully, before downing his own drink in one and slamming down the glass, pulling a face as he lay back down again. He rested his head on Valentino's knee, self-loathing written all over his features.
Valentino glanced down at him in surprise, smirking.
"Oh, Angel, baby! What a good boy!" he cooed, stroking Angel's hair with one of his left hands.
Velvette leaned against Valentino's arm, watching as Katie Killjoy tried and failed to get Vox to do something, anything, other than rant about Alastor radio's obsolescence.
Valentino glanced down at her, smiling with genuine warmth before putting his drink down next to Angel's glass and wrapping his right arms around her, cradling her face with his other left hand. His rings felt cold and hard against her skin, despite Valentino's warm expression.
"I forgot to mention- happy anniversary!" he suddenly said.
"What?"
"It's past midnight, isn't it? That means it's one year to the day that Vox and I welcomed you into our bed, and our hearts... but between you and me, you crawled into my heart from the moment I saw you, cariño"
"You're fucking right I did, you sappy pissbaby" Velvette said with a smirk, before leaning up as Valentino leaned down, kissing his lips softly.
"Can... can anyone else see my fingers? Do I have eleven? I feel like I have eleven..." Vox was saying, holding his hands out in front of himself and looking dazed.
"I love you" Velvette said, ignoring the pitying look that Angel Dust shot in her direction.
"I love you too. How about we go to bed, hm?" Valentino kissed her again.
"...no, we have eternity. I just want to enjoy this moment. It's perfect"
"Even with Voxxy about to blackout the city?" Valentino asked, his eyes flicking briefly towards the screen, where Vox's face was starting to worryingly glitch as Katie Killjoy slowly backed away from him.
"Even then"
Valentino kissed her again.
"Promise me you'll never betray me, Velvette. Promise me you'll be mine forever" he whispered.
Velvette chuckled, pressing her lips against his one more time before settling in to watch as the power in the studio started to surge.
All three of them, even Angel Dust, laughed as Pentagram City suddenly went dark.
"I promise. You'll never hurt me, and I'll never hurt you" she said, staring at Valentino's darkened silhouette.
It was a promise, yes, but it was also a threat. One that Valentino should've heeded...
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Oh fuck, I'm so sorry!" Velvette babbled as she raced towards Vox's office as fast as her high heeled boots could carry her, Valentino squeaking away happily as she cradled him in her hands.
For all that Velvette felt guilty, Valentino seemed to be having a good time. Then again, he'd been trapped in the form of an anthropomorphic moth demon since the Seventies, maybe being a literal moth wasn't that much of a change for him.
Velvette nearly ran into Vox's office doors before they could slide open, she was moving so quickly. She started clopping down the bridge that led to Vox's desk at breakneck pace. She was too upset to even care about the risk of tripping and falling into the glowing red pit that Vox's office was built on top of.
"VOX!" she shrieked, holding Valentino aloft like he was some sort of offering to the gods. Even if no god in their right mind would take such a sadomasochistic piece of shit. There was a reason he was in Hell, after all.
Vox was sitting at his desk, plugged into the matrix of flickering screens behind him. His eye was spinning, bloody drool-like lines running down his screen as he fidgeted in his seat, turning it side-to-side in excitement as his clawed hands kept flexing against his knees.
Normally, Velvette would've teased Vox for the state he was in. She'd always found it both hilarious and kinda hot how wound up Vox could get when he was plugged directly into the airwaves.
But these weren't normal circumstances.
"Vox! Vox! VOX!" she continued to shriek, coming to a halt mere feet away from Vox's chair, hyperventilating.
Vox's smile vanished, and he swiveled his chair one more time to look at her, his expression becoming concerned and then murderous in rapid succession before he finally spoke "What happened? What did that dusty, overgrown piece of shit do?"
Valentino-the-moth squeaked, actually having the nerve to sound insulted.
"Don't blow a circuit, he didn't do anything to me. He couldn't do anything to me, actually" Velvette said with a slightly hysterical laugh, before tossing Valentino into the air "...and he's not so overgrown anymore"
Valentino landed on Vox’s knee, looking up at him balefully.
Vox stared at the moth.
The moth stared back.
"...what the fuck is this?" he finally asked.
"Look closer" said Velvette, slumping onto the ground, covering her eyes with one hand "Fuck, fuck, fuck, what the fuck have I done?!"
Vox bent over, jostling the wires plugged into the back of his screen as he peered at Valentino.
His screen glitched as realization set in.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" he demanded, his voice distorting so badly that the feedback made Velvette cover her ears "Shit, I'm sorry. I'm sorry"
Velvette's lower lip wobbled as Vox reached down to squeeze her shoulder, her eyes welling up with tears.
"That Hot Topic reject screwed us over, do you remember what the note said?" she choked out, tears running down her face from guilt and rage "It promised to turn him into a harmless, fluffy little darling..."
Valentino scuttled around on Vox's knee so he could look at them both, squeaking curiously. Velvette realized with a lurch that if Valentino's transmogrification was reversed, he would at the very least be able to guess what Vox and her and done, and Lucifer only knew what Val would do to them in retaliation.
Even so, the thought of leaving Valentino in his current form didn't sit right with her. Love was well and truly a weakness.
Vox reached into his jacket's pocket, pulling out the note and re-reading it. He grimaced as he saw Alastor's double-meaning in black-and-white.
"Oh, that fucker" he said, before seeming to realize the same thing that Velvette had, looking down at Valentino as the moth's squeaks became increasingly more suspicious "Fuck. I guess the cat's out of the bag, huh? Yeah. We fucked you, Val"
For a brief moment, he looked scared. He exchanged a look with Velvette, the two of them mutually imagining Valentino's rage if he was returned to his normal, monstrous, form.
But then he slowly started to grin, looking back down at Valentino as three digital red lines started to drool from his mouth again.
"It doesn't feel good, does it? Being so small, and so vulnerable?" he said, he voice dangerously cordial as he reached out and gently started brushing Valentino's wing with one claw "Can you imagine how you made Velvette feel when you fucking raped her?!"
Valentino squeaked, sensing danger, but before he could fly away Vox had caught one of his delicate-looking wings between his razor-sharp claws.
"Val, you should know better than to try and run away. How many times have I tried to flee, only to be overpowered?" Vox's eyes gained a malicious gleam as he raised his hand up into the air, bringing the frantically-struggling Valentino to eye-level.
Velvette got to her feet, approaching Vox's chair and wiping her eyes. She felt more guilty than she had in years, for what she'd done to one of the men she loved...
...but part of her, the same part that made her as sadistic as she needed to be in order to be an Overlord, was gleefully delighted at seeing Valentino helplessly struggle.
How does fear feel, you squeaky bitch?
She couldn't imagine how much schadenfreude Vox must've been experiencing. He'd been putting up with Valentino's bullshit for decades. She leaned against Vox's chair, glowering at Valentino as he squeaked in increasing distress. His red eyes alighted on Velvette, and he started to squeak in a tone that could only be described as accusatory.
Vox just laughed, before shaking Valentino slightly, using his free arm to pull Velvette onto his knee as he did so.
Velvette let herself be manhandled, trying to remember a time when she wasn't so fucking clingy with The TV Demon.
"Now, now, Val. Don't waste your adorable little squeaks of indignation on Velvette. I'm the one that poured Alastor's poison into your cocktail last night" Vox grinned, his fangs somehow looking even more razor sharp than usual "You heard me right, fucker. You terrorized Velvette so much that she sweet talked the Radio Demon into giving her a weapon to use against you"
It wasn't the complete truth, but Velvette didn't argue the point. Vox was enjoying himself, and after years of literal Hell, she didn't begrudge him for it.
"...and I poured it into your drink, and you were too fucking stupid to realize you were being roofied. I should've done this years ago... poisoned you, made you helpless, put you at my mercy for once"
Velvette smiled weakly as Vox kissed her cheek.
"Don't look so glum, my dear. I'm more than happy to take full credit for this. Fuck you, you stupid, psychotic, piece of fucking shit!" he snarled at Valentino, who squeaked with a very familiar form of white-hot fury.
"Vox, remember what we talked about when we planned on using the potion? We're going to Lucifer and we're going to get him to fix this. No discussion. So can we stop antagonizing Val? I don't really want to deal with his rage more than I need to once he's tall and scary again!" Velvette said, curling one of her hands around Vox's lapel.
"Relax, sweetheart!" said Vox "Like all bullies, Valentino is a fucking coward, and he just got a wake-up call about what you and I are capable of. He thought he could do whatever the fuck he wanted with no consequences, but he has found out the hard way that he can't. He's also about to find out that you have powerful allies"
Velvette laughed, in spite of her mounting stress over Vox's carefree antagonism of Valentino.
"Powerful, but short allies" she amended.
“Look who’s talking” Vox said, looking her up and down.
Velvette bristled, making Vox laugh, pulling her closer.
“There’s no shame in being a runaway member of The Lollipop Guild, my dear” he teased, making Velvette roll her eyes "Now, as much fun as I'm having, we should probably pay our pretty little king a visit before it gets too late in the day to make house calls. I'm sure he'll be able to fix this with a click of his fingers"
Velvette nodded "Hopefully we'll be in-and-out. I'm not looking forwards to being at that fucking hotel"
"Oh, I'm sure it won't be that bad. The Morningstars are annoying little do-gooders, but from what I’ve heard they’re excellent hosts. We might even have fun!"
"So you're not going to be a pissy little bitch every time Alastor passes by?" Velvette shot Vox a withering look.
Vox grinned maliciously.
“I'll be on my best behavior, but I can't promise you that I won't get a hard-on when we watch King Lucifer tear Alastor a new asshole for this stunt. Fuck imagine the damage he'll be able to do to that old-timey fuck, he might even get him to frown..." Vox groaned, rubbing circles into Velvette's thigh.
Valentino squeaked, sounding exasperated. Vox laughed at him, leaning back in his chair comfortably.
"As tempting as it is to fuck Velvette right here and now, just to make you jealous..." Vox leered at her "...I already fucked her for an hour straight after I blew your brains out. Fuck, she was dripping before I even touched her, she was so turned on..."
"I know you're having fun, babes, but the clock is ticking. Can we just get this over and done with?" Velvette interrupted, blushing slightly.
"Aw, did I embarrass you? Don't worry, Babydoll. I won't tell Val how wet you are later, when I eat you out until my tongue goes numb" Vox said, letting go of Valentino. The moth squeaked, fluttering up to perch on Vox's hat as he got to his feet. Velvette stared up at him, her mouth suddenly feeling dry "Is something the matter, Velvette?"
Velvette leaned back in Vox's chair, spreading her legs and hitching up her skirt slightly, glancing up at Vox suggestively.
"How about you have a taste now, Vox?" she suggested, her voice more sultry than usual.
"Tempting, my dear. But the clock is ticking" Vox teased, leaning in to kiss her forehead "Just imagine how desperate you'll be by the time I finally slide my tongue into you"
"I fucking hate you" Velvette snapped, getting to her feet. Vox took her hand in his, swinging it slightly as they started to walk out of his office.
"You won't be moaning that in bed later, trust me!"
"Trust us!" Velvette simpered, making Vox laugh.
The trip to the Hazbin Hotel was a surprisingly quick one, with traffic being light for a change. As their limo pulled up outside the hotel, Velvette looked out the window with a critical eye, wrinkling her nose at the grandiose facade that greeted them.
Vox looked up from his phone with a smirk "Not to your taste?"
“Fuck no, this place is a dump. Let's get this over and done with" she said, reaching for the door handle.
“Ah, ah, ah, allow me” Vox opened the door for her, stepping out of the limo with Val still perched atop his hat. Once outside, he reached down, taking Velvette's hand again and helping her out of the car.
“You are being downright classy, Vox!” Velvette said with a grin, leaning against Vox affectionately as they approached the front doors of the hotel.
“You’re a lady, so I’m going to treat you like one” Vox said, wincing as Velvette teasingly smacked his arm "What? It's the truth!"
“You just want me to blow you again” she said.
“Vel! You think so little of me! I’m just enjoying our rekindled love affair” Vox’s eyes rolled upwards, staring in the direction of his hat “…one that you could be a part of if you weren’t being such a fucking cunt, Val!”
Valentino squeaked indignantly as Velvette laughed in shock. It wasn’t that Vox never swore, but he never used the word ‘cunt’.
“Wow, Val’s potty mouth is rubbing off on you, huh?” she snickered, ribbing him with her elbow.
“Val is, as I said, a fucking cunt. Of course he’s rubbing off on me- heh, in more ways than one, on a good day” Vox chuckled before rapping on the door with his knuckles.
There was no answer.
“Zero stars. The service is shit” Velvette finally said, pretending to tap out a review on her phone.
“What do you expect? The bellboy is probably too busy straightening his hair” Vox said.
Velvette laughed, playing with the ends of her own hair "I don't recommend it. It takes forever"
Her hair had sprung back into it's normal curls, given that she had to wash it out thoroughly after Val threw up on her.
"Mm, and then you smell like burnt toast all night" Vox added with a playful grin “I didn’t mind, it reminded me of a panini. To be perfectly honest, you kinda just made me hungry”
"Are you fucking kidding me?! I spent ages straightening my hair for you!" Velvety said, looking aghast “…and all I accomplished was to make you crave a fucking grilled cheese?!”
“The slutty outfit got my dick hard, don’t worry!” Vox said, obviously doing his best not to laugh in Velvette's face as the door finally opened. But one look at the disgruntled former Overlord who opened it and he did indeed break out into laughter.
"Oh my God! You look pathetic!" Vox cackled, leaning against Velvette for support "Fuck me, this is comedy gold!”
“You know what, Vox, you’ve got the right idea for once! Fuck you! The fuck do you want?” Husk asked, a bottle in one hand as he glared at them both. He took a deep swing, looking like he needed it to deal with two Vees showing up on his doorstep.
“Husk, Husk, Husk! I was just teasing you. Don't be so sensitive! What a delight it is to see your furry face again!” Vox chuckled, before brushing Husk aside with a sweep of his arm as he pushed his way inside, pulling Velvette along with him “Velvette, have you ever formally met Hell’s former Casino Overlord?”
“Nope! But I’ve heard all about his pathetic backstory. Not a pleasure to meet you” said Velvette maliciously, leaning against Vox even more, her arms around his waist and her head resting against his chest.
They were in enemy territory, she felt better staying close to him.
Husk glared at them both.
“You’re not welcome here, get out” Husk growled.
“Excuse me? Lucifer Morningstar himself has told me repeatedly that I'm always welcome here" Velvette said.
Husk's expression softened.
“Did you finally flee the psycho? Trust me, Velvette, Valentino’s been smacking Vox around for a very long time. He’s only gotten worse the longer he’s gotten away with it. You are both better off getting the fuck away from him” Husk said darkly “Valentino is pure evil, even by Hell's standards. There’s no lower depth a man can sink to than rape"
Valentino squeaked, actually having the nerve to sound indignant, and Vox’s screen momentarily flickered.
“We’re here to see Lucifer, and then we'll go. Is he in?" Velvette asked, quickly changing the subject.
“Uh, it might not be a good time for that. At all. Lucifer’s kinda…” Husk started to say, looking uncomfortable.
Somewhere in the hotel there was a crash, followed by loud cursing.
“…he’s in a bad mood. But you’re welcome to wait. I can’t promise he won’t smite you though” Husk said grimly.
Velvette stared in the direction of the crash with wide eyes, while Vox looked nonplussed.
What the fuck? He was fine earlier!
“He’s fond of Velvette, I’m sure we have nothing to fear. We’ll wait” he said confidently, pulling Velvette towards a plush-looking red sofa and sitting down, Valentino still perched on his hat.
Velvette sat next to him, curling her arms securely around one of his.
“What’s with the moth?” Husk finally asked, staring blatantly at Val.
“He’s a pet” said Vox without missing a beat, making Valentino let out another indignant squeak.
“Huh. Overlords are fucking weird, I keep forgetting. Alright, I’ll let our most gracious Short King know you're here" Husk said, ambling off at an unhurried pace.
"Let him know today, if you could!" Vox called out, while Velvette giggled.
"Who taught him the phrase Short King?" she whispered.
"Maybe he just picked it up? I know what it means" Vox pointed out.
"Yeah, because I taught you. Does Husk have something young and pretty teaching him slang?”
"He's got an Angel on his shoulder, I hear" Vox whispered, before getting comfortable on the sofa, spreading his legs. With a small squeak, Valentino fluttered off his hat to perch on his hand. Vox smirked down at him, stroking Valentino’s wings with a feather-light touch.
Velvette watched him pet Val, shifting her weight and pulling a face. The stress of the past few hours had put her bladder on the back-burner, but now it was demanding her attention with increasingly discomfort.
“Is everything alright?” Vox glanced over at her.
Velvette gritted her teeth. She was the smallest member of The Vees, so biology dictated that she was the one who needed to use the restroom the most. In all her years of being in Hell, Vox and Valentino had never once failed to take the piss (pun intended) out of her when she was forced to excuse herself.
"I need to piss" she admitted, glaring at Vox. Valentino fluttered off his hand, circling their heads with a cacophony of amused-sounding squeaks.
"Can't you hold it? I don't want to let you out of my sight, not here" Vox said, not unsympathetically.
Velvette thought about it, before pulling a face and shaking her head, going crimson.
She didn’t say out-loud that she couldn’t hold it, but the inference was there. Naturally, Vox was an asshole about it.
“You died when you were an adult? Right?” he teased. Velvette glared daggers at him, baring her sharp teeth as he continued “What’s that thing Val always calls you? A Betsy-Wetsy?”
"We might not be back at the V Tower for hours, you flat-faced prick! Just... ugh. I'll be right back" she got to her feet and started to flounce off, practically radiating indignation.
"Don't you dare piss in the garden, Velvette! Do you know how much damage control I had to do after you defiled Cannibal Town Park?" Vox called out.
"Fuck your double standards! You told Val to piss on the limo last night!" Velvette pointed out, glancing over her shoulder at Vox.
"It's different for men, you're meant to be a lady!" said Vox, sitting with his legs spread so widely that two Velvette's could've easily fitted between his knees.
Velvette turned back around and flipped him off. Vox, to her annoyance, kept talking.
“...and try not to end up having another heart-to-heart with any passing Morningstars. Even if Lilith herself returns, zip it and come talk to me if you need a shoulder to cry on”
“Fuck you” Velvette flipped him off with her other hand, walking away.
The layout of the hotel was more like a labyrinth than a hospitality venue, and Velvette was seriously considering ignoring Vox and slipping outside to piss in Lucifer's geraniums after ten minutes of searching.
But as though the hotel itself heard her undignified thoughts, that was when she finally turned a corner and found herself facing a Restroom sign hanging on an otherwise nondescript door.
"Thank Lucifer" she whispered, darting inside and breathing another sigh of relief as she saw that the bathroom was completely spotless.
Hazbin Hotel's best-known inhabitants were a drug addled porn-star and a cannibal. Were Nifty not such a good housekeeper, the bathrooms easily could've been more horrifying than the time Vox tried to host a dating show.
(Nobody found love, but Valentino found a lot of new 'employees' once the dust had settled)
A quick bathroom break and a thorough washing of her hands later, and Velvette felt better, even if she dreaded whatever taunting remarks Vox had been thinking up in her absence. She was starting to make her way back to the atrium when she heard a familiar, static-warped voice.
“Calm yourself, my sweet angel, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you say” Alastor was murmuring, sounding softer than Velvette had ever heard him sound before. Intrigued, Velvette carefully inched towards the source of the sound; an open pair of balcony doors.
Her curiosity was piqued further by the now-familiar voice that responded to Alastor's.
“If this gets out, not only am I ruined, but Charlie is ruined, the hotel is ruined, the Sins will hate me, my social standing will be obliterated, and Heaven will have my head on a platter” Lucifer Morningstar was moaning, sounding genuinely scared.
Concealing herself in the curtains the bordered the balcony doors, Velvette peeked around the corner to see what was going on.
Lucifer was slumped over the railing. He’d discarded his hat, coat, and cane, and looked even smaller than he already was, especially with Alastor standing over him and rubbing his back comfortingly.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Lucifer. Nothing is going to happen to you. From what I understand, you're God's favorite angel, aren't you”
“Ha! I was his favorite. Then I became his problem child. But that is nothing, nothing compared to this! I stole blood from each of The Sins, including myself-"
"Not to split hairs, Lucifer, but you can't steal your own blood" Alastor pointed out with an airy laugh.
"You know what I mean. I stole it and I fucked around with it because I decided that the best way to prove Charlie's hotel is a success is by poisoning the water supply of the hotel with a potion that will hopefully eradicate all sin from the drinker!" Lucifer groaned, rubbing his eyes as he frantically gave his confession.
Velvette stared at the diminutive fallen angel, her eyes widening in shock.
What? What?! WHAT THE FUCK?!
Lucifer Morningstar sacrificed his own angelic status to give Mankind free will. Would he really be so quick to snatch it away again?
...then again. Everyone in Hell knew how much Lucifer resented Sinners, how he despised what Humanity had done with their hard-won free will.
"It was such a stupid, risky fucking idea. But do you want to hear the worst fucking thing, Al? I'd found the perfect test subject! Velvette is a fucking mess! I feel terrible for her, I really do, but she's also a terrible person" Lucifer shrugged dismissively "If things went wrong... well..."
Velvette felt the world lurch around her, clasping one hand over her mouth in shock, horror, and betrayal.
He never cared...
“How long has it been missing for? Why wasn’t I checking on it more?!” Lucifer groaned, oblivious to the heartbreak he'd just caused the young Overlord.
“Don't be so hard on yourself, Lucifer! There was no reason for you to suspect a thief would break in and spirit it away. How lucky for you that I suggested you check on it!” Alastor said "Who would've thought such a tiny little bottle of green goo could cause so much stress for The King of Hell"
Velvette's heart skipped a beat.
..."Deal" she said, wincing as the room filled with painfully bright green light and squeezing her eyes shut.
By the time the light dimmed enough for Velvette to open her eyes again, Alastor was gone. In his place, a small bottle full of green liquid sat innocently on the table with a note attached to it...
Velvette could feel tears running down her face, her hands trembling in abject horror as she realized how truly, deeply fucked she and Vox were.
Lucifer straightened up, shaking his head as he looked out at Pentagram City. The air darkened around him, and Velvette shrunk back against the curtain, whimpering too quietly to be heard.
“When I find out who took it…” Lucifer’s voice gained a demonic reverberation “I’m going to make that wretched little thief regret every last fucking sin that led them into my claws, and then I’m pouring that shit down the toilet. We will never speak of this again"
Realizing that she was endangering herself by continuing to spy on Alastor and Lucifer, Velvette straightened up as quietly as she could, taking several steps back.
...but they weren't quiet enough.
"What was that?" Alastor asked.
Velvette turned on her heel and ran faster than she'd ever run before. By the time she reached the atrium, her heart felt like it was going to explode. She rushed over to Vox, who was watching Val as he fluttered around the chandelier, and all but threw herself onto his lap.
"...hello to you too" Vox said with a smirk "How's Betsy feeling?"
"Fuck you. We need to leave. Right now. Please, please!" Velvette begged, clutching his lapels "Lucifer was never fond of me, he was going to use me as a test subject for some sort of fucked up potion!"
"What?" Vox said, stunned. Valentino fluttered back down to them, perching on Vox's hat once more and squeaking down at her in concern.
It was so easy to forget that Valentino was a monster when he looked so sweet and harmless.
"Lucifer used the blood of all The Sins to make some sort of redemption potion. Alastor fucked us. He stole Lucifer's potion and gave it to me to give to Val. That potion will make Heaven come down on Lucifer, hard, so he's dangerously angry and looking for the thief. That's not even getting into what the fuck did we trick Val into drinking?! Oh my God, Vox, we're so screwed!" Velvette said, clutching Vox's lapels even tighter, creasing the material.
To her surprise, Vox's face split in a huge grin, and he started laughing.
"Are you fucking insane? We're dead! This is Lucifer Morningstar we're talking about! He could smite us all without so much as breaking a sweat!" Velvette said.
Vox shook his head, still laughing, before he pulled Alastor's note out of his pocket.
"Aha, no. No. No. We're not dead! Alastor's dead, my dear. We have evidence that he's the thief right here!"
Velvette stared at the note, smiling weakly as she saw Alastor's handwriting, her terror easing slightly.
"...oh. Thank Lucifer... Thank Lucifer" she groaned, slumping against Vox "But what do we do about Val-"
She never got the chance to finish her question.
Before either of them could so much as blink, there was a flash of white-hot fire, and the note burnt to ashes while Vox powerlessly stared at it in horror. His fingers weren't burnt, but their hopes were incinerated.
The ashes of the note crumbled through Vox's claws. Despairing, he and Velvette turned their heads towards the faint sound of jazz music playing through what sounded like an old-fashioned radio, finding themselves looking at Alastor as he descended the stairs with a predatory gait.
"You brought your leverage into the belly of the beast? How foolish, my old pal!" Alastor said, twirling his microphone-cane in one hand. "...look at you. 'Overlords'. Trembling on the sofa of a known enemy. How could anyone respect you? Anyway, we have more pressing matters to discuss than your pitiful state. Lucifer will be down shortly, and I'd rather he not be present for this conversation"
He stopped a few paces away from the sofa the Vees were on, lacing his hands atop his cane. Vox glanced at Velvette, genuine fear in his eyes as he realized just how much danger they were both in. They'd waltzed right into the hotel like overly-confident lambs to the slaughter.
"Stay the fuck away from us, you smiling freak!" Vox said, his voice wavering as he wrapped his arms tightly around Velvette and got to his feet. Velvette squeaked in a Val-like manner as she suddenly found herself several feet off the ground, wrapping herself around Vox like a limpet.
Vox strode towards the doors of the hotel as quickly as he could, before he was stopped in his tracks by Alastor melting into shadows and re-materializing in front of the door, blocking their way.
"You're not going anywhere, at least not you, Velvette" Alastor purred, using his cane to tap Velvette's shoulder.
"Stay away from her Alastor, or I swear-" Vox dropped Velvette to the ground and pulled her protectively behind himself with one arm. Valentino fluttered into the palm of his free hand and Vox curled his fingers carefully around him, keeping him safe in a cage made of razor-sharp claws.
Alastor laughed airily.
"Oh, do calm down, Vox! I don't mean to hurt your charming companion! I think that your lover has done that better than I ever could!" Alastor said, making error messages blink all over Vox's face from shame and rage.
"You fucking-"
"Velvette owes me a favor, remember! I'm calling the favor in now"
Velvette felt her blood run cold. She felt as though she was watching a meticulously planned trail of dominoes fall over, and she was just another helpless domino waiting to fall.
"What do you want?" she asked, holding onto the back of Vox's jacket, like he could protect her.
(He couldn't, and everyone present knew it)
"Well, given the commotion you caused at Charlie's birthday party, I thought it only fitting that you give her a gift! An apology, of sorts" Alastor said.
"Fine. What would she like? Money's hardly a problem, name your price" said Velvette.
Alastor, somehow, managed to smile even more.
"Why! I think you have the perfect gift right there in your sparky paramour's hand!"
A shadowy tendril grabbed Vox's wrist and yanked it towards The Radio Demon. Vox couldn't use any of his powers to break away from Alastor's grip without electrocuting his fellow Vees, so Alastor easily pried his cyan claws open to reveal the increasingly terrified-sounding Valentino, tenderly picking him up with his red-tipped fingers.
With a flash of magic, Alastor was suddenly holding a small terrarium, with Valentino helplessly fluttering inside.
"Charlie does so love animals. Oh, look how helpless he is! It certainly wouldn't take much to crush him now! I could do it in seconds and make it look like an accident..."
"NO!" Velvette begged.
"Give. Him. Back. Give him back! GIVE HIM-" Vox snarled, near-hysterical, his free hand crackling with electricity and his voice distorting so much he was nearly illegible.
Velvette could only imagine how much his eye must have been spiraling.
"Be careful, Vox. If you annoy me too much, who knows what I might do- say! How would you like it if I released the video of you being raped to death by our dusty friend here" Alastor chuckled to himself "It's got a slow start, but a gripping second act!"
Vox went as quiet as the grave, his entire body tensing up.
"You can ban me from your tower all you like, but I can still come and go as I please. Who do you think returned your phone to you, Velvette? I do detest modern technology, but that doesn't mean I can't use it. I have a copy of that film, and if I'm pushed too far... the whole world will see you cry, Vox"
Alastor laughed, becoming wreathed in shadows and glowing occult symbols as his smile extended far beyond the scope of his face and radio dials started to spin in his eyes, his antlers branching out as his demonic form came out to play.
Vox wrapped both of his arms protectively around Velvette, holding her behind himself as he stared Alastor down. Velvette couldn't help but respect at how well Vox held his ground in the face of pure nightmare fuel.
"...Lucifer despises you. You can scheme all you want, it won't take much to convince him that you stole his potion" Vox said, ignoring Velvette's desperate attempts to get him to shut up.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
In the blink of an eye, Alastor returned to normal (for Alastor, at least), his eyes full of mirth.
"HA! I think you'll find that the king and I have grown closer... much closer" Alastor chuckled at Vox's stunned expression "Didn't Velvette tell you? She found out at Charlie's party! I thought you were supposed to be partners, don't you respect one another enough to share things like that?"
"I was going to tell you, I swear!" Velvette tearfully lied.
Vox shot her a look, before glaring back at Alastor as he started circling them like a shark.
"Now, before my darling ducky interrupts us, let's make a few things clear; you will hand Valentino over to Charlie as a gift, you will not say a word about what he truly is, and from here on out you will do as I say. I'll own both your souls without needing a contract, even Lucifer won't be aware of how far under my thumb you both are. I can now, at a whim, destroy your public image, kill your friend, and turn the King of Hell himself against you. So please, do as I say"
Vox was speechless, sputtering and glitching in rage, shock, and fear. Velvette could feel tears running down her face again, staring helplessly at Valentino as he squeaked impotently in Alastor's terrarium.
"Am I understood?" Alastor tilted his head, the sound of radio static filling the air.
Before he could threaten them again, they were interrupted.
"My apologies, I was just grabbing a snack. A pleasure to see you again, Velvette! What brings you to Charlie's wonderful hotel?" Lucifer called out as he descended the stairs "Is... ah... everything okay?"
Velvette was still cowering behind Vox.
"Ha, my dear Vox was just feeling over-protective. I was merely complimenting her attire, Vox, you really need to practice being less jealous!" Alastor said, the sound of static vanishing as he looked up at his lover.
Vox hung his head slightly, looking defeated as he let go of Velvette.
"Do what Alastor says. We're fucked" he said quietly, before turning to face Lucifer with a charming smile "Who can blame me! God- ah- who knows how many innocent young women Alastor butchered when he was alive!"
"The answer is none. I only killed men" Alastor said primly.
"I'll talk to Heaven about making you a Saint" Lucifer rolled his eyes affectionately.
Velvette stared into space, not turning around.
...we lost...
Vox's rivalry with Alastor. He lost. We lost.
Lucifer help me. Literally, Lucifer, help me!
...but you were never going to help me, were you? All I was was a potential test subject for your sick scheme. I was just a stepping stone for your daughter to trample over.
We lost. You lost. But Alastor won. He outsmarted us all, even if you haven't realized it just yet.
Vox's fantasies may as well have all come true. Alastor had well and truly fucked them.
Velvette glared hatefully up at Alastor, before wiping her eyes quickly and grabbing the terrarium from him, spinning to face Lucifer with a winning smile.
"Your majesty! I have a birthday gift for Charlie, is she home?" she said, ignoring Valentino's horrified squeaks.
Lucifer was wearing his coat and hat once more, holding a half-eaten caramel apple in one hand and his cane in the other. He really did look like an angel, Velvette had the strangest urge to run into his arms and beg him to believe her and to help her.
It was a stupid urge.
Lucifer looked completely delighted, grinning even more than Alastor was, his pointed teeth glinting in the light of the chandelier.
"Oh, aren't you sweet? Charlie! Char-Char!" he called out "Make yourselves at home, guys, stay for dinner!"
"Please stay, we'd be delighted to have you both! Even Valentino is welcome to join us, if he can behave himself. Where is the overgrown insect?" Alastor laughed innocently.
Alastor's taunting words, from his on-air argument with Vox, rang in Velvette's ears.
I'm gonna make you wish that I'd stayed gone...
Oh, this will be fun...
To Be Continued...
Notes:
Welcome back to Fun Facts With Jesse!
1) Jesse absolutely sucks at differentiating American accents! According to The Internet, Vox's accent hails from the Northeastern US, more specifically New York (the state). That seems to line up with Christian Borle's own background, so I went with that. But please correct me if I'm wrong.
2) A 'Betsy-Wetsy' was a 'drink-and-wet' style baby-doll. They were invented in the 30's and discontinued in the 80's, so it's feasible that Val would've seen little girls playing with them (or even had one himself).
3) I'm not a doctor, so don't quote me on this, but I have read that cannibalism can really mess up your digestive system. The bathroom was the only part of the hotel that Adam didn't need to destroy, because Alastor had already destroyed it that morning (sorry, sorry. I'll see myself out).
Chapter 10: Sorry Group Attendin'
Notes:
Content Warning: This chapter contains self-harm and suicidal thoughts in the final few paragraphs. On a less serious note, this chapter also gets a bit... gross. Poor Vox.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Velvette was fascinated by Charlie Morningstar’s saccharine personality. For the longest time she’d assumed the whole thing was an act. But, as she'd been shocked to realize, Charlie was just like that.
Nothing confirmed it more than her reaction to seeing two Vees- mortal enemies of her facility manager- standing awkwardly next to Lucifer in the atrium of her hotel.
With a grin wide enough to rival Alastor's she’d squealed in delight, doing a happy little dance on the spot before racing towards Velvette and throwing herself into her arms, hugging her tightly.
Given the height difference between Velvette and Charlie, Velvette ended up pressed against Charlie’s cleavage as she was partially-smothered by the overly-enthusiastic princess, with the terrarium pressed against Charlie’s stomach.
Valentino squeaked, and Velvette gave the terrarium a warning tap with one of her acrylic nails. She was about to pull away when she suddenly heard Valentino's voice, heavy with smoke and lust, whispering into her ear.
"What I wouldn't give to switch positions with you, querida. Don't be so shy, see how far you can go, make her blush and squirm right in front of her Papito...
Velvette felt her cheeks burn as Charlie let go of her. Her eyes flicked over to Lucifer, who was watching them with a warm smile.
Look at him, looking at you and the Princesa... do you think he ends up pressed into those royal tits when she hugs him, muñequita? Do you think he enjoyed watching that, do you think he'd enjoy watching you two do other things...
Velvette's blush was chased away by her face paling in horror. She looked nervously around herself, but Valentino was entirely and securely contained within the terrarium.
Charlie, oblivious to Velvette's inner turmoil, grinned excitedly.
“I’m so happy you’re here, we’re going to have such a wonderful time together! I believe everyone can be redeemed, even you, Vox!" Charlie said, her smile wavering slightly as she turned towards Vox, who grimaced in return.
Lucifer laughed ruefully, approaching his daughter.
"I hate to burst your bubble, Charlie, but Vox and Velvette are just visiting" he said, wrapping his arm around his daughter's waist.
See? Valentino's voice whispered to Velvette, making her shudder and look down suspiciously at the terrarium, where Valentino-the-moth was innocently scurrying about in his new home.
What the fuck is going on?
“Oh! Well, we love visitors here, stay for dinner!” Charlie insisted, before looking down at the terrarium “…what’s this?”
Velvette quickly handed her the terrarium with a fixed smile. She hated this, being forced to give away one of the men she loved like he was nothing more than a party favor, but she had no choice. Alastor was lurking in the corner of the atrium, she could feel his eyes on her.
“Happy birthday, Charlie” she said, as cheerfully as she could.
Happy birthday! This isn't my rapist boyfriend in moth form, and I swear I'm not fantasizing about you and your Daddy!
“Aw, you didn’t have to! Thank-you so much! This is so sweet!” Charlie cooed, holding up the terrarium and peering inside “What a beautiful moth. It… it kinda looks like…”
Vox and Velvette exchanged a brief look of panic, before Velvette came up with a rushed excuse to explain why the moth looked so much like Val.
“We had this crazy plan to create a line of pets that looked like the Vees. It didn’t go anywhere, but I thought the moth design was so beautiful that it would make a good pet” she said.
“It does! Thank-you, Velvette!” Charlie held onto the terrarium tightly, while Valentino squeaked sadly at his business partners.
Velvette heard the faint buzz of radio static and turned her head. Alastor was grinning ear-to-ear as he stared unblinkingly at The Vees. As Velvette glared at him, he tilted his head before flicking his gaze towards Vox.
Radio dials spun in his eyes as he observed his prey, and Velvette pressed herself closely against Vox, as if she could protect him.
But she couldn't. Vox had always been the one who made Velvette feel safe, and he couldn't even do that anymore. What hope did she have of protecting him?
Feeling sick, she looked away.
"What a charming gift!" Alastor finally spoke, a laugh in his voice "I do so love pets, don't you? You can train them to do all sorts of tricks, with the right motivation..."
Vox and Velvette wanted nothing more than to flee the hotel, but Lucifer and Charlie were determined to be good hosts. So the remaining non-transmogrified Vees found themselves sitting on a sofa together while Lucifer and Charlie sat on another sofa opposite theirs.
While the Morningstars cooed over Charlie's newly-acquired moth, Alastor loomed over them from behind their sofa, grinning as widely as he always did.
Velvette had her hand on Vox's thigh, squeezing it periodically. Vox's arm was wrapped around her shoulders, his hand rubbing up and down her upper arm.
"So, Valentino's still not well? What a shame" Lucifer didn't sound too worried, brushing imaginary lint off his jacket.
"Tell him thank-you from me. This is such a lovely gift" Charlie smiled warmly at them both "I'll need to think of a name!"
Vox smiled tightly.
"I'm glad you like it, Princess. Unfortunately, yes, Val's pretty sick. I'm sure Angel Dust told you all about the projectile vomiting. Poor Velvette had to scrub her hair out five times" he said sympathetically, running a claw through one of her curls.
"It was mostly just vodka and semen" Velvette said, just to see the disgusted looks on Charlie and Lucifer's faces.
"Hey, that sounds like a great cocktail!" called out Angel Dust, sauntering down the stairs and staring in surprise at the two Vees "Fuck me, I can't believe you changed your minds!"
Lucifer smiled ruefully before turning to face Angel, shaking his head.
“They’re just staying for dinner” he explained “They brought Charlie a birthday gift, look”
As Angel Dusk approached the sofa, Alastor quickly intercepted him, blocking his view of Valentino.
"What wonderful timing! I needed to talk about something with you, walk with me” he said, linking his arm with Angel’s and pulling him away.
“…look, if this is about your straightening iron, I swear I meant to give it back to you” Angel Dust said as he was guided out of the room "...also, why the fuck does it have hair-dye stains all over it? Are those red streaks not natural, Smiles?"
"My! Aren't we nosy today!" Alastor responded with a carefree laugh, continuing to pull Angel Dust away.
Vox nudged Velvette's side, before leaning in to whisper to her.
"That's not hair-dye, if he fucks up his hair while on a killing spree, he doesn't wash the blood out before fixing it"
"Your ex is fucking disgusting" Velvette whispered back "...why doesn't he want Angel Dust to see Val?"
They stared at each other, before turning to stare at Valentino.
Think clearly, picardías, why does the ciervo de mierda want to keep my Angelito away from his Papá so badly? Not-Valentino whispered to Velvette.
She was feeling more and more disoriented, as though she couldn't clearly touch what she was touching, or hear what she was hearing. But even in her broken state, she could tell that 'Valentino' was just her own brain working out the puzzle before her.
The solution soon became obvious, and she pinched Vox's leg gently.
Angel Dust will be able to tell that's Valentino. No wonder Alastor’s dragging him away.
It was too risky to try and convey that information out-loud, so she tried to express it all in a pinch and a look.
Vox nodded, understanding.
Lucifer interrupted them with a pointed clearing of his throat.
"I gotta say, you look much better without that chain around your neck, Velvette. Good boy, Vox" he smirked at Vox.
Vox sputtered in indignation.
"Good boy?! I'm not a child!"
“Compared to how old I am? You’re a baby boy” Lucifer said with a shit-eating grin “So what made you decide to stop being a bastard? From what Alastor’s told me, that’s practically your default setting”
He reached out with one of his blackened hands, making a gesture like he was flipping a switch.
"Douchebag" he said, wriggling his fingers.
Charlie elbowed him in the side "Dad! They're guests at my hotel! You can't talk to them like that, it's rude!"
"Sorry, Char-Char. They're awful, but they're still your guests. My apologies, Vox. You can't help being a douchebag-"
"Dad!"
"-so. Why did you rip up the contract? Did you finally realize that if you didn't do it, I'd do it eventually?" Lucifer ignored Charlie's outrage.
"Because you'd never let anyone suffer under a contract, would you?" Velvette shot a significant look in Angel Dust's general direction.
"I offered. He refused. I don't believe in disrespecting the free will that I gave up everything to give to you pieces of shit" Lucifer lied.
Velvette's eyes widened in shock at the revelation about Angel Dust.
Angel Dust refused to be released from Val's contract? Either Lucifer's lying, or Angel Dust's way freakier than we realized.
"What if you could do good, by overriding our free will?" Velvette said before she could think better of it, too distracted about the Angel Dust revelation to think better of antagonizing The Devil "I'm sure Charlie's mission would be a lot easier if you didn't have moral hang-ups about free will"
What the fuck are you doing, you idiot? Why don't you just put on a neon sign that says 'Smite Me Angel Daddy'?!
Luckily, Lucifer didn't look suspicious, he just laughed.
"I'm sure it would be. Aren't you lucky I'm so nice? Speaking of being nice..." he motioned towards Vox "Talk"
Vox sneered.
"Velvette isn't just my business partner, she's my life partner. It was wrong to put her under a soul contract. Any good businessman can admit when he makes a bad deal"
"With love-language like that, how could I possibly resist him?" Velvette rolled her eyes, patting his thigh affectionately.
"I hardly thought it fitting for my image to tell His Majesty that every time I look at you, I feel so deeply in love that it renders me more fragile than I've ever felt before. But I'm not afraid of that fragility, because your love gives me strength that I've never known before" Vox said, smiling affectionately down at her.
Velvette just stared at Vox, feeling lovestruck and overwhelmed, before grabbing the sides of his screen and kissing him hard. She pressed every inch of her love into the kiss, and every inch of her fear and regret too.
Vox gently wrapped his arms around her, before pulling away, drooling digital blood with a blush across his screen. He glanced askance at the Morningstars, who exchanged amused looks.
"Save it for the tower" Vox said quietly to Velvette, who smirked and nodded, touching the side of his screen affectionately.
Lucifer smiled warmly at them both, before nodding at Charlie "You should get your squeaky new friend settled in your room"
Charlie nodded back, getting to her feet with the terrarium safely ensconced in her arms.
"Say goodbye to Velvet" she said.
"Velvet?" Vox questioned, raising one of his eyebrows.
"Moths have velvety wings, and they were in Velvette's arms when I got them. So..." she shrugged.
"It's a good name" Velvette said "Goodbye, Va- Velvet"
"We'll visit you, don't worry" said Vox, doing his best not to look too much like he cared about an insect.
Charlie turned on her heel and walked away. Valentino started to squeak unhappily as he was carried further and further away from them, until he was so far away that they couldn't hear him at all.
Lucifer cleared his throat again, before crossing his legs and tapping his cane against the palm of his hand contemplatively.
Do you think he uses that cane on Charlie when she's a naughty girl? Do you think he'd use it on you if he found out you stole his potion? Valentino's voice purred.
Velvette squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, feeling even more disquieted as Alastor returned, circling the lounge like a shark before sitting down next to Lucifer.
"Dinner shouldn't be too long, shall we have a drink while we wait? Niffty is cooking so... we might need it" Lucifer winced, before offering Alastor a smile as The Radio Demon rested his hand on Lucifer's knee.
"Angel Dust is assisting her, I insisted" Alastor said, before turning his unsettling gaze towards Velvette.
Alastor's eyes felt like they were boring two holes into her, and she soon couldn't take it for a second longer.
"You know what, I'll help them too!" she said with forced cheer, jumping to her feet and feeling Vox's claws run harmlessly down her arm as she pulled away from him.
"What a wonderful idea, Velvette!" Vox said, sounding relieved. He clearly wanted to get her away from Alastor.
"How kind of you to offer! If you're sure, the kitchen's just that way" Lucifer pointed with no argument.
Velvette felt a stab of suspicion that Lucifer didn't like the way Alastor was staring at her either. But she didn't stick around to investigate. She hurried away without another word, eager to put at least a few walls between herself and Vox's least favorite smiling freak in Hell.
"No, no. Niffty, come on. You can't put that in the pie, you'll make everyone here sick. Again" Angel Dust's voice carried as Velvette approached the kitchen. She frowned, before swinging open the kitchen door without warning.
Soup was bubbling on the stove and a casserole was roasting in the oven as Niffty and Angel Dust rolled pastry together, Niffty pouting as Angel Dust used one of his free hands to move a box of rat poison out of her reach.
They looked nonplussed as they saw her standing in the doorway.
"Hey Toots" said Angel Dust, waving with his last remaining free hand. Velvette stared in disbelief as she noticed white powder that was not flour all over his nose.
"You! You have two bad boys!" said Niffty excitedly, jumping up and down on top of some of the pastry, leaving little shoe-marks on it.
Velvette pulled a face. Obviously, she hadn't come a moment too soon.
"This looks like a health and safety nightmare waiting to happen" she said dryly "Can I help out?"
"You?" Angel Dust stared at her in shock "You want to cook?"
"I'm an amazing cook, fuck you" Velvette said, flipping him off “I went to culinary school before I became an influencer, for your information”
"Really? Not fashion school?" Angel said, before his face split into a mischievous grin "...well, obviously not"
"You're getting really cocky for someone who's little more than Val's cum-rag" Velvette snapped.
"Look who's talking!" Angel Dust snorted, before his expression softened "...so, how is... everything? What was Val like when he woke up? Did he calm down?"
"Uh. Yeah. But he was still really sick" Velvette half-lied "We're letting him rest. Consider yourself on paid leave"
It was a spontaneous act of kindness, and one that she'd have to talk to Vox about; he controlled The Vees' purse strings. As Angel Dust grinned in delight, Velvette quickly changed the topic.
"So. What's this I hear about you turning down King Lucy's offer to break your contract? Isn't that your every wet dream rolled into one? Daddy saving you from the big bad moth?"
"Fuck you" Angel laughed, a blush rising in his cheeks under his fur "Look, I had a lot of reasons. The biggest one is that I'm worried about Val retaliating. You know he doesn't take 'betrayal' well"
Velvette narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She studied Angel's tense body language with the attention to detail of a homicide detective, before shaking her head.
"Bullshit" she said, pointing an accusatory finger "You, Anthony, are lying"
"What?! I'm telling the truth!" Angel whined, shivering involuntarily at the use of his real name.
Velvette grinned like one of Vox's sharks as the truth suddenly became crystal-clear to her.
"I know the real reason you turned Lucifer down! You don't want to break up with Valentino once and for all, ha!" Velvette smirked "Nifty's not the only one here that's hot for the bad boys, is she?"
"You bitch" Angel Dust snapped, going even redder.
"Whore"
"Slut"
"Mega-slut"
Velvette and Angel Dust glared each other down, before their expressions wavered and they ended up smiling ruefully at one-another.
"It's okay, Angel. I love him too. I know what it's like" Velvette finally said.
Angel laughed hollowly.
"I'm so fucked up, aren't I?"
Velvette paused, her eyes running over Angel. His fluffy hairstyle, the equally-fluffy fur on his chest, his multiple hands, his lithe frame...
I can't fuck him anymore, Velvette, because of you. Send the little cockroach away, bind him, and use him like the whore he is... it'll make me so happy... Valentino's voice whispered.
"Velvette?" Angel smiled awkwardly at her, starting to look concerned "Is everything okay?"
Velvette forced a smile back.
"Let's just get dinner finished before everyone starves to death" she said quickly, picking up a rolling pin.
Angel looked dubious, but nodded.
"Sure, sure- Niffty! What did I say?! No rat poison!"
'Valentino' didn't bother Velvette again as she, Angel Dust, and Niffty finished preparing dinner. The simple, domestic work was a pleasant distraction to Velvette, allowing her to focus on something that wasn't her all-consuming fear and anxiety over The Vees' unenviable situation.
She couldn't wait to be alone with Vox. Even if he couldn't stop the sultry voice in her head, and even if he couldn't soothe her fears about how helpless their situation was and how vulnerable they now were... he could still push his tongue so deep inside her that every whisper in her mind would be temporarily driven out.
"DINNER!" Niffty shrieked once Angel and Velvette had finished setting the elegant blackwood table that took up most of the hotel's dining room. Velvette winced, rubbing her ears.
"Better than a dinner bell, huh?" Angel snickered, before looking up as the doors of the dining room swung open "Hey, Smiles. Nice to see you and Sparky getting along"
Velvette watched with alarm as Alastor guided an unsteady-looking Vox into the room. One of his arms was wrapped tightly around Vox's shoulders, creasing his shoulder-pads with a vice-like grip. Velvette was reminded of a bird of prey clutching their freshly-caught dinner.
I wonder how they spent their time together, querida... are you imagining it? Are you picturing Voxxy underneath him, whining and moaning, begging him to get off while he sobs in fear and pain? Oh. Wait. That's how I liked fucking him, not Alastor. My mistake...
Velvette cringed, flinching minutely.
Vox had a glass in his hand, half-full of amber liquid. He finished it with a grimace under Alastor's watchful and highly amused eye.
"Another one, Vox? I insist" Alastor purred.
"I've had three" Vox said, his voice sounding slightly whiny. Velvette felt her heart sink.
Thanks to his height and his 1950's-caliber alcohol tolerance, It took a lot to get Vox drunk, so it seemed that Alastor was forcing him to drink straight liquor. The TV Demon wasn't outright drunk yet, but he was certainly tipsy.
Lucifer, trailing into the dining room behind them, reached out without warning and plucked the empty glass from Vox's grip.
"Alastor, he's had way too much to drink. Maybe he could use a glass of water instead?" Lucifer suggested, before (with a sparkle of magic) he refilled the glass with water.
Vox took the glass with a grateful smile, before sitting down heavily and groaning in discomfort, rubbing his screen with his free hand. Velvette quickly sat down next to him, curling her hand around his arm in concern.
She hated this. She hated seeing Vox look so vulnerable. She felt as perturbed as she had the morning after Val had raped her, when she'd seen Vox bloodied and bruised in his office.
"Are you okay?" she whispered.
"It's okay. I'm fine" Vox whispered back with a grim smile, resting his hand on top of hers.
Velvette went to kiss his screen affectionately, before she shrank back as Alastor sat on Vox's other side, grinning at his former friend.
"...drink up, old pal. We wouldn't want you getting dehydrated"
Vox side-eyed Velvette as Alastor held the glass to his mouth, forcing him to drink the water down.
"More?" Alastor picked up a water jug from the table "I insist"
Velvette and Vox exchanged a helpless look.
Velvette could barely focus on anything except Vox all throughout dinner. He was so tense that leaning against him felt like leaning against a taught bowstring.
She was distracted, too, by thoughts of Val. Would he be alright? Would Charlie care for him? What happened if Angel Dust did come across him and revealed what he truly was?
She had graphic visions of a crumpled, dead moth that made her want to retch.
Distracted, she barely touched her food, her eyes alternating between her plate and Vox’s screen. She could see him animatedly talking about something, but she couldn’t have cared less what it was. She just wanted to stay close to him, and keep her head down. Her anxiety was mounting more and more by the second.
Such a good little girl for your Papito, aren’t you? Sitting pretty and not making a peep... hmm... but is Papito even the right word to use? Don’t you think of Vox as your Mami? Valentino’s lecherous purr invaded her thoughts, and she wanted to retch again.
Desperate to distract herself, she glanced around the table, taking in what everyone else was doing.
Vox and a suspicious-looking Husk were explaining to Lucifer what it was, exactly, that Overlords did. Vaggie and Charlie were alternating between talking to one another and glancing at Velvette with equal parts suspicion and concern, Angel Dust was glaring at Alastor as The Radio Demon kept forcing Vox to drink more and more water (for whatever reason), and Niffty looked ready to explode with lust as she stared at Vox. Velvette could swear the strange little maid actually drooled once or twice.
“So. That’s what we do” Vox finished explaining “Does that make sense, your majesty?”
"...it feels like Hell rewards Sinners for enslaving people weaker than themselves" Lucifer finally said with a dubious expression on his pretty face, trailing his fork around his empty dinner plate.
A congratulatory ding ding ding sound played from Vox's speakers as Husk chuckled darkly.
"We're in Hell, what can I say" Vox shrugged, pushing his own plate away from himself and glancing down at Velvette "...it's getting late, and I’m sure Valentino is missing us terribly. Are you ready to go, Red-Velvette-Cakes?”
Red-Velvette-Cake(s) was one of Valentino's pet names for Velvette. Vox smiled sadly as he used it and Velvette forced a smile in return, nodding.
"NO!" Niffty shrieked, appearing seemingly out of nowhere and dropping down a blackberry pie onto the table in front of Vox before crawling onto his lap, clinging to his lapels "...the bad man stays!"
The entire table stared at her, shocked.
"...Niffty. Haven’t we talked about boundaries?” Lucifer finally said, and with a flash of magic he was suddenly standing next to Vox, plucking Niffty off his lap and smiling apologetically at the Overlord "I think our housekeeper needs a time-out. If you're ready to leave, we're not holding you two hostage"
With that, he swept out of the room, holding the wailing Niffty in his arms as she fruitlessly kicked and punched the fallen angel, trying to break free and claw her way back to Vox.
(Sure, Lucifer wasn't a saint, but according to Angel Dust Niffty had gotten the ick when she'd seen just how extensive his rubber duck collection was. Nobody was surprised that she found the morally bankrupt Vox more appealing)
Alastor had kept his gaze fixed on the Vees all throughout Niffty's tantrum. Velvette felt her skin crawl and quickly got to her feet, eager to leave. Vox tried to follow suit only to have his arm grabbed by Alastor, keeping him seated.
"Please, allow me to box up some of this delectable pie for you two to take home" he purred, standing and picking up the pie "How much?"
"...Just two slices" Vox was starting to look outright antsy, glancing anxiously at Velvette as Alastor tilted his head with theatrical confusion.
"Two? Aren't you going to bring some back for Valentino?"
Vox glared hatefully up at Alastor.
"He's been vomiting, Alastor. Nobody really wants pie after that. But fine, I'll put it in the freezer or something" he said through gritted teeth.
"Wonderful!" Alastor said, before walking away with the pie in his hands, humming a jaunty tune to himself.
Vox squirmed slightly in his seat, looking uncomfortable. Velvette squeezed his knee and leaned in so she could whisper.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Vox shook his head.
"What's wrong, what did Alastor do?" Velvette asked, furrowing her brow in concern.
The table was talking among themselves, but the two Vees leaned in towards each other so there was no risk of eavesdroppers.
"Alastor kept forcing me to drink, what do you fucking think the problem is?" Vox hissed, before his expression softened "Sorry, sorry. It's not your fault"
"You're drunk?" Velvette asked, confused, before her eyes widened "No"
"We only know about King Lucifer's machinations because you had to piss. Don't act like you're above having a bladder now, my dear" Vox teased wryly, even as he shifted his weight with a grimace.
"Just go to the bathroom, you pissbaby" Velvette said, rolling her eyes at Vox's dramatics. He was around fifty when he died, a full bladder wouldn't kill him (again).
"I tried to excuse myself while I was having drinks with Lucifer and the smiling fuckface, but that bugling shit-lord insisted I hold it"
Velvette winced.
"Old-timey prick" she used one of Vox's insults for Alastor.
Vox nodded, shivering "Fuck, this hurts"
He squirmed again, before smiling pleasantly at the oblivious Charlie and Vaggie "...so, tell me, how many years have you lovely ladies been together now?"
Velvette stared between Vox's legs as he crossed them tightly, forcing her hand to slide up to his thigh. She’d been with Vox for years, and she'd seen and heard him use the bathroom before, but she'd never actually seen him desperate.
It was disgusting, but she couldn't stop staring.
Is it making you wet, you freaky little puta? Valentino purred.
Ignoring the hallucination, Velvette kept watching as Vox uncrossed his legs, his clawed hands rubbing urgently at his knees as he shifted his weight in his seat yet again.
She was barely even paying attention to the conversation, slowly moving the hand that was on Vox's thigh in circles. He was wearing blue trousers, as he usually did, and she couldn't help but wonder what they'd look like wet.
A clawed hand grabbed her wrist, and Vox whispered in her ear.
"...as hilarious as it is that you clearly have a piss kink, let's try and stop competing with Niffty for thirstiest bitch in Hell, hm?" he said firmly "Focus. I'll piss myself in the limo for you if you're that fascinated"
Velvette jolted, shocked. It wasn't as though The Vees had a vanilla love life, but Vox's offer was extreme for him.
“What the fuck, Vox?!” she whispered, going scarlet.
Vox just chuckled, leaning away and turning back to Charlie and Vaggie.
"So, you and Vaggie have been together for a while now? Are there wedding bells in your future?"
"Are there wedding bells in yours?" Charlie jokingly retorted.
"Touché" Vox smiled, shifting in his seat again.
"Leftovers" Alastor suddenly appeared next to Vox, holding out three neatly-packed boxes.
Vox jolted, before several error messages temporarily blinked across his face. He looked at Velvette in mild panic, and her eyes flicked involuntarily between his legs again, widening as she saw a dark stain the size of a penny seep into the fabric.
Holy shit. Vox might actually piss himself.
Yeah! It's sexy, right? Valentino chimed in, making Velvette pull a face.
She looked up at Alastor, a fraction before Alastor tore his own eyes away from Vox's crotch. She stared at him in shock, before she curled her lip in disgusted fury,
So that's why you were forcing him to drink so much. It wasn't enough to wrap a chain around our necks and take both Val and our free will away, now you need to embarrass Vox too.
"Fantastic! I'll just take those and we'll be on our way!" said Vox with a forced grin, jumping to his feet and snatching the boxes off Alastor "We can see ourselves out"
"I can walk you to the door, please Vox, I insist!" Alastor said, making both Vox and Velvette grit their teeth as they grudgingly followed Alastor out to the atrium.
The dining room and the atrium were only separated by the dining room's double-doors, which Alastor left open, seemingly by accident.
They approached the front door in surly silence, before Vox paused as Lucifer descended the stairs, his hands in his pockets.
It wouldn't do to miss an opportunity to make small talk with The King Of Hell, after all.
"How's the little cockroach?" Vox asked with an airy chuckle, as if he wasn't one mistimed jack-in-the-box away from pissing himself.
"She's all settled down in her room. I reminded her that her latest bad boy is taken, twice over. Then she saw an actual cockroach and forgot what had upset her" Lucifer said "My apologies for her boundary crossing, she's slightly... disturbed"
Vox was shifting his weight from foot to foot, smiling rigidly. Velvette couldn't quite take her eyes off him, and nor could Alastor.
"It's fine! Ha, if I had an issue with my boundaries being trampled I wouldn't be dating Valentino" Vox joked weakly.
Lucifer's smile faded and he approached Vox, wrapping his blackened fingertips around his forearms in a sympathetic gesture.
"Vox, you don't have to go back to him. Neither of you do. I think you both have the potential to change yourselves for the better. Stay here. Prove me right" Lucifer said softly, glancing at Velvette and not noticing as one of Alastor's dark tendrils materialized and wrapped itself around Vox's waist.
Velvette didn't know what she was more worried about, what the fuck Alastor was doing with that tendril, or why Lucifer was so keen on her and Vox staying.
But her worry about Lucifer's intentions vanished when she saw, in her peripheral vision, Alastor tighten the tendril around Vox's waist before letting it evaporate into mist before Lucifer could see it.
Vox gasped out, dropping the boxes he was holding and splattering the floor and Lucifer with pie as he moved one hand involuntarily between his legs, squeezing himself in a death-grip and whining in humiliated pain.
Lucifer stepped away, pulling a face at the pie that was now all over his boots and trousers.
"What the f- oh fuck!"
A dark stain was spreading down one of Vox's legs. He managed to stop himself by the time it had reached his mid-thigh but the damage was well and truly done.
Velvette could only stare in shock, Valentino's ghostly laughter ringing in her ears.
Alastor looked sadistically delighted, chuckling quietly to himself while Lucifer grimaced.
"Oh boy. Let's get you to the bathroom before Niffty ends up with a puddle to clean. Why didn't you say you needed to go?" Lucifer asked, his tone so soft it veered into being patronizing.
Vox's screen was practically glowing red with humiliation, and Alastor had never looked so amused, his grin widening as Lucifer wrapped his arm around Vox's waist.
"Come with me, it's alright. Accident's happen" Lucifer said sweetly.
Vox pulled away quickly, moving his hands out from between his legs and quickly wiping them dry on his sweater-vest, looking frantic.
"...I'm going... I'm going to..." he stammered out.
"We can see that" said Alastor.
As if Vox's situation couldn't get any worse, the other inhabitants of the hotel were peeking out into the atrium, looking shocked (Vaggie), concerned (Charlie), and amused (everyone else).
"I can take myself to the bathroom. I'm fine!" Vox lied, taking a step towards the stairs.
"Vox, it's like five hallways and a staircase away. You won't make it..." Velvette pointed out, her voice slightly hollow from shock.
"Maybe he should go in a pot plant?" Charlie suggested "There's one in here, we could all leave the room and talk loudly so we don't hear anything!"
"Charlie!" Lucifer admonished his daughter, turning around and shooing away the spectators "Go! Shoo! This isn't a free show. Give the poor boy some privacy!"
Vox couldn't have looked more humiliated.
Alastor approached him, wrapping an arm around his middle as Lucifer had and splaying his fingers against Vox's stomach.
"Just let it happen, Vox. It's already a lost cause" he purred "I insist"
Vox stared at Alastor in horror, shaking his head.
"Please, please..." he begged, even as he involuntarily pressed his thighs together with a whine of discomfort.
"Lu-ci-fer!" Alastor called out to his diminutive lover, his tone mockingly sing-song.
Vox's eyes widened in horror, and he glanced apologetically at Velvette before spreading his legs slightly, staring fixedly at the ceiling as he let the inevitable happen.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck" he groaned, closing his eyes and covering his screen with his hands.
Velvette knew she should've looked away, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Vox's trousers, watching as they became saturated in seconds, the blue fabric going black as a puddle spilled down his legs, over his shoes, and onto the carpet.
"Oh no..." Lucifer wrapped his arm back around Vox, sandwiching him between The Radio Demon and The King of Hell "It's okay, it's all okay. You tried your best. Come with me, I'll get you cleaned up, it'll be like this never happened"
"...I'm not staying a f-fu-fucking second longer!" Vox snapped, his voice stuttering with a buffering noise.
Alastor broke him.
Seeing Vox soaked in piss, trapped in Alastor's grip, and being unwillingly coddled by the King of Hell was nearly as distressing as seeing him broken and bloodied. Velvette felt like she was either going to be sick, or scream.
Vox pulled away from Lucifer and Alastor, grabbing Velvette's hand with his and making for the front doors.
His clawed hand was wet and slightly warm. Velvette shrieked in disgust and wrenched her hand away.
"It's WET!" she snapped, before realizing she was only making Vox's situation worse. She stared up at him, instantly remorseful.
I'm so sorry she tried to convey with her eyes, but Vox was too humiliated and furious to pay attention.
"We're leaving" said Vox, his screen burning even redder as he turned on his heel and walked away as quickly as he could, slamming the front doors open and storming out into the reddened night of Pride. Velvette followed close behind him, glancing over her shoulder at the shocked Lucifer and smirking Alastor.
"Look after Velvet!" she pleaded, before Vox slammed the doors of the hotel shut again, glaring down at her with his fangs bared.
"Ugh, it's wet" he mocked her accent "How about I make you drink a gallon of water before tying you to a chair for a few hours? Let's see who's wet by the end of it"
Velvette shrank under his glare, flinching minutely. Vox shook his head, grabbing her hand and ignoring her repulsed shudder, dragging her down the path towards their limo. Travis was patiently waiting by the door, chain-smoking with a bored expression.
"Miss Velvette, Mr. Vox" Travis stubbed out his cigarette under his shoe, climbing into the driver's seat without noticing anything amiss with Vox.
Vox half-tossed Velvette into the limo, before climbing in and slamming the door shut behind himself. He slumped in his seat, before searching through the compartments of the limo until he found a stack of napkins.
Velvette sat next to him, staring down at her lap as the limo pulled away from the hotel, speeding off down the road.
Vox started wiping down his thighs with a disgusted grimace.
“Fuck. I’ll never call you a Betsy-Wetsy again, Velvette. At least you made it to the bathroom. We are so fucking fucked... this-" Vox gestured towards his soaked trousers "Is just the fucking start"
Velvette looked hopelessly up at him.
"Val..." she breathed "God, what's going to happen to him?"
Vox just shook his head, slumping in his seat again as he tossed a pile of soiled napkins carelessly aside.
"I don't know, Velvette. I really don't know... I think this is the end of The Vees" he said.
…and it’s all your fault, Velvette. You know it is.
It was the last straw. Everything she’d endured for the past few days, and every burden and fear she still had to carry with her crashed over her like a wave and washed her out into an inescapable sea of despair. Her fear over what Alastor would do next, her fear for Val’s safety, her fear of Val, her fear of Lucifer, her fear of the tape being released and destroying Vox’s public image…
…and now Vox, one of the proudest men she knew, was sitting in piss soaked pants. She couldn't imagine how humiliated he must feel.
You stupid fucking bitch. We were happy before you came along and ruined us.
…and Valentino’s voice was still haunting her, tormenting her…
It was all too much.
Velvette grabbed the nearest throw-able thing (a bottle of wine) and smashed it against the wall of the limo, making a shocked Vox flinch away from the broken glass.
But before he could confront her, she started screaming. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed, before crumpling to the floor of the limo where she continued to scream.
I want to hurt myself...
She clawed at her skin with her pointy nails, drawing blood and smearing it everywhere she could as she started thrashing about.
“Velvette!” Vox dropped down next to her, grabbing her arms “Velvette! Velvette! Oh fuck… sweetheart, stop! You’re hurting yourself! Stop it!”
She could hear his voice hypnotically reverberate, but she kept her eyes screwed shut, refusing to let herself be hypnotized into compliance.
“I ruined everything! I destroyed the Vees! This is all my fault!” she wailed.
Vox got on top of her to pin her in place. She could feel urine seep into her clothes but she couldn’t even bring herself to feel disgusted. She sobbed, trying and failing to pull away from the much stronger Overlord.
"...I wish I hadn't come to Valentino's bed, the other night. This is all my fault. All of it. You think this is my fault too, don't you?!" she continued to wail.
"Velvette, I don't-" Vox tried to say.
"You have decades of experience dealing with it behind closed doors, and I couldn't cope with one night. You must think so little of me" she sobbed, ignoring him.
"I just pissed my pants in front of the King Of Hell, Vel. I'm in no place to judge-" Vox tried to comfort her, but Velvette started wailing anew.
"I want to die! I just want to die! I finally found happiness and I ruined it because I'm s-so fucking weak! I want to die! Just be mad with me. Punish me. Kill me. Please, Vox, please!" she begged, dissolving into tears “Just kill me…”
She cried, and cried, and cried, until she felt Vox’s fingers against her eyelids, gently forcing her eyes open so she had no choice but to stare into his spiraling eye.
"Go to sleep, my dear" Vox ordered.
Velvette's eyes slid closed, and she slipped away into blissful unconsciousness.
To Be Continued...
Notes:
Guess who has two thumbs and only realised that “Niffty” was spelled with two ‘F’s’ riiiiiight before she was about to hit ‘post’? This girl! 👍👍
Chapter 11: Since When Are Overlords Too Scared To Fight?
Notes:
As I wrote this chapter, I finally had to admit to myself that this fic takes place in it's own little AU. So for everything that's going to soon be rendered non-canon by S2... this is the "Lepidopterophobia AU", don't worry about it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Vox told Velvette that he loved her every day. But he was also one of the slimiest businessmen in Hell- If not the slimiest- and any good businessman knew how to lie to get what he wanted. Sometimes, Velvette doubted that his proclamations of love were actually sincere.
But after the week that had passed since Vox and Velvette's disastrous visit to the Hazbin Hotel, Velvette didn't think she'd ever be able to doubt that Vox loved her again.
He loved her, and he cared for her, with the same depth of adoration that had made Vox forgive Valentino again, and again, and again.
If he didn't, Velvette's story would've ended in the limousine. She'd had a complete breakdown; even after her hypnotically-induced sleep, she was able to do little more than lie listlessly on the floor of the limo. Her arms, chest, and face stung from her self-inflicted wounds, and tears were leaking uncontrollably from her eyes.
She was worse than useless, she was broken, and Vox had never found much purpose in keeping broken things around. He was a businessman, not Florence Nightingale.
But he loved her. He cared about her.
As she lay on the floor of the limo and stared into space, Vox knelt down besides her, stroking back her hair with digital concern all over his screen. Velvette tried to say something, to apologize, but he pressed a finger against her lips before she could speak.
"Oh Velvette, look at you. This has all been too much, hasn't it?" he said, brushing away her tears "Let me look after you, let me take all that pain away..."
Velvette was a grown woman, a fiercely independent Overlord, the youngest in Hell's history...
...but in that moment, she felt as fragile as glass. She nodded, her lower lip wobbling against the claw still pressed against her mouth.
It's okay, Dolores. Daddy's here, and he's going to make it all better...
As swiftly as the urge to harm and mortally wound herself had overtaken her, it faded away into nothingness in the face of Vox’s paternalistic care. 'Valentino's' insistant whispering became nothing more than a bad memory, and she felt completely at ease for the first time in a while.
It wasn’t a healthy solution to her breakdown, but it was the only one she had.
Velvette didn't know what the fallout was from her and Vox's visit to the hotel, because she hadn't left the safe confines of her bedroom since she'd been carried in there, cradled lovingly in Vox's arms.
After her breakdown, free will was intolerable, and choice was an unspeakable horror. So she begged Vox to take it all away from her, and he was more than happy to oblige.
Velvette's days became a hazy daze, spending her time either sleeping in a hypnotized trance, or sketching designs for her upcoming Val-and-Vox inspired collection.
She hadn't been able to work, obviously, so Vox had been overseeing the process of turning her sketches into actual designs. Velvette didn't have high hopes for the results, Vox was an extremely well-dressed man but he had never truly understood fashion, but there was little more she could do. She hadn't crossed the threshold of her room in days, and she feared what would happen if she did.
With Velvette on bed-rest, and Valentino unwillingly transmogrified into Charlie's pet moth, Vox now controlled the entirety of The Vees' businesses. The added workload was huge, but Vox never complained, even if he must've been stretched thin by taking on both Valentino and Velvette's work on top of his own.
That wasn't even taking into account how much more work Velvette was making for him in her helpless state. She was capable of keeping herself occupied throughout the day, and she was able to use the bathroom on her own (something Vox was clearly relieved about), but if Vox didn't help her bathe and eat, she wouldn't do it.
Under normal circumstances, she would've rankled at how Vox had taken the opportunity to dress Velvette based on his own (outdated) tastes, dressing her in flowing nightgowns straight out of a Marilyn Monroe picture. But these were not normal circumstances, and Velvette didn't have the mental capacity to argue when Vox was already being kind enough to dress her in the first place.
Besides, the nightgowns were very pretty, and she liked the lustful way Vox looked at her as he slipped them over her head.
Lustful looks asides, their sex life had died. They'd tried, a few nights ago, but Velvette couldn't get wet enough for anything larger than Vox's pinky finger to penetrate her. Vox, for his part, couldn't even get hard. After about an hour of uncharacteristically awkward fumbling, they gave up.
So Velvette spent the week as the hapless doll she looked like, while Vox played the role of the world's weirdest doll collector.
By some miracle, Velvette's collection had been finished before the deadline, and Vox had organized a fashion show to display her new designs. Were Velvette in her right mind, she would've been excited.
"...I know we're all very excited about my darling Velvette's show. But unfortunately Hell's favorite doll won't be attending the unveiling of her latest collection, as she's currently a little bit under the weather. It would mean the world to me if everyone sent Velvette well-wishes on Sinstagram..."
Velvette was sitting up in her bed and holding a Plush-Vees doll of Valentino in her arms. She carded her fingers through the doll's synthetic ruff, staring blankly at the laptop she had open as it played a recording of Vox's morning show.
Vox was smiling cheerfully at the camera, a cup of coffee with Fuck Alastor emblazoned on the side in his hand. He took a deep sip before leaning in, his eye spiraling.
"You will wish her well, fuckers. Got it?"
There was no BS&P in Hell, and Vox relished in the creative freedom.
Velvette closed her laptop, sighing as she held 'Val' closer to her chest. She looked up as there was a brief, polite knock at her door.
"Your show was good, I love that you had to hypnotize Pride into being nice to me" Velvette said, knowing who was behind the door without even having to check.
(Kitty didn't knock, and nobody else had access to their penthouses)
Vox opened the door, holding a laden breakfast tray in one hand, a charming smile on his face and looking for all the world like he was about to present some sort of cooking program.
"It's not my fault you've been a bitch to everyone in Pride at this point" he said, approaching her bedside and resting the tray across Velvette's lap "This was called a nervous breakdown in my day. My mother had one, so did my sister. So don't fret, you're in experienced hands"
The reassurance wasn't asked for, but it was welcome. Velvette smiled down at the bacon and eggs he'd just given her, carefully crafted into the shape of a smiley face with toast for eyebrows.
"Cute" she said, putting her doll of Val onto the pillow next to her as Vox took a seat on the edge of her bed. He picked up a fork, scooping up some of the scrambled eggs before offering them to Velvette like she was a baby bird.
Velvette leaned forwards and took the eggs off the fork, her teeth scraping along the metal as she maintained eye contact with Vox, watching as his cyan pupils dilated.
"...as sexy as you are, Velvette. I don't feel like hearing you whimper while I try to stimulate you for another hour" Vox finally said, holding up his free hand and wriggling his pinky.
"Fucker"
"Don't talk with your mouth full" Vox used a monogrammed handkerchief to wipe the corner of her mouth.
Velvette frowned, it wasn't that Vox didn't own monogrammed things, but this particular handkerchief didn't have a 'V' on it.
She snatched the fabric away from Vox before he could stop her, staring at the elegantly stitched 'LM' that emblazoned one of the corners.
"This is Lucifer's" she said, smirking at Vox.
Doubtless he'd been getting a rush out of using King Lucifer Morningstar's handkerchief.
"I know it is. What? Was I supposed to return it to him?" Vox rolled his eyes "Finders fucking keepers. Anyway, that's not important. What is important is your show tonight. Do you want to watch it with me? I'll make you some popcorn, and we can watch it on the television in my room"
"I don't want to leave my room, Vox! I haven't left it in a week" Velvette said, her voice gaining a whining quality.
"It's just my room, Velvette, and I'll be with you every step of the way" Vox said encouragingly, plucking his (Lucifer's) handkerchief out of her hands and pocketing it.
Velvette sighed.
"...and if, by some miracle, you manage to get wet again... who knows, there might be a very willing television sitting next to you who'd let you sit on his screen for hours, and hours, and hours..." Vox purred, running his claw along her cheek.
"I've lost my libido, you're just going through a dry spell. That doesn't feel like a fair trade-off" Velvette pointed out, even as she grinned "But I ain't complaining, you selfish fucker. You've got yourself a deal. You're lucky I love that tongue of yours so much- wait, no, Vox! VOX STOP! STOP!"
She shrieked with laughter as Vox tackled her onto the bed, knocking her half-eaten breakfast everywhere as he licked her all over her face like an over-eager dog, leaving a static buzz against her skin.
Vox loved her, and she loved him...
...even if she did have to wait for him to remake her breakfast before she actually got to eat properly.
Freshly-bathed and wearing a pretty pink nightgown with stain bows on the straps, Velvette smiled sweetly as Vox tucked her back into bed, the sheets having been changed by Kitty while Velvette was in the bathroom.
"If you need anything, call for Kitty. If there's anything she can't do for you, call me" he tapped her phone, currently resting on her nightstand, with a claw.
"Thank-you, Vox" Velvette said sincerely "...Vox, what if I drank some love potion? You've been so good to me and I can't give you anything-"
But Vox was already shaking his head.
"We have all of eternity before us, beautiful, there's no rush to get better. Take all the time you need" he whispered, kissing her cheek before looking intensely into her eyes "Do you need my help getting to sleep?"
Velvette nodded, and Vox sat down on the edge of the bed once more, cupping her face in his claws and staring into her eyes.
She was asleep in seconds.
Velvette was awoken by the sound of moaning, and the slap of flesh-against-flesh. The red fairy lights that covered Val's bedroom- not hers, Val's, a room she hadn't stepped foot in for a week now- twinkled in her eyes as she blearily opened them, turning her head towards the source of the sleep-disturbing sounds.
"What the fuck?" she slurred, half-asleep.
"Hush, muñequita, Mami and Papá are having a little grown-up time. Go back to sleep" Valentino's unmistakable voice purred.
Velvette jolted, and quickly sat up in bed. But she had nothing to fear. She soon realized what was going on, and she relaxed.
"I'm having a wet dream" she said.
"Sure you are! Now either shut up, or join in" Vox chuckled.
Valentino was on all-sixes, both his sets of arms clutching the bed-sheets as he groaned, drooling pink-tinged aphrodisiac saliva onto his ruff as he was fucked hard and mercilessly by Vox. Vox was kneeling up behind him, his digital teeth clenched as he thrust.
Valentino was wearing a red negligee, the silken fabric pushed up until it was caught up in his pierced nipples, giving Vox easy access to his asshole. His wings hung limply by his sides, resembling a limp, gossamer shawl draped over his back.
Vox was fully dressed in his usual blue suit, his belt unbuckled and his fly unzipped, the fabric pushed aside only just enough for him to fuck Val.
Valentino's eyes were closed, and he was moaning in Spanish under his breath, Vox was running his fingers along Val's wings, his gaze nothing short of reverent even as his expression was twisted from how close he was to coming.
Velvette slipped an inquiring finger between her legs, biting her lower lip hard as she realized how wet she was. Even though this was a dream, she still didn't hesitate to reach for her phone, pulling it out and starting to record the erotic scene before her.
"Long day at work?" Velvette asked, receiving a chuckle from Vox.
"I had to put up with incompetency like you've never seen before, Babydoll. Unlike Val, I can't just fuck my frustrations out on my staff, so I needed some assistance from the big guy" Vox leaned down to kiss the back of Val's head, before running his tongue along one of Val's antennae (the bare one) as he pulled back.
Velvette knew that Vox was putting on a show for the camera, but fuck if it wasn't effective. She moaned in need, her lustful gaze sliding down towards Val's erection, currently leaking a healthy amount of pre-cum onto the pink sheets.
"Make sure you get everything, and don't collapse" she demanded of Val, before handing him her phone. He took it, holding it in one hand while the other three continued to brace him against the bed.
Salivating in desire, Velvette crawled in between those three arms, her ass (still clad in hot pink pajama shorts) pressing up against Val's chest as she took as much of his leaking erection she could into her mouth, hearing Val groan from above her.
Velvette happily started sucking at Valentino's cock, moaning as Val moved one of his hands between her legs. He started rubbing slow, sensuous circles against her clit, right through her clothing, the added texture of her rapidly-dampening pajama shorts making her squirm all the more.
Vox reached down one of his own hands, pulling up the purple tank top Vel was wearing and starting to play with one of her nipples. He carefully let a low-level electric current run through his fingers, making Velvette whine around Val's oversized cock.
She was fully prepared for the knee-shaking orgasm she was about to receive, drooling as much as Val in anticipation of it...
...but her dreams were rudely interrupted.
“What has he done?” Angel Dust’s nasal voice was asking from above her, and Velvette frowned around the dick in her mouth.
“Oh my God, she looks terrible. Do you think this is retaliation for what happened at the hotel?” Vaggie was saying softly, and the sheer embarrassment of Charlie Morningstar's angelic whore seeing her have a wet dream forced her awake.
“I was having such a nice dream…” Velvette whined, struggling against the lingering after-effects of Vox's hypnosis.
“I know, Toots. I bet it was awesome. But we’re real worried about you, you’ve been AWOL for a whole week and then Vox said on his morning show that you're not even attending your own runway? That’s not like you” she heard Angel saying gently from above her. As she slowly woke up, she realized that one of his many hands was stroking back her hair.
“I’m packing her things. She’s leaving” Charlie Morningstar's unexpected voice was saying from across her room “This is sick. This is completely sick. Look at her! Just look at her! Vox has dressed her up like some submissive little housewife!”
Velvette felt another one of Angel’s hands on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.
“Come on, Toots. How about we get out of here? There's homemade apple pie at home that I cannot finish all by myself" he cajoled "...and you can tell me what's going on while we enjoy it together"
Velvette finally opened her eyes, staring up at Angel Dust sadly. He looked nothing but sympathetic, continuing to stroke her hair.
“What’s going on?” He repeated.
Velvette’s eyes filled with tears.
“I had a nervous breakdown” she croaked out “I’m so sorry…”
“Aw, Toots. No, no, no… you didn’t do anything wrong. What brought that on? Did something happen after you and Vox left the hotel?”
“He seemed pretty pissed. No pun intended” said Vaggie dryly. She was standing at the end of Velvette’s bed, her arms crossed and her expression stony.
“I’m just so worried about Val, and I’m s-scared for Vox and I’m scared of Lucifer and-” Velvette started to say before she could think better of it.
“What? You’re scared of Dad? Why? He seems pretty fond of you” Charlie appeared in Velvette’s vision, wearing her usual red suit and a concerned frown.
Velvette’s breath caught in her throat.
“…I… I…”
Lie. Think of something good.
“I’m sorry, I think I had a nightmare. He didn’t do anything. I got confused” she said innocently.
Nobody gathered around her bedside believed her, obviously. Valentino had told better lies while covered in blood and drugs, proclaiming to Vox with big, innocent eyes that “I just had a quiet night in, Voxxy”
“I’ll talk to Dad” said Charlie “He’s not the King Of Hell for nothing. He can be… you know…”
“Devilish?” Angel Dust suggested.
Charlie chuckled weakly.
“Yeah. I’ll talk to him and ask him what’s going on with Velvette. He shouldn’t be busy, I’ll call him now”
“NO!” Velvette sat up and pushed Angel Dust away, her chest heaving “Nonononono, please! Please! Everything’s okay. I swear!”
“Velvette. We all know that’s bullshit. You retreated from the public eye for a week, and you can tell us it’s just because you had a nervous breakdown, but you weren’t the one that got humiliated the way Vox did. It kinda sounds like he took his humiliation out on you” said Angel Dust softly.
Velvette felt like a rat in a trap. She had no choice, she had to give Angel Dust at least some of the truth, or things were going to get much worse for her and Vox.
Who knew how much Lucifer would uncover if he started sticking his angelic little nose into her business.
(...and not that it was pertinent, but by God did Lucifer have a tiny little button nose. He was also such a monochromatic sort of pale that in the right lighting he looked like he didn't have a nose at all)
Velvette stared desperately at Angel Dust. She couldn't tell him the whole truth, but she could tell him a portion of it.
Hopefully, he'd empathize enough with her fucked up situation (or at least, the extent of it that he could safely know about) to make Vaggie and Charlie back off.
"You know the video I made the other day? The one I was so worried about? Alastor has it. He’s been blackmailing me and Vox” she said, staring desperately into Angel's eyes, which soon widened in shock.
“Video? What video?” asked Charlie, glancing at an equally-confused Vaggie.
"Oh fuck..." said Angel "Uh... hey, girls, can we have a minute? I'll explain everything soon, I promise"
Vaggie and Charlie glanced at each other again.
"This is really personal, please give us the room, just for a minute" Angel begged.
Charlie and Vaggie exchanged one more look, before quietly nodding and walking away, leaving the room without another word.
The door closed behind them and Velvette slumped against her pillows with a sigh.
Angel Dust sat on the edge of her bed, reaching out and taking her hand in one of his. Velvette squeezed it tightly.
"...weren't you going to ask Alastor for help? What happened there?" Angel finally asked.
Fuck.
Velvette tried to think of an excuse, but before she had to rack her brains too much, Angel came up with one for her.
"Oh. Right. He had shit on The Vees. He wasn't going to lift a finger to help you, huh?" he laughed sadly, squeezing her hand again.
Velvette breathed a tiny sigh of relief.
"He refused to do anything for me. He's such an old-timey prick, Vox is right" she lied.
"What's he blackmailing you for? What does he want?" Angel asked.
"Nothing, so far. But he's holding it over our heads. Then poor Vox pissed himself and seeing him humiliated was just so upsetting, and with Val being sick on top of everything else... it was too much" Velvette shook her head.
"How is my favorite pimp doing, anyway? I don't think I've had such a long break since I signed my soul away to him. I almost miss him" Angel Dust winked.
It was a joke, it sounded like a joke, but Velvette knew that it wasn't entirely a joke.
Love's a bitch.
"He's okay. He's still not himself, though. I don't know how long it'll be until he's back to normal" she said, truthfully.
Angel Dust went to say something, before groaning as there was a knock at the door.
"Is everything okay in there?" Charlie called out, obviously impatient.
Angel pulled away from Velvette, getting to his feet.
"Alright, Toots. I gotta go fill the girls in. Ha, that's the first time I've ever said that when I'm not at work!" Angel Dust ducked the pillow Velvette threw at his head "I'm sure if we work together, we can at least get Smiles to back down"
"Angel. Listen to me. You can't fix this. All you can do is make things worse. Please, don't tell them. Just go home and leave us be" Velvette begged.
Angel Dust looked doubtfully down at her, shaking his head.
"I'm gonna tell them about the tape, what's on it, and that Alastor has it. Then, we'll make a decision" he finally said, turning on his heel and heading for the door.
"No, Angel, don't-"
But he was already gone, shutting her door behind himself.
Defeated, Velvette stared at the ceiling, before her eyes slid over to the security camera in her room. It was hanging limply off the wall, severed almost completely in half, as though someone had stuck a spear through it.
Her eyes continued to slide across to her balcony. The doors were open, the wind whispering against her hot pink curtains.
I should really start locking that...
She turned her head to her bedside table, where her phone sat next to a propped-up Plush-Vees doll of Vox. She reached out, affectionately brushing her hand against her lover's merchandise before grabbing her phone and hiding herself under her duvet to muffle the sound of her voice.
She called Vox, breathing a sigh of relief as he picked up in under two seconds.
"Babydoll, I thought you'd be asleep for longer. What's wrong?" he asked, sounding strangely breathless "I'm kinda in the middle of something, so this better be-"
"Princess Morningstar broke into my room with her girlfriend and Angel Dust" Velvette whispered "...they know about the video. The one I made on the day that Val shot me"
There was a shattering sound, as if Vox had dropped a glass of something.
"Put your phone down, I'll be right there" he said urgently, and Velvette could hear the squeak of his chair and the rustling of fabric "Keep your distance from the phone, I wouldn't want to crush you. You! Clean up this mess!"
Not questioning who Vox was talking to, Velvette put the phone down, shifting safely away from it mere seconds before Vox zapped himself out of the screen with a crackle of cyan lightning. He looked slightly flustered, faint red blush lines decorating his screen.
"Vox" Velvette reached out for him like a child, pouting piteously. Her interactions with Charlie, Vaggie, and Angel had been the most social she'd been in a week, and she felt drained.
With a grin and a low chuckle, Vox leaned down, scooping Velvette up into his arms and holding her in a bridal carry. Velvette curled her elegantly manicured fingers around one of his lapels, pouting up at him with doe-eyes.
"I was having such a nice dream, too" she said, making Vox laugh even more.
"Let's deal with our unwanted house-guests, and then I'll return you to dreamland" he said, before turning and heading for the door "Keep looking up at me like that, I don't want Princess Morningstar thinking you're unhappy with me"
Vox adjusted his grip on her enough to turn the door-handle, slamming the door open without warning and giving the V Tower's intruders no time to hide, and Velvette no time to fret about her first time out of her room in a week.
Vox waltzed out with Velvette safely cradled in his arms, glaring at the three Hazbin-ers sitting in-between the piles of fashionista detritus that littered Velvette's sofa.
Vaggie and Charlie looked pale with horror and shock, while Angel Dust looked slightly sick.
"Angel, Angel, Angel. I gave you paid time off from work while Val's sick, and this is how you repay me?" Vox said, shaking his screen in disappointment.
Velvette glanced up at Vox in pleasant surprise. She'd never gotten around to asking Vox to give Angel Dust paid time off. She was touched that he'd decided to do it independent of her begging.
"Oh hey Vox, quick question, what the fuck is going on with Velvette?" Angel Dust demanded, getting to his feet and looking pissed, crossing both sets of his arms.
"...and why are you holding her like a baby?" Vaggie asked, standing up next to Angel Dust and frowning deeply.
Charlie just looked concerned, watching the scene unfold, still pale with horror from what Angel Dust had evidentially just told her about the tape.
Vox glared at the three, clearing reigning in his temper.
"Leave. You're not welcome, none of you are. With all due respect, Princess, this is my home. This is Velvette's home, and all you have done is invaded our privacy and upset her"
"What are you doing to her?" Charlie finally demanded, getting to her feet "...she's dressed up like a... like a housewife!"
Velvette looked down at her nightgown, plucking at the silky fabric, before glaring at Charlie.
"This was a gift! It's lovely!" she finally spoke.
"Oh wow, look at that, she's speaking out of turn in her man's presence" Vaggie said sarcastically.
"Fuck you, you ex-angel bitch. Vox loves the sound of my voice" Velvette spat "...maybe not as much as he loves the sound of his own voice, but he loves it. Now get out of his tower!"
Angel Dust chuckled for some reason, but didn't elaborate on his mirth.
"His tower?" said Charlie "Doesn't this tower belong to all of the Vees? Aren't you guys a team?"
"I'm pretty sure Static Daddy here holds the purse strings" said Vaggie.
"I am rapidly running out of patience. Get out!" Vox said, his screen flickering with irritation.
"No. I don't think we will. Because we still haven't brought up that Alastor has a video of Valentino raping you?!" Vaggie said bluntly, her one good eye staring at Vox in horror "Valentino raped you so violently that your insides were all over the sofa, and you stayed?!"
Vox's eyes flicked about the room, red blush lines spreading across his screen once more.
"Thanks a fucking lot, Angel Dust. How the fuck do you know about that, anyway?" he asked.
Angel Dust pointed at Velvette.
"I was the first person she told about that video. How's it feel, being such a piece of shit that your own girlfriend trusted her other boyfriend's whore before she trusted you?"
Velvette looked guiltily up at Vox.
"...oops?" she said, grinning sheepishly.
Vox looked unimpressed.
"...we'll talk about this later" he said, before he unceremoniously dropped Velvette down onto a pile of last season's coats that lay discarded on the sofa, advancing on Angel Dust a few steps before Charlie blocked his path.
“I’ve had enough of turning a blind eye to this. Velvette is coming home with us” she said, her voice gaining a demonic reverberation "...and who the fuck dumps the love of their life onto a pile of coats like that! Velvette, are you okay?"
Her voice returned to normal as she hurried to Velvette's side, wrapping an arm around her with a gentle coo, only to look obviously hurt as Velvette pushed her away, pulling a face.
“No! I’m not going anywhere! I’m happy and I’m safe with Vox, leave him alone!” Velvette said, glaring at the three do-gooders "Fuck off!"
Angel Dust walked away from the sofa, shaking his head as he started to circle Vox, looking down at The TV Demon.
He had roughly a foot of height on him, and with how embarrassed Vox looked, Velvette didn't blame Angel Dust for his unwise cockiness.
“Don't make me say it again; get out of my tower” Vox snapped, pointing towards the door, even as he looked slightly unsettled by Angel Dust's vulture-like circling.
Angel snorted with mirthless laughter.
"Your tower, huh? That's fucking hilarious. Did I ever tell you guys that this place was originally Alastor's?" Angel Dust said.
"Alastor's?!" Charlie, Vaggie, and even Velvette all stared at Vox, who blushed an even deeper shade of red.
Angel snickered with malicious glee.
"This whole place used be be a huge radio tower. We have Val to thank for how tacky it looks now. Alastor gave you a tower and you let your boyfriend vandalize it, Vox. That wasn't very nice"
Velvette stared at Vox in shock.
"Is this true?" she asked, but Vox just shrank in on himself, one hand shielding his cyan-and-red eyes with uncharacteristic shame.
“She doesn’t know, does she? Ha. Well let me educate you, Toots, on Voxxy’s idea of fidelity” Angel approached Velvette with a bitter smile “When Vox first died, he was the sweetest, shyest little Sinner in Pentagram City. I think the shock of going to Hell made him lose whatever confidence he had in life. Alastor took a shine to him and took him under his wing, and before you knew it they were Hell's cutest couple. Alastor loved him. He gave him everything he could, including this whole fucking tower, there was just one tiny little problem. You wanna tell her, Vox?”
Vox glared Angel Dust down, before sighing in defeat and mumbling something nobody could make out.
"Come again, Sparky?" Angel Dust asked, leering hatefully at him.
“Alastor is Asexual” Vox said through gritted blue fangs.
“I didn’t know the creepy fuck very well back then, but everyone knew he loved you. He gave you so much. But you wanted to get laid more than he was willing to put out for. Maybe I should give you props for not just raping him like the love of your life does to you and Velvette, huh?”
Vox said nothing, continuing to glare.
"This is Alastor's tower. He gave it to you because he loved you, and you thanked him by having an affair with the neighborhood slut!” Angel snapped.
“That's strange, I don’t recall having an affair with you” Vox retorted.
“Yeah, right, I'm a slut. Ha. Ha. Ha. Aren’t you funny? You know, everyone fucking forgets that I'm older than all The Vees. I remember when Valentino was just a streetwalker. You gave him the full fucking Pretty Woman treatment, giving him more money and power than he ever fucking ought to have had, and you formed The Vees with him. Not Alastor. Him. Your whore"
"I asked Alastor to join us, I begged him-" Vox started to say.
"-and that was the final straw for Smiles. He said no, and he walked out of your life. At least... for the time being" Angel Dust smirked as Vox ground his fangs together, helpless to retaliate while Princess Morningstar was watching them.
Charlie, for her part, looked stunned, but her concern for Velvette overruled her curiosity about Angel's shocking revelation. She tentatively approached Velvette's side again.
“Velvette, please come home with me. I’ll talk to Alastor, I’ll smooth things over with the video” Charlie begged.
Velvette had had enough. Her expression hardened and she turned to Charlie with an icy glare.
“…you can’t trust Alastor, and you can’t trust your father. I’m not going anywhere near that hotel, so stop fucking asking. Thanks for the story-time, Angel Dust, but it changes nothing"
She stood up, knocking coats everywhere as she did so, before glaring at the Princess of Hell and her ex-angel girlfriend.
“So what? Vox is a ruthless piece of shit. I knew that. It’s one of the things I like about him. I’m not a child, and I’m not a victim. Could you stop fucking patronizing me with your savior complex? Please. Go” she said, mirroring what Vox had done earlier and pointing at the door, before approaching Vox himself and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist "We're happy"
Charlie went to say something, before Vaggie put her hand on her shoulder.
“We should go. We shouldn’t have come here, I told you both that this was a terrible idea…” she said.
“Listen to your girlfriend, Princess, she's far wiser than you” Vox said coldly, wrapping his arms around Velvette and watching with narrowed eyes as their three intruders walked forlornly towards the door without another word.
Angel Dust was the last to leave, turning to look at Velvette sadly.
“I’ll tell Smiles to wipe the video. It’ll be okay. If I can’t convince him, the big dick in charge can. Okay?” he smiled comfortingly.
Velvette blanched.
“Angel, leave it. Antagonizing Alastor is a terrible idea” Vox said.
“Big talk, coming from you. Hell's been better since he split! Where's he been? Who gives a shit! Does that ring any bells?” Angel Dust threw Vox's own unwise antagonism of Alastor in his face “Give Val my love. I’m not going near him and getting sick, beaten up, or both”
“We will” Velvette said, wishing for a moment that Valentino was just sick in bed.
Angel shut the door behind himself with a slam, and Velvette quickly pulled away from Vox, sitting back down again.
Vox breathed out.
“Thank-you, Velvette. You’re very understanding. Ha, it’s good to know that Alastor’s sentiment isn’t as well-hidden as he thinks-"
Without warning, Velvette threw a jelly shoe at Vox as hard as she could. It hit his shoulder, making him wince as he stared at Velvette in shock.
“You were given everything! Everything! And you fucking cheated on him!? What the fuck, Vox!?” She screamed.
“Yeah, I cheated on Alastor! What the fuck is your problem?!” Vox said, his eyes wide with confusion.
“You always led me to believe that he broke your heart, so did Val! All this time, the tragic split in your relationship was because you wanted to get your dick wet more?!” Velvette ran her hands through her hair, hyperventilating.
“I don’t see why you’re so upset! We’re not exactly saints, Vel. Valentino sleeps with everyone he can pin down for long enough!” Vox said, approaching her cautiously “Breathe, Velvette…”
“I’m upset because you lied to me! I’m upset because now I’m rethinking our relationship, I’m rethinking your commitment. Val’s a whore, we all knew that going in, but you and I… we're the loyal ones” she said “Now all I can think is that one day you’re going to… I don’t know, have an affair with fucking Katie Killjoy or something!”
Vox’s eyes widened.
“You don’t know… you didn’t realize?” He sounded appalled.
“I don’t know what?” Velvette snapped.
“Val’s not the only one who sleeps around at work, I just… have a greater respect for consent than he does” Vox smiled sheepishly.
Velvette stared at him.
“Katie Killjoy?” She finally said.
“Uh-huh…” Vox looked like he wanted to crawl out of his skin.
“Katie 'I don’t touch the gays' Killjoy?”
“She didn’t realize I wasn’t straight at first, and after that she was enjoying herself too much to-"
“I DON’T WANT THE FUCKING DETAILS!” Velvette covered her ears, horrified, before something else occurred to her “Wait- what were you doing when I called you?”
“I was working at my desk”
“Was anyone with you?”
“Eelijah” Vox’s sheepish expression said it all.
"Alright. Fine" Velvette got to her feet “I’m going out”
She had no long-term plans, all she knew was that she had to get away from Vox before she did anything regrettable to him or to herself.
Vox blanched, reaching for her.
“Velvette, you are in no fit state to-“ Vox tried to grab her arm, but she pulled away, grabbing a coat from the pile on the floor and pulling it on along with the first pair of boots she could see.
"I thought you were being so patient, so considerate. I haven't even been able to masturbate for days and I thought you were wonderful, being so understanding. But the whole time you were just fucking your way through VoxTek behind my fucking back!" Velvette ranted as she buttoned up her coat, ramming a hat over her hair "Oh, and by the way, his name isn't Eelijah!"
"What is it?" Vox looked genuinely surprised.
"I don't fucking know!" Velvette stormed out the door without another word.
Pentagram City felt more threatening than ever, and Velvette was hyper-aware of how small she was as she felt the eyes of Sinners with claws bigger than her arms lingering on her.
Yes, she could've just taken the limo, but she wanted fresh air and a break from being surrounded by VoxTek branding. Not that that was easy to do, in Pentagram City.
A shark demon leered at her as she passed him by, and she tried to work out if he didn't know who she was, or if he saw how blatantly vulnerable she was without her terrifying lovers by her side.
She had her own formidable reputation, but at the end of the day she was just a fashion designer that looked like a living doll. It had always been fear of Vox and Valentino’s retaliation that kept her safe.
But now Valentino was a moth and she’d just walked out on Vox. If word got out about either occurrence… or both...
She kept walking, putting her scariest resting bitch face on as she did so.
Her heart was torn to pieces and her newly-acquired agoraphobia made her want to curl up in a ball on the ground and cry. That wasn’t even getting into how her week of hypnosis-assisted bed rest had made her legs wobbly and unsteady.
She couldn't believe Vox. But at the same time she couldn't believe that she had been naive enough to think that the living embodiment of Mad Men wasn't fucking his way through a long ling of willing subordinates.
...that wasn't fair. Don Draper had class.
After an indeterminable amount of time she gave up on her directionless angry walking and took a seat on the nearest park bench. She found herself facing the storefront of an electronics store, it's window display a tidy grid of shiny new television sets.
She thought about Vox's head and wanted to cry.
Her phone was buzzing non-stop but she ignored it, staring into space while some puff piece from 666 News played on every screen before her.
A camera mounted in the electronics store's awning turned to focus on her, and Velvette's lip curled. Vox was probably watching her. She flipped off the camera without looking directly at it.
Her phone kept buzzing, and she pulled it out to silence it. But her notifications weren’t full of calls and texts from Vox (even though there were plenty of those).
Her phone was full of news alerts, her most recent notification coming from a very unwelcome number.
Smiling Freak From Voxxxy's Wank Bank:
Maybe you should practice keeping your mouth shut.
Velvette’s blood turned to ice in her veins. She unlocked her phone and opened Sinstagram with trembling hands. As she did so, another text came through, one that made her grit her teeth in frustration.
Angel Dust:
I am so, so sorry.
Me:
When Val's back to normal, I hope he blows your brains out and fucks the hole. That was such a good suggestion of yours! Thanks!
Velvette scrolled Sinstagram, and her heart sank.
Alastor had made good on his threat and released her video.
Her and Vox's names were trending, along with Valentino's name, and words like rape, assault, and pathetic.
She could see thumbnails of her video everywhere she looked, her eyes assaulted by the pinks and reds Valentino's penthouse, sometimes joined by the blues of Vox, or the stomach-churning reds of blood and viscera.
She stared in numbed horror, before there was a news alert from 666 News that she clicked on with trepidation.
The broadcast started to play, Katie Killjoy's hateful face filling both her phone's screen and the plethora of televisions before her.
Vox fucks you?! was all she could think.
"Good evening Pentagram City! We interrupt your usual broadcast for a scandalous breaking news story!" she said, her neck tilting to an unnatural angle with a sickening snap.
"...Katie, I really don't think this is a good idea" Tom Trench started to say, before going quiet as he received a withering death glare.
"Trouble in paradise? It seems that our unbreakable trio of new-money Overlords aren't quite as loved up as they appear. Uploaded by an anonymous source, this video..."
Velvette tuned out Katie's words, slumping back in despair and watching as her life unraveled even further before her eyes.
Katie started to play the video and Velvette numbly watched it.
"Alastor, Alastor, fucking Alastor. All I fucking hear about some days is that smiling freak, your smiling freak. Fuck, your dick twitches every time you think about that ciervo, huh?"
"I just wanna fucking... bend that fucking freak over and... fucking... fucking... fuck. Make him beg me to take him back"
It would've been bad enough if the video was just embarrassing, but it was so much more than that.
"I've got her under a soul contract, big guy. We don't have anything to worry about. Velvette is safely under my watchful eye"
Velvette could feel tears running down her face, knowing what was coming next.
"I expect this behavior from my bitches. Not from you two" Valentino spat, enraged beyond reason, before raising his gun and aiming it at Velvette's head.
" VAL! NO!" Vox's eye was spinning, trying desperately to force Val to look at him despite the hand on his throat.
She barely flinched as she watched Valentino shoot her in the head, watching as blood and brain matter went everywhere and her lifeless body slumped to the ground.
...at least I still look hot with a hole in my head.
She watched as Vox screamed in fury, clawing at Valentino as he was easily overpowered and pushed screen-first into the sofa. His screams only intensified as he was raped, before distorting as Val smashed his screen in completely.
Without warning, and just as Vox's blood really began to soak into the sofa, the video suddenly stopped. The news report cut back to the studio, showing a horrified-looking Katie Killjoy scrambling to her feet and backing away from the desk.
"I... I can explain! It's the news! We couldn't just ignore it!" she pleaded to someone off-camera, before screaming as she was suddenly electrocuted by her own mic pack, collapsing to the floor and twitching violently.
Tom Trench stared in horror as a murderously-angry Vox stormed onto the set.
"I didn't want to do the segment, I didn't want to, I didn't-"
But Vox didn't listen, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him face-first onto the desk, tightening his grip until his claws pierced Tom's neck.
"I hate your fucking voice!" he snarled, before he started to rip stripes out of Tom Trench, ignoring his muffled screaming.
Velvette watched, her mouth agape in shock at Vox's on-air brutality. Vox could be an evil piece of shit, but this was uncharacteristically feral for him.
...uncharacteristic, but hot as fuck.
As Velvette watched Vox tear Tom Trench to pieces, a text suddenly came through from a name she always hated to see:
💩👵Crap-milla Carmine👵💩:
Overlord Meeting. Tomorrow. 11:00. Attendance Mandatory.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!
To Be Continued...
Notes:
Welcome back to the best show in the world! Fun facts with Jesse!
1. BS&P or "Broadcast Standards And Practices" is the department of a television network that is, according to good ol' Wikipedia "responsible for the moral, ethical, and legal implications of the program that the network airs". Basically, have you ever seen a screenwriter bitching about S&P being up their ass? These are the guys they're talking about.
2. Amir Talai doesn't just voice Alastor, he also voices Tom Trench. No wonder Vox hates his voice.
3. "But Jesse" you say "How does Angel Dust know so much about Alastor and Vox's backstory if he doesn't even know who Al is in the pilot?" to which I say... Lepidopterophobia AU! Don't worry about it!
Chapter 12: You're Long Past Trendin'
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
666 News's studio was in total chaos.
The audience and the crew were running around like a flock of headless chickens, screaming in fear and panic, while Katie Killjoy lay unconscious on the floor with her hair standing on end. Undeterred by the bedlam around him, Vox continued tearing Tom Trench to pieces, flinging blood and viscera all over the formerly-pristine desk.
Everyone in Hell knew that despite his facade of 'charming media personality and benevolent business tycoon', Vox was dangerous. But savagery and brutality of this caliber was something he tried to avoid indulging in. However, his claws weren't just for show. This wasn't his first time tearing someone to pieces, and it wouldn't be his last.
Vox's claws had just carved their way through to Tom Trench's still-beating heart when the signal cut out. The plethora of televisions before Velvette suddenly displayed nothing but multi-colored bars and broadcast nothing but a grating, buzzing noise.
Velvette crossed her arms, an irritated look on her face. She'd rather been enjoying watching Vox lose control in such a bloody way.
She knew that she was being stared at, so she focused on her irritation, and not her fear.
Part of Velvette’s duties as a Vee was to ensure that they were always trending, but this was viral fame of the worst possible kind.
The Vees’ brand being perfection wasn't just for the sake of Vox's ego, it was for the sake of their collective safety. All Overlords had a target on their backs, it came with the territory, and The Vees were the youngest and most unpopular Overlords in Hell.
If they didn't keep up their brand-friendly perfectionism, they were fucked harder than Angel Dust at an orgy.
...and now all of Hell had just seen their horrific marital problems in glorious technicolor.
(Not that they were married)
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FU-
"Did you have a nice walk, my dear?" Vox's voice interrupted Velvette’s reverie, and she jolted, before turning to the source of the voice with a glare.
Vox was standing next to her bench, his arms crossed and a sneer on his screen. He was dripping with blood, his blue suit practically stained red with it.
There was a bloody hand-print on his screen that he didn't seem aware of (or didn't care about), making him look even more demonic.
Velvette didn't think he'd ever looked so sexy to her before, and she was already attracted to him. But she was also annoyed with the cheating bastard, so she met his sneer with one of her own.
"I'm not fixing your suit, fuck-face, go get one of your VoxTek whores to do it" she snapped.
"I don't need you to fix it, I have plenty of back-ups" Vox said, before grabbing her arm and dragging her to her feet with very little effort "We're going home"
Vox was much stronger than her, as much as he looked like a telephone pole with a television propped on top, and Velvette was helpless to do anything but allow herself to be dragged to her feet.
She glared hatefully at one of the loves of her life, ignoring the warm buzz of arousal that his rampage had caused her. She tempered her literal blood-lust by imagining how many times he'd fucked Katie Killjoy while feigning compassion and care for her in her helpless state.
The excitement of the past hour had mostly shocked Velvette out of her helplessness, but she still felt extremely fragile. She didn't have a hope of pulling out of Vox's grip, but she didn't have to stay as close to his side as she did, allowing herself to be dragged down the street.
A few passing Sinners turned to look at them, and Velvette flipped them off, feeling her irritation grow that Vox had the nerve to be angry with her after what he had done.
"You're keen to get me home. Did you run out of employees to fuck?" Velvette finally snapped, stumbling a little as they walked over uneven ground.
"Not at all, but all those new, young, tight things I have around the office are uncomfortable for a man of my size. I needed someone looser" Vox snapped back.
"Oh, so you're going to fuck Angel Dust's worn out asshole, then?"
"Ha, I bet it's still tighter than your rancid little cu-" Vox was cut off by his bow-tie suddenly tightening around his neck, his words ending in a gurgle.
Velvette smirked at Vox as she finally pulled out of his grip, holding her hand out as she used her powers to strangle Vox with his own clothes.
"Aw, what's wrong? Did you forget your little Babydoll had powers of her own?" she snarled, tightening the bow-tie with a twist of her wrist and causing error messages to blink all over Vox's screen.
Vox scrabbled at his neck with his claws, managing to cut through the fabric and wheezing as his shredded bow-tie fell away in pieces, leaving him slumped over and massaging his neck.
Slowly, he tilted his screen to glare daggers at her.
Velvette's sadistic smirk faded and she tried to step away, only for Vox to lunge at her before she could move, easily slinging her over his shoulder before marching down the street with her hammering her fists against his back.
By that point, there was a small crowd gathered around them, staring at the Hellish lovers’ tiff. She could see from her awkward vantage point that a few of them had their phones in their hands, recording.
Great. Like we needed any more bad publicity. I do not want to think about the trending page on Sinstagram right now...
"FUCK OFF!" Vox snarled as he marched down the street, and Velvette could hear the hypnotic reverberation in his voice, causing the curious crowd around them to quickly disperse with spirals in their eyes.
As worried as she was about their reputation, she couldn't resist throwing gasoline over the flames of their decimated pubic image, just to annoy Vox.
"No, no, don't go away! He's a monster! He's worse than Val, help me!" Velvette called out, before shrieking as Vox pulled her off his shoulder and slid her into a now-familiar bridal carry, glaring down at her.
Velvette blushed, becoming rapidly aware of just how aroused she actually was. She shifted slightly in his grip. If she weren't so angry with the cheating fucker, she'd be begging for his freakishly large tongue inside her.
...I'm such a pervert...
"...you are such a pervert" Vox echoed her thoughts, smirking.
Velvette stared at him.
"What are you talking ab-" she started to defensively say, before Vox cut her off with a laugh.
"Your eyes. Your pupils are so blown out it's like looking into two black holes" he said, his rage visibly ebbing away as he regarded her "I'm so sorry. Regardless of what a pervert you are, I shouldn't have said you have a rancid little cunt"
"You didn't get to say that, I cut you off before you could. But fuck me, you've said it now" Velvette rolled her eyes, even as she smirked.
"It's not rancid, it's an amazing cunt. Best cunt in hell" Vox leaned down, kissing her forehead as Velvette giggled at the vulgarity.
"Not amazing enough to stop you from cheating, though?" she pointed out, her expression turning more serious.
Vox sighed, his screen developing blush lines as familiar as the bridal carries he had become so fond of.
"Velvette, I-"
"There is no possible excuse for what you did. Either you're too stupid to realize I didn't know what a slut you are, or you're too much of a faithless bastard to care. Either way, you're a slut. So, are you a slutty idiot or a slutty cheater, Vox?"
Vox glared down at her, error messages blinking across his screen for a moment, his antennae sparking threateningly.
"...we'll circle back to that later. I can see you're about to short circuit" Velvette teased, patting his chest before her expression became even more serious "So, on a lighter note; did you get the same text I did, babes?"
Vox shuddered, his grip on her protectively tightening.
"I am not looking forward to whatever is waiting for us at that meeting. Whatever it is, I know I'm not getting out of this with my dignity intact"
Sympathetic, Velvette leaned up and kissed his 'cheek' softly, her lips tingling with static as she relaxed back in his arms.
"I'm still angry about the cheating, and I'm angry you lied to me about Alastor. But... fuck, Vox. I haven't been wet in a week, I want you so fucking badly. You can do me right here and I won't care" she said.
"...as charming as that sounds..." Vox looked around the filthy street they were on, glaring down the few remaining passers-by as they stared for a fraction too long "I'd rather fuck you in private. In my bed"
"Fine. Take me home, and do your worst" Velvette grinned ear-to-ear.
Nobody in the V Tower dared look twice at Vox as he carried Velvette into the foyer, wisely scurrying out of their way.
Vox only put Velvette down after they stepped into the nearest available elevator, hitting the button that would take them to his penthouse with a touch too much force than was strictly necessary.
Velvette quickly unbuttoned her coat, dropping it and her hat onto the floor before curling her fingers around the front of her nightgown.
She waited for the elevator doors to close before putting her plan into action.
"Vox" she said, before pulling the nightgown down to flash her breasts at Vox as he turned to face her.
He looked unfazed, even as he smirked slightly.
"You'll have to try harder than that. We've been together for years, I'm desensitized" he said.
Velvette pouted as she moved her hands to cup her breasts, propping them up and running her thumbs over her nipples. She gave a theatrical moan as she stimulated herself, before dropping one hand between her legs and pressing it hard against her vulva.
Vox's trousers were stating to look uncomfortably tight, but his expression remained neutral.
"You're very hot, Velvette, and I am going to fuck you harder than I fucked Alastor over-" Vox joked, making Velvette laugh "-but you know how I feel about fucking in public. Wait until we're in private"
Velvette rolled her eyes, covering herself up again and waiting impatiently for the elevator to reach it's destination.
With a cheerful ding! the doors finally opened.
Vox's gaze became more predatory, and Velvette grinned as he suddenly scooped her up into his arms again, carrying her into his meticulously tidy penthouse without another word and power-walking to his bedroom. He was clearly as eager to fuck her as she was to be fucked by him.
Velvette rolled her eyes, all the same, as he made sure to shut the bedroom door behind them.
"Prude" she said, smiling sweetly as Vox's expression became even more predatory. She squealed as she was suddenly tossed onto Vox's bed, barely having enough time to stare at him with darkened eyes before he'd climbed on top of her.
He kissed her passionately, and she moaned at the familiar static buzz against her skin. As she closed her eyes, she could still see the blue glow of Vox's ‘face’ from behind her eyelids, and his tongue was so far down her throat that she had to concentrate to breathe and not gag.
I'm so fucking wet right now was her only coherent though.
To her annoyance, Vox suddenly pulled away, groaning.
"Fuck" he hissed, a touch too theatrically for Velvette to take it seriously.
"Can't get it up, Granddad?" Velvette taunted all the same.
Vox knelt up, cupping the sizable erection in his trousers as he looked lustfully down at Velvette. Her seamstress's eye caught that the zipper of his fly was under a considerable amount of strain.
She prayed that the zipper wouldn't break, Vox's ego would swell to dangerous levels.
"That's not a problem, my dear. The problem is that I don't think I can work up even a facsimile of rage against you right now. You wanted me to do my worst, and my worst is hate sex. Ask Val, whenever he can speak again" Vox teased "I love you too much, it's my greatest asset and also my downfall"
Velvette pretended to gag.
"I- eugh- love you too" she said, slipping another fake gag into the middle of her sentence "Alright, if you're going to be such a sentimental fucking bitch, I get to be on top"
Vox nodded, getting off Velvette completely and lying on his back, propped up by his pillows as he laced his hands behind his screen.
Velvette kicked off her boots, making a mental note to have someone fetch her discarded coat and hat from the elevator. She crawled over to Vox, kneeling besides him and looking him over contemplatively.
"...Velvette?" Vox queried her hesitation.
Velvette just grinned.
In the blink of an eye, she was suddenly dressed up in the same 'Sexy Radio Demon' outfit she'd worn on that fateful night when Val had first assaulted her.
Vox's eyes widened, and she giggled, holding a miniaturized version of Alastor's microphone to her lips. It was just a baton, she wasn't able to actually conjure up a working microphone.
But she could do a pretty good imitation of Alastor's transatlantic accent, static feedback and all.
"What's with the face, old pal? Aren't you delighted to see your favourite slutty deer in the Seven Rings of Hell?" she cooed, tapping Vox's face lightly with her 'microphone'.
"Alastor's not a slut" Vox finally said, looking more than a little love-struck.
"Oh, but if only I was. Maybe you wouldn't have stuck your dick into every willing slut from here to... uh..."
She dropped the accent, stage-whispering.
"Which Ring is on the bottom?"
"Sloth, my dear"
"...maybe you wouldn't have stuck your dick into every willing slut from here to Sloth if I were a slut!" Velvette proclaimed.
"...which was impressive of me, because Sinners can't leave the Pride Ring" Vox said, waggling his digital brows "My cock is just that big, huh? Besides, Alastor, I only ever had an affair with Val"
Velvette narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, so Alastor only had one floozy to worry about, but I get you cheating on me with a whole army of whores?" she snapped in her normal voice.
"It's just because you're so wonderful it takes a whole army to replicate even a fraction of your worth" Vox said with a cheesy grin.
Velvette smacked his shoulder with her microphone, before continuing in her faux-Alastor voice.
"Now, you're lucky, because not only is this version of Alastor a massive slut, he's also very forgiving..." Velvette trailed the microphone more gently along Vox's shoulders "...three orgasms, and all is forgiven!"
Vox grinned evilly, before he wordlessly splayed his hand in a 'V' sign against his screen, winking at Velvette as he let his tongue flick out between his fingers.
"...four, and I'll let you fuck me!" Velvette said, her accent wavering as she started pulling off her (red, deer-themed) panties as quickly as she could before scrambling up to straddle Vox's screen.
His hands held firmly onto her thighs, his long and buzzing tongue pushing it's way deep inside her. She could feel him chuckle as she moaned, biting down on her 'microphone' hard enough to leave teeth marks as Vox's tongue was pushed fully inside her.
I love you... she thought dreamily, closing her eyes and letting the blissful sensations of Vox's cunnilingus take over.
Two hours and countless orgasms later (she lost count after four), and Velvette slumped down next to Vox on the bed. Her Alastor costume had been flung all over the room; all she had remaining of it was the 'microphone' still clutched in her hands.
Vox pulled her into his arms, and she cuddled up to him with a content smile. He was filthy, his screen covered in her juices while his collar was soaked with the same (as well as Valentino-caliber amounts of drool). His suit was still on, stained with Tom Trench's half-dried blood and with only the fly open to admit Vox's rapidly-softening cock.
He didn't look fit for broadcast, but to Velvette, he looked impossibly sexy. Maybe this was why she'd never made a relationship stick in life, the whole time she'd had a fetish for demonic, gore-soaked TV's.
Vox wasn't the only filthy one, either, both Velvette and the bed were stained with Tom Trench's blood. Neither of them cared, though. It almost felt romantic to the two Overlords.
"...we're so fucked" Velvette finally groaned, clutching her 'microphone' against Vox's chest as she was cuddled "There's a million things we're going to be bent over that conference table for tomorrow, and a million more things they could uncover overnight"
"I'll be sure to bring lube tomorrow. Because yes, we are getting fucked, but at least we'll be getting fucked together" Vox kissed the top of Velvette's head.
"Such a romantic" Velvette smirked, looking up at Vox "On the plus side, I left the house today"
"You left the house, and I gave Tom Trench a well-needed holiday from work. What a productive day!"
Velvette giggled, snuggling up even more into Vox’s embrace. Vox ran his hand gently along her arm, before tapping the twinkling bracelet that Valentino had given her.
Even after everything she'd been through, it was still on her, and it still looked as amazing as it did when he gave it to her.
"I wonder where Val got this from, it's extremely durable. You haven't taken it off once?"
Velvette shook her head.
"I just..." she shook her wrist, watching as the pink diamonds sparkled "I don't know. I just don't want to"
Vox kissed the top of her head again.
"...it's like having a bit of Val with you, wherever you go" he said softly, before moving his hand to brush his fingertips against her skull-shaped earrings "Is that why you don't take these out, most of the time?"
Velvette blushed. Vox had given her those earrings for her first birthday in Hell.
"...guilty as charged" she said quietly "Don't you dare tell anyone I'm so sentimental. I'll fucking kill you"
"Don't worry, I won't tell a soul... but if the absolute worst case scenario happens and I end up getting sentenced to death tomorrow, my last words will be Velvette wears those earrings because she's in love with me!"
They both laughed at that, curled up securely in the blue-tinged sanctuary of Vox's bedroom, his beloved sharks swimming in circles beyond the walls of their tank.
Velvette suddenly grabbed her phone, holding it up above them both and taking a selfie.
Vox sneered at the camera as it flashed, before looking curiously down at Velvette.
"Are you going to post that?"
"No. I just... wanted it. When things die down I'll post it. Let's make ourselves trend for something nice" she said, giggling with surprise as Vox kissed her softly before gently switching their positions and climbing on top of her "Really? Again?"
"...if you can promise me you won't be a bitch about what I'm going to say next" Vox said with a grimace.
"Cross my heart" Velvette did a crossing motion over her heart.
"...I need to take a pill, but then I'll be ready to go- Velvette, you promised!" Vox scolded her as she burst out laughing.
Velvette poured herself a triple vodka and cranberry juice as the limo pulled away from the V Tower, en route to Carmilla Carmine's residence.
"Easy, Velvette. If you vomit over Carmine... well, it'll be fucking hilarious, but I'm not cleaning it up" Vox said, adjusting his bow tie in Velvette's compact mirror.
"You had two Bloody Mary's with breakfast, you fucking lush. Shut the fuck up" Velvette snapped, downing her drink in one before her eyes narrowed as she realized Vox had her mirror "Hey, give it back! Who gave you that?"
"You did, when you left your handbag so temptingly open" Vox said, gesturing towards the pink, heart-shaped handbag that Velvette was using that day.
Velvette was wearing the same thing she'd worn to the last Overlord meeting she'd attended, she'd even styled her hair and done her makeup the same way. Asides from the addition of Valentino's bracelet, nothing had changed. Nothing. That was the message she was sending.
...also, she had a very nice new handbag that she wanted to show-off, and it went best with that outfit.
She relaxed as much as she could in her seat, crossing her arms and legs defensively before looking back over at Vox with a frown.
"What's the worst that could happen, Vox?"
"That's the spirit, my dear" said Vox, replacing her compact and zipping her handbag back up for her.
"I'm not being rhetorical. What's the worst that could happen? What's the absolutely worst thing they can do to us?"
Vox paused, looking up at Velvette.
He was about to answer when there was a text alert from his phone. He grabbed it, glancing at the screen.
His own screen froze, just for a second.
"What's wrong?" Velvette asked.
Vox sighed.
"Eelijah accidentally wiped a very important file. I'll deal with him later" he said, and Velvette knew without a doubt that he was lying. But before she could call him out on it, he continued "...darling. I want to make a deal with you"
It was a completely unexpected request, and one that left Velvette slack-jawed in shock and alarm.
"Oh, no. No, no, no, fuck you. No. Never again" said Velvette as soon as she'd recovered.
"Relax, it's not that sort of deal. I want a binding promise, that if things don't go our way, I will assume full responsibility and paint you as a victim I took advantage of. You will help me do this without hesitation or argument. I will take whatever punishment they mete out and you won't try to protect me. Can you do that?" Vox held out his hand.
"I don't need to make a deal with you to do that, I'm going to do it anyway. Hoes before bros" said Velvette with a smirk, even as her heart hammered uneasily in her chest.
"Sweetheart, as delighted as I am to see you acting like the bitch you are, we both know it's mostly an act and I know you'll try to protect me if it's my neck on the line” Vox said “It’s why you went to Alastor, after all. You wanted to protect me”
“Vox, nothing is going to happen to us” Velvette said, trying to convince herself of that fact more than anything else.
“But if it does, I am going to protect you from the fallout. Just give me your word that you’ll save yourself”
Velvette stared at Vox’s proffered hand, before shaking her head again.
“No”
“Velvette. Please. For me. I am sure that nothing will happen, this is just for my own peace of mind. Please, honey, it's the least I can do to make up for my infidelity..."
Velvette hesitated, staring helplessly into Vox's eyes, before she slowly nodded.
It's just a symbolic gesture. It'll make him happy she reassured herself, before he reached out and shook Vox’s hand, feeling the static jolt of a deal run through her.
“Nothing will happen” she said firmly, before shifting to sit next to Vox in the limo and leaning against him.
“Nothing will happen to you, I promise. I love you so much” Vox kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
“I love you too” Velvette said softly, her voice muffled by Vox's jacket.
Pentagram City grew small as Vox and Velvette were carried to the top of Carmine's building in one of her many glass elevators. Velvette poked at the glass, childishly imagining that she was some sort of Kaiju who could crush the miniature-looking Hazbin Hotel under her index finger.
Vox watched quietly before he approached her, taking her hand and pulling it away from the glass so he could kiss the back of it.
“We'll meet again. Don't know where. Don't know when. But I know we'll meet again some sunny day” he sung softly to her, before looking down at her with obvious adoration written on every pixel of his face.
“Fuck, that song is depressing” Velvette said, touched but confused at Vox's burst of romanticism.
“You’re English, I’m sure you’ve heard it before” Vox said.
“Yeah, it’s an old wartime song” Velvette said, glancing to her side as the doors opened "Are you going into battle or some shit?"
"Technically, we're both going into battle. I love you" he said with a rueful smile.
"Love you too, Voxxy" Velvette smiled "Shall we?"
"Of course" Vox said, taking her hand and leading the way.
Stepping out into the foyer triggered an unexpected bout of agoraphobia, and she stayed close to Vox’s side.
Vox squeezed her hand comfortingly.
"It's alright, my dear. Would you like to sit on my lap during the meeting? I'm sure nobody will care" he offered.
Velvette remembered a time when she'd fearlessly kick the doors of Carmine's conference room in, and she bristled.
I’m a fucking Overlord, I can’t be so pathetic. This fucker banged his way through his company while I was bedridden and he got Sexy Radio Demon role-play out of it. I gotta do something. I need to remind him that I’m still that #bitch…
“Vox. Make a deal with me too” she said, stopping in her tracks and forcing Vox to a standstill too. She pulled her hand out of his, looking up at him determinedly.
The foyer was empty, giving them the privacy they needed for such a delicate conversation. But she had to act quickly, the last thing she wanted was for another Overlord to see her making a deal with Vox, especially after that fucking video had been leaked.
“Hm?” Vox looked down at her “Oh, of course. What can I do for you?”
He agreed so quickly that it took a moment for Velvette to gather her thoughts.
“No fucking outside of The Vees, not without my permission. I don’t mind on occasion. Maybe I’ll even watch. But you need my permission to do it” Velvette smirked filthy as she held out her hand.
Vox took it without hesitation, even if he did lean down to whisper "Slut"
The deal was made mere seconds before the elevator opposite them opened, admitting Rosie. Vox and Velvette were still holding hands, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary to an outside observer.
“Velvette! Darling, look at you! How nice to see you out and about again!” she gushed, sweeping towards Velvette and kissing both her cheeks without warning “Aw, just as much of a doll as ever!”
Velvette made a show of wiping her cheeks with her free hand.
“Is ‘consent’ an abstract concept in Cannibal Town?” she snapped.
Rosie’s fanged smile faltered.
“Not as abstract of a concept as it seems to be in the V Tower. It’s nice to see you, dear. Vox” she offered Vox a cold nod, before sweeping away into the conference room.
“Since when has Rosie liked you so much?” Vox said in an undertone.
Velvette just shrugged, before following Rosie into the conference room, pulling Vox along behind her.
Like the drama deer he was, Alastor was the last to arrive at the meeting. Vox and Velvette had subtly nudged their chairs together before sitting, and Velvette took Vox’s hand under the table when she heard the tell-tale sounds of radio static.
“Did I miss anything?” Alastor asked as he primly took a seat opposite the two Vees, sitting bolt upright with his usual grin plastered over his face.
“No, we were just about to begin” said Carmilla, taking a seat at the head of the table, in her usual place by Zestial’s side. She looked at Velvette with less burning hatred than she usually did, making Velvette frown in concern.
Seeing Carmilla look like she only wished a painless death on the doll demon was unsettling, to say the least.
"Doth we both'r pretending yond we knoweth not the purpose of this meeting?" Zestial asked, his eyes not leaving Vox and Velvette, who did their best to look innocent.
“No. That would be a waste of everyone's valuable time” Carmilla said, shaking her head “Vox, Velvette, I'm going to cut right to the chase; what is going on in that tower, and where is Valentino? I made it clear that attendance today is mandatory”
Vox cleared his throat, before getting to his feet and smiling with his usual charismatic charm at the unimpressed-looking Overlords.
“Carmilla, might I say you are looking-" he started to say, before being cut off by a furious-looking Carmilla.
“Don’t you dare” she warned.
“-Valentino is unwell. He sends his regards” Vox said quickly.
“Ha! Is that Vox-speak for ‘he’s jerking it to the thought of you’?” Missi Zilla cackled.
The table ignored her.
“How interesting that Valentino has fallen mysteriously ill after you and Velvette have been repeatedly and publicly victimized by him” Carmilla said skeptically "I want the truth. Is Valentino still with us?"
“I promise you, if I were going to kill Val, you’d all know about it by now. I’m not very subtle when I have a vendetta” Vox said, grinning evilly across his screen.
"...but bid us, doth thee has't a vendetta? We has't all seen thy video, we has't all heard the rum'rs about what hath happened at Club Ch'rnobog. Forsooth, we has't heard rum'rs f'r many a year about what happeneth in thy abode at which hour the doors art close. But those rum'rs only ev'r did indicate yond Valentino wast abusing thee, Vox. One may assume yond Valentino assaulting fair Velvette might beest a... line in the sand f'r thee” said Zestial.
"So... did anyone here understand a fucking word of that?" Velvette finally said, doing her best not to look as uneasy as she felt.
Vox hollowly laughed, patting her shoulder.
“Ha, hilarious, dear. But let’s keep the jokes to a minimum. I can handle this”
“I’m sure you can, Vox. After all, why let Velvette speak for herself? Why let her have any independence? Tell me, do you still own her soul?” Alastor asked.
“What sort of fucking slanderous-" Vox started to say before Velvette grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back down again.
“It’s in the video. You told Val” she whispered.
“Ah, fuck” Vox winced, straightening up again and addressing the room once more “That was a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. I broke the contract as soon as I realized what a mistake it was and I sincerely apologized” he said, holding up his hands innocently.
"Mistakes in a healthy relationship are generally trite matters, like forgetting to take the garbage out. Making your loved one, through some dubious means, sign their soul to you is coercive control at best. Maybe Velvette should be more fastidious in taking out her own garbage" said Alastor, idly playing with the tip of his microphone with one of his long fingers.
"You fucking-" Vox said, his voice warping dangerously before Velvette intervened, pulling him back down into his seat and wrapping her arms around one of his to keep him in place, leaning against his shoulder. She felt him relax, his other arm reaching over to run an affectionate claw against her face.
"We should stay focused. I called this meeting because all of Pride knows that you three-" Carmilla narrowed her eyes as she looked at Vox and Velvette, highlighting Valentino's conspicuous absence "-obviously have a seriously troubled home life. It's not a good look for an Overlord's violent sexual assault to be broadcast on the news"
"My apologies. In future I'll broadcast my so-called violent sexual assault over the radio, I'm sure Alastor would love to help with that" said Vox with a roll of his eyes, before groaning as Alastor started talking again.
"Vox, I take no joy in your suffering" he lied "It breaks my heart to know that you're being abused, and I'm sure that everyone here was horrified to see what's been happening to such a dear little girl behind closed doors"
Velvette stared at Alastor in disbelief.
"I died when I was thirty, why does everyone insist on treating me like a child?!" she snapped "I don't dress like a child and I don't look like a child! Why am I always being treated like one? Is it because I'm small? The King of Hell is smaller than me, you senile fuckers!"
"An excellent point, Velvette! My apologies. How unfair of me to accuse you of being childish when you're sitting next to a man who couldn't even make it through dinner without wetting himself" Alastor's eyes lingered on Vox, who looked ready to leap across the table and strangle him.
Before he could, Carmilla got to her feet and cleared her throat, glaring down at Velvette with barely-concealed antipathy.
"...Velvette, you and I have had our differences-" she started to say.
"Because you're a wrinkled, saggy old bitch and I'm tight and young?" asked Velvette with a grin.
"-but we are both women, and it breaks my heart to think of any woman being violated by a man she thought she could trust. Be the violation sexual, physical, or emotional" Carmilla's eyes rested on Vox for a moment.
"Hey, eyes off Voxxy! He's only ever hit me like, once!" Velvette snapped, before immediately regretting it.
"You hit her?!" Carmilla growled like an angry hellcat, her claws digging marks into the table as Vox wisely shrank back in his seat.
"Once! I apologized!" Vox protested, but the table had already erupted into loud whispering and pointed looks in his direction.
Velvette had had enough, she climbed up onto her chair, and then onto the table to give herself enough height to glare the much taller Overlords down.
"We're in fucking Hell! Practically three times a day a wife-beater or a rapist comes plummeting down here, why the fuck is everyone clutching their fucking pearls over this?! Valentino is a serial rapist, everyone knows that! So what if he gets rough with us sometimes, we can fucking heal!" she dropped back down into her seat, slamming her fist on the table as she did so "...and Vox is an amazing boyfriend! Leave him alone!"
She was reminded suddenly of what Vox had told her, the day after Val had first assaulted her.
"Do I need to remind you again that we're in Hell?! I learned to accept what love looks like down here, and unless you want to be thrown out of The Vees, you need to accept it too!"
She looked over at Vox, who smiled comfortingly at her. He'd changed his tune after the incident at Club Chernobog.
“Our brand is perfection, Velvette. Our image is a unified, powerful, and fearless front. I’m afraid I can’t let anything jeopardize that”
...but maybe Vox was right in the first place. Because it sure felt like The Vees were about to become history. It wasn't fun to be trending for such vile reasons, but it would be even more catastrophic for them not to be trending at all.
"What is this even about? You can't seriously have called a meeting of all the Overlords just because Valentino has been getting rough with us..." Vox finally said.
"...isn't thy brand p'rfection, Vox?" Zestial asked.
Velvette stared at him, before glancing around the room. Everyone was staring at her and Vox...
...and they looked hungry.
Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place.
"This is a power grab" she said quietly.
"What?" Vox looked at her, alarmed.
"This is a fucking power grab. You lot smelled blood in the water, so like a pack of fucking sharks you started circling. You're just trying to see how vulnerable we are before you attack" Velvette got back up on the table, putting her hands on her hips "Newsflash, you senile fucks, there's only one shark here- and I'm fucking him! You aren't getting so much as a bite of chum from us, we're fine"
It was a lie, but Velvette knew they had to reinforce their shields quickly, or there really would be blood in the water.
Vox rolled his eyes, getting to his feet and brushing imaginary dust off his pristine blue suit.
"...and here I was, wondering why you were all acting like a bunch of softhearted fools. Ha! You really thought you could concern-troll your way into snatching our power away from us"
He plucked Velvette off from the table, holding her in his arms and kissing her cheek before whispering "Did I use concern-troll correctly?"
"Kinda. It's a little outdated" Velvette whispered back, wrapping her arms securely around Vox's shoulders.
"We're leaving" Vox addressed the room.
For whatever reason, his eyes lingered on Alastor. If Velvette didn't know any better, she'd say he looked concerned.
"Velvette, regardless of everyone else's motivations, I am worried for your safety-" Carmilla started to say.
Velvette flipped her off.
"Take me home, Vox" she said, smirking at the group "Sure, we're going viral for all the wrong reasons, but at least we're trending. You outdated fucks wouldn't know what that means"
"Enjoy gossiping, if you try and fuck with us I'll blackout the entire Pride Ring" Vox threatened, before walking briskly out the doors and slamming them shut behind himself.
The last thing Velvette saw before the doors closed was Carmilla Carmine, one hand reaching out for her.
She couldn't tell if the gesture was predatory or protective.
The glass elevator carried them back down to the ground, Pentagram City growing larger and larger the closer they got to street level.
Vox was so tense that Velvette could feel it. She kissed his screen, before dropping down onto the ground and patting his skinny forearm comfortingly.
"Hey, it's over, relax" she said, smiling up at him "Maybe the only thing we're on top of right now is the trending page of Sinstagram, but we haven't come out of that meeting any worse than we went in. Seek solace in that"
Vox shook his head, before looking down at Velvette and touching the side of her face with his hand.
"I love you" he said "Don't forget that, no matter what"
"Vox, what the fuck has gotten into you?" Velvette asked, but Vox didn't answer.
He just kept staring at Velvette, as though committing her to memory.
The elevator finally reached it's destination and Velvette got out first, stretching and breathing in the fresh air before approaching the limo. Thanks to his longer legs, Vox got to it first, opening the door for her chivalrously.
As Velvette climbed in, Vox looked around himself anxiously, reminding Velvette of an over-protective bodyguard scanning the area for threats.
...if Vox were a bodyguard, however, he wouldn't have been very good at it. Yes, he'd scanned their surroundings thoroughly, but he'd forgotten to check the most obvious place that danger could be lurking; inside the limo itself.
Velvette screamed in shock as she suddenly found herself locking eyes with Lucifer Morningstar, his demonic gaze burning with fury as he balanced Valentino's terrarium on his knee.
Val was squeaking in distress, the squeaks intensifying as Lucifer flicked his wrist and magically dragged Vox inside, slamming the door behind him.
The door locked, and Vox quickly got up and sat besides Velvette, wrapping his arms protectively around her.
Lucifer smiled without any warmth.
"Vox, Velvette. My apologies for dropping in on you like this..." Lucifer reached besides himself, picking up and holding out a very familiar empty bottle, with dregs of green potion still visible inside it "We need to talk"
To Be Continued...
Notes:
~It's me. Hi. I'm the author it's me~
1. I studied Shakespeare, but can I replicate Shakespearean-style speech? Noooooo... I used a Shakespearean text generator on LingoJam to try and make Zestial sound authentically Zestial-y, then I tidied it up a bit to make it legible. I'm sure it's extremely inaccurate and illegible but I've been going grey trying to write him so IDGAF.
2. I haven't seen Helluva Boss, so anything included or mentioned in this story that's from HB (like the other Rings, the other Sins, etc.) I'm going to be learning about through the power of Google. My apologies for any inaccuracies.
3. ...you know, it feels weird only having two notes. Uh... so... oh! Here's a fun little game for the comments section: what is your favorite non-Hazbin Hotel role of your favorite Hazbin Hotel cast member? Daphne Rubin-Vega (Carmilla Carmine) is in the latest season of Only Murders In The Building and I've been loving her in it. Also, did you know Amir Talai (Alastor) was on Curb Your Enthusiasm for like five seconds? (S5, E2 "The Bowtie")
Chapter 13: Sorry, Bae, But I Ain't Swipin' Right
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Velvette loved Vox's sharks.
She loved them not just because she loved dangerous things- what else could explain her taste in men- but because having them around meant that she got to enjoy watching how much they terrified visitors to the V Tower.
Visitors like the poor, hapless, Sir Pentious.
Despite being as cold-blooded as Vox’s sharks, Sir Pentious was obviously terrified of the cybernetic fish. Velvette looked up from her phone to grin with sadistic delight every time one of Vox’s sharks swum too close to Sir Pentious, causing the wannabe-Overlord to flinch.
His fear was pathetic, especially considering that the shark tank that bordered The Vees' conference room was made out of bulletproof glass that was as thick as Velvette was tall.
(Following the tragic death of Vark following one of Valentino's tantrums, all shark tanks were made nigh-indestructible for the sake of Vox’s pets).
Sir Pentious was sitting at one end of The Vees’ long conference table, while the trio themselves sat at the other end. Vox sat in his usual chair at the head of the table, while Val and Velvette sat on either side of him.
Val was currently painting his nails, while Velvette was messing around on her phone. However, their disinterest was an act, and one that Sir Pentious was smart enough to see through. Velvette could see it in the anxious way his eyes kept darting between all three of them, desperate for approval.
Personally, Velvette thought Vox was insane. The serpent was an incompetent, delusional megalomaniac, there was no way he was going to be able to pull off a successful infiltration and surveillance of Charlie Morningstar's cutesy little hellhole.
If they wanted an incompetent, delusional megalomaniac to do the job for them, they would've just sent Val.
“…so, you understand the plan, right?” Vox asked, lacing his fingers together as he grinned at the terrified-looking Sir Pentious.
“Y-yes! Yes! Of course! Infiltrate the Hazy Hotel, plant surveillance devices, and report my findings back to you!” Sir Pentious said, his words almost unintelligible as his excitement made his hissing lisp even worse than usual.
"Hazbin, Sir Pentious" Velvette groaned, rubbing her eyes in frustration (being careful not to smudge her perfect cat-eye as she did so).
"An easy mistake, it's a stupid name" Vox said, smiling comfortingly at Sir Pentious, who smiled weakly back.
“But you forgot the best part” Valentino looked up from his glittery red nail polish to grin at the poor serpent “If you screw this up, you owe me ten films. No limits”
Sir Pentious made a shocked, choking noise, flinching back in his chair and angling himself away from Val "Uh... w-what?"
Vox looked just as stunned, staring at Valentino in shock. Valentino simply smiled back at him, nodding eagerly, before Vox shook his head and curled his digital lip in distaste.
Velvette could’ve watched Vox and Val have entirely non-verbal conversations all day. It was a sign of how well they knew each other that they didn’t always need to use words to convey meaning to one another.
It made her feel warm inside, knowing how much her boyfriends loved each other.
“That’s not part of the deal. Don’t even think about it” he said firmly, while Sir Pentious blushed and averted his eyes, all of them.
“But Voxxy! Snake demons are hung, and they have two dicks, two!” Valentino held up two fingers for emphasis, bringing his cigarette holder to his lips and taking a deep drag before continuing "Dos!"
Vox glared him down.
"...that means two in Spanish" Valentino patiently explained.
Vox tapped the side of his screen.
"I’m an omniglot, Val, I know what it fucking means. I'm speechless with shock, not confusion"
Valentino huffed, taking another drag of his cigarette and looking moody.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a snake demon in your studio, Val” Velvette tapped idly at her phone.
Valentino blew out a red plume of smoke, fixing his red eyes onto Velvette.
“You don’t spend enough time in my studio, I have all sorts of demons down there. Come make a movie for me, baby, meet the family” Valentino purred, blowing out a heart-shaped smoke ring and letting it drift over to Velvette, ringing her head in a red heart before the smoke dissipated.
Velvette looked up from her phone, flipping him off before taking a long sip from her drink (a dirty martini).
She slowly put the glass down, meeting Valentino's grin with one of her own, though hers was far more sardonic.
“I’m not stupid enough to do that. You’ll get me hooked on drugs and do something weird to me, I know you” she said, swirling an olive around her martini glass "...it must break your heart that I'm such a bad bitch. You'd love to fuck me up the way you do Angel Dust, huh?"
Valentino laughed, leaning back in his seat.
"Mi hermosa muñeca, you know me too well! If I had my way I'd get you so fucked up you’d be calling Vox Daddy and drooling all over his jacket” Valentino threatened "...not that that's never happened before"
Velvette went red, remembering the night in question that Valentino was referring to.
Velvette had never been cross-faded before, and Vox had been so caring and kind as he'd helped her to bed that certain wires had gotten crossed.
“That was one time! Fuck you! Estúpido” Velvette flipped Valentino off.
"Hey, I didn't know you knew Spanish!" Valentino sounded and looked genuinely delighted.
"I just know all the insults, like eres un huelebicho" Velvette snapped.
Val just grinned, leaning forwards and licking the air between them like he could taste Velvette's scent.
(…maybe he could, Valentino always played coy about revealing the full extent of his powers)
"Oh Velvette... I'd get you so fucked up that you wouldn’t recognise your own face, and then I’d make a fortune by filming that tight little doll pussy getting split open by two snake dicks at once. Caliente”
Velvette chuckled, unperturbed by Valentino’s graphic fantasy. It amused her more than anything else, especially when she saw Val reach one of his free hands between his legs to start rubbing himself through his wings (currently folded around him like a coat).
“Unfortunately for you, I'm an Overlord and I'm your equal, so I’m not doing that. Mm, but now I want a snake-themed dildo” Velvette said with a grin, pulling out her phone and looking up the sex toy in question.
Valentino took another drag, blowing out a smoke ring and watching it drift into the ceiling as he waved another free hand dismissively.
“No problem! I’ll have one made for you for your birthday, any size and texture you like. If you're a good girl I'll design it so it'll even lay eggs inside you” he looked back at Velvette, grinning.
“Aw! Val! if you do that for me I’ll rim you when your birthday comes around" Velvette cooed, batting her lashes at him.
“Will you put popping candy on your tongue first?” Val asked, taking a sip of his own (rainbow, neon-colored) drink, still rubbing himself in slow circles.
“Of course!”
“Deal, make sure you stick your tongue in nice and deep" Valentino blew a kiss at Velvette, she pretending to bat it away like a discontented cat "Vox, make Velvette a big snake dildo for me?"
Velvette turned to her other lover "Vox? Hello? Earth to Vox?"
Vox and Sir Pentious were staring at each other in shock (Sir Pentious) and embarrassment (Vox). Vox finally cleared his throat, ignoring Velvette and addressing their guest.
“I am so sorry for my colleagues, Sir Pentious. They’re testing a new love potion before it hits the market, they’re not normally like this-“
He was interrupted by Val leaning over, wrapping the free arm that wasn’t occupied by drinking, smoking, or masturbation around Vox’s shoulders. Vox generally tried to keep his nymphomaniac boyfriend's chair out of reach of him and Velvette during meetings, but Valentino was extremely tall. Vox's idea of 'out of reach' was different to his.
Val licked Vox's screen, making the other man grimace and wipe frantically at his screen before he could be affected by the aphrodisiac qualities of Val's saliva.
“Bullshit" Val said "We’re behaving ourselves right now. If you weren't here, Sir Pentious, I’d currently be fucking Vox’s asshole until it resembles a mine shaft”
Sir Pentious was completely speechless, all of his eyes blinking at once in stunned unison.
“…when I become a Vee, will I be required to engage in such activities as rimming and… dildo usage?” he finally said, glancing down at the floor by his chair, where his Egg Bois were cowering and being (thankfully) quiet "...my Egg Bois are terribly unsuited for the sex! They'll be broken at the first thrust!"
Velvette quickly texted "Did Sir Pentious fuck an Egg Boi or was that just a guess?" to The Vees' group chat.
Valentino stopped masturbating and pulled out his phone as it buzzed, smirking as he read her message before replying without hesitation.
💦🍆🦋Papi Polilla🦋🍆💦
He fucks them. He makes them specifically to fuck them.
⚡📺 Voxxy 📺⚡
Would you two stop fucking around?!
💦🍆🦋Papi Polilla🦋🍆💦
Do you think he uses the yolk as lube?
💘👠🤳 Queen Vel 🤳👠💘
The yolk IS lube.
⚡📺 Voxxy 📺⚡
I’m warning you two. Stop. Fucking. Around.
💘👠🤳 Queen Vel 🤳👠💘
Yeah, Val. Stop fucking around. Btw, fucking a round is now officially slang for fucking an Egg Boi.
💦🍆🦋Papi Polilla🦋🍆💦
I’m so fucking hard. If one of those things gets too close to me I’m gonna smash it straight onto my dick.
Neither Vel nor Valentino were surprised when Vox vengefully cut their service, rendering them unable to keep texting. Thanks to his brain also being a supercomputer, Vox was able to do it without moving a muscle, smiling pleasantly at the anxious Sir Pentious.
"S-so... will I be expected to do the sex when I'm a Vee?" he lisped nervously.
“When you…? Oh! Oh right. When you become a Vee. Which is totally gonna happen! No, not at all! We’re inviting you to be our business partner, our relationship is at full capacity I’m afraid” Vox smiled fondly at Vel and Val, who smirked back.
"Oh thank G- I mean, what a pity" Sir Pentious relaxed, looking relieved.
Velvette bristled at the implication that there was someone in hell who wasn’t gagging to fuck her silly. Seeing her fury, Vox quickly wrapped up the meeting before anything regrettable could happen.
"I believe we're done here, Sir Pentious. Take this" Vox put a fresh-off-the-line V-Watch on the table, before sliding it towards Sir Pentious, who caught it and stared curiously at it. He put it on his wrist as he got to his 'feet', smiling happily at Vox.
“I’m ready to undertake this mission, Vox. I won’t let you down!” he said eagerly.
“See that you don’t, because we’re not bailing you out if things go badly” said Vox, but Sir Pentious was in such a flurry of excitement that he didn’t seem to hear him, slithering away and humming happily to himself.
“Uh, Boss. What’s rimming?” one of the Egg Bois asked as they dutifully followed their master out the door like a line of ducklings.
“Nothing for you to concern yourself with, my Egg Bois. Come along now, we must get our rest before undertaking our grand mission for The Vees!” Sir Pentious exclaimed, ushering his minions away as he slithered out of the room.
Velvette covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes full of mirth. Valentino chuckled quietly, biting a finger to stop himself from making any more noise.
Vox held up one of his own clawed fingers to motion for Vel and Val to wait, a grin spreading across his face.
After a tense silence he finally flopped back in his chair and burst out laughing, wrapping his arms around a stitch in his middle and kicking his legs out in mirth. Valentino slumped over, laughing and slapping one of his hands against the table, while Velvette laughed so hard that tears ran down her face, obliterating her cat-eye.
Once they had all calmed down, Velvette got to her feet, approaching Vox's chair before dropping down onto his knee and kissing his lips affectionately. Vox kissed her back, his gaze softening.
“As hilarious as our wannabe spy is, this isn’t entirely a laughing matter. If Alastor gets too cosy with Princess Morningstar, it could mean the end of The Vees” Vox said seriously, wrapping a secure arm around Velvette’s waist.
Valentino got to his feet in turn, wrapping an arm around the back of Vox's chair and blowing out a heart-shaped plume of smoke, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes before leaning down and kissing both Vox and Velvette's cheeks.
“You’re being ridiculous, mi príncipe de cara chata. The Vees are forever, not even Lucifer himself could tear us apart…” he purred.
Velvette trembled in Vox’s arms as Lucifer glared them both down.
The King Of Hell looked every bit the beautiful angel he was, even as his eyes blazed with hellish fury. With such heavenly beauty surrounding his glare, it burned all the brighter.
Velvette wrapped her arms tightly around Vox’s middle, her hands clutching at the fabric of his jacket. Vox was already wearing his iconic blue suit when she'd met him, but she'd refined it for him to make it even sleeker and more comfortable than before.
The fabric was intimately familiar to her, not just because she’d been with Vox for so long, but because she'd spent hours upon hours picking it out and laboriously turning it into a suit. At the time, she'd insisted to everyone and herself that it was because she wanted her work to be perfect.
...but now, after everything she'd gone through, she wasn't ashamed to admit that the time and energy she'd put into refining Vox's suit had been out of love.
How many times have I told you I love you, Vox? I wish I'd said it more...
Vox's sudden sentimental attitude and strange behavior all made sense now. The text 'from Eelijah' must've been warning him that Lucifer was onto them.
Who sent it, Vox? Why did they send it? Will you ever get the chance to tell me?
"Your majesty, what an unexpected pleasure" Vox said, smiling as ingratiatingly as he could when he was so obviously terrified "...I must admit, I thought I'd hidden that bottle more thoroughly”
He was smart enough not to lie.
"Here's a little advice; if you're trying to hide something from me, don't use a fucking Robo-Fizz to do it. They're programmed not to do anything that could hurt me or my family" Lucifer said, rolling his eyes as he tossed the bottle carelessly aside.
It shattered, causing Vox and Velvette to flinch fearfully. Velvette was so scared that her knees were knocking together, but no amount of fear would cause her to pass up an opportunity to sass Lucifer Morningstar.
"Why the fuck are they programmed to do that? Who cares so much about The Devil?" Velvette asked, ignoring the cautioning way that Vox tugged at one of her ponytails.
"Believe it or not, I have friends, friends who love me and my family. But I'm sure that's a foreign concept to a Vee" Lucifer sneered "...and you're not exactly in a position to ask questions, not when you have so many to answer. Maybe you can start by telling me why the fuck you allowed my daughter to keep FUCKING VALENTINO in her bedroom. Where she changes, where she... sleeps... with her girlfriend”
Lucifer's voice dropped to a demonic register that made the windows of the limo rattle. He was so terrifying that neither Vee dared make a joke about how obviously uncomfortable Lucifer was about acknowledging Charlie's sex life.
"I panicked, I'm so sorry! I didn't stop to consider the implications of Charlie keeping Val in her room, I swear!" Vox pleaded "I am truly sorry. It wasn't my intention to make yourself or Charlie uncomfortable"
Velvette tried to say something, only to find she had no voice. She opened and closed her mouth, but nothing came out. There was no pain, and no discomfort. She simply couldn't speak.
At first, she thought she’d somehow lost her voice by yelling at the other Overlords. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d fried her vocal cords during a tantrum. But she hadn't raised her voice that much, and she’d been speaking normally mere moments ago.
That was when she remembered the seemingly-innocuous deal she'd made with Vox.
"...if things don't go our way, I will assume full responsibility and paint you as a victim I took advantage of. You will help me do this without hesitation or argument. I will take whatever punishment they mete out and you won't try to protect me..."
Oh. Shit.
She felt herself go clammy with fear as she looked up at Vox's screen. There was nothing she could do but helplessly watch him throw himself in front of a metaphorical bullet for her.
"Velvette has nothing to do with this. Please let her get out, there's no need for her to get caught in the crossfire" Vox said, rubbing Velvette's back "I swear, she thought that Val was sick in bed!"
"Really? She thought he was sick in bed and she didn't want to visit him, not even once?" Lucifer said skeptically.
"She didn't want to get sick herself" Vox pleaded "Then, when I presented her with a 'gift' to bring to Charlie, she thought it was just one of her and Val's pet projects. She has nothing to do with any of this, I swear. Please let her get out"
"Excuse me, she is sitting right here, you patriarchal fuckers! What the fuck is going on?" Velvette said before she could stop herself, compelled to play innocent. She leaned in, staring dumbly at the terrarium "...this fucking moth is Valentino?! What the fucking fuck is going on?!"
Lucifer's red eyes flicked suspiciously between her and Vox, before narrowing. Despite her seemingly-angry outburst, Velvette leaned more into Vox's embrace, listening to his terrified heartbeat as she rested her head against his chest.
Please believe us, please believe us, please believe-
"...you've made another deal" Lucifer suddenly said, making both Vees stiffen up in panic.
Shit.
She'd forgotten that Lucifer could see deals. Judging by the look on his face, Vox had too.
Thanks to her deal, Velvette was unable to make any excuses. But luckily, Vox was one of Hell's slimiest salesmen. He was very quick on his feet when he needed to lie.
"Velvette was upset about my infidelity, so she's forcing me to be faithful" he said, skillfully using the truth to tell a lie.
"Who fucking cares about that, what's going on?!" Velvette was compelled to demand, her face twisted into confused frustration.
Lucifer chuckled darkly.
"You're a smart girl, Velvette, but unfortunately not smart enough to see through a transmogrification. This 'pet moth' is Valentino. Your boyfriend here has been a very, very naughty appliance" Lucifer bared his fangs, looking more and more dangerous by the second.
Velvette wanted to scream "I did this! This is my fault! Alastor stole your potion and tricked me into using it!"
But that would potentially put her in harm's way, so the terms of the deal meant that she couldn't.
She tried to speak, all the same, but all that came out was; "What do you mean? Val's sick in bed"
The deal wasn't just forcing her to act against her own will, it was also forcing her to act like a complete idiot. Were Velvette not compelled, and genuinely innocent, she would've already pieced together what was going on from the conversation she was sitting right in the middle of.
Instead, all she was doing was staring vacantly at Lucifer while blurting out half-cooked non-sequitur after non-sequitur.
But luckily enough, it would seem that Lucifer had fallen on his head when he was kicked out of heaven. Nothing else could explain why he was so quick to sigh and smile sympathetically at Velvette as he accepted her innocence.
"You've been deceived, Velvette" he said "Vox stole a potion I was working on from me, and tricked Valentino into drinking it. These are the results of that potion that you see before you. But tell me, Vox, how did you know about my experiment?"
Lucifer turned to glare at Vox, practically boring two holes into his screen with the heat of his glare.
"I have cameras all over Hell. I know more than anyone realizes" Vox said, glaring right back.
"How did you get your claws on the potion?" Lucifer asked.
"I have a lot of employees who'll happily bend over backwards for me. Literally, in some cases- ow!" Velvette elbowed him in the ribs, hard "Sorry, sweetheart. Anyway, I had one of my loyal employees break in and take it. I won't name names, they were forced to do it, they don't deserve retribution"
"Don't worry, Vox, the only person who's going to regret what you've done is you" Lucifer promised.
To Velvette and Lucifer's shock, Vox's reaction wasn't one of fear or even anger; it was one of amusement.
He started to laugh, tightening his grip on Velvette as he did so.
"Is something funny?" Lucifer asked, coldly.
"Will I regret it more or less than you'll regret it when the other Sins find out what the sexiest little cherub in Hell has been up to? Fuck, I wonder what Heaven is going to do to you. You've already fallen out of Daddy's favor but he's gonna fucking smite you for-"
"If you breathe a word about my experiment to anyone, I'll kill Velvette and Valentino. You're a powerful man, Vox, but I'm The Devil. You can't protect them from me, so don't bother trying" said Lucifer calmly, and Vox quickly shut up.
Lucifer ran a blackened fingertip along Val's terrarium, smirking at Val as he scurried away, squeaking fearfully.
"This is a significant setback in my plans, but it doesn't mean I have to abandon them altogether. Maybe I'm still not 100% on-board with Charlie's dream, but it's Charlie's dream. I'd do anything to help her realize it" he looked up at Vox and Velvette, smiling coldly "Reversing Valentino's transmogrification might actually help me work out where I went wrong with the first potion. I'll keep him for now, but once he's back to his usual charming self, I'll send him back to you"
Vox stared at Lucifer.
"...thank-you?" he finally said.
Lucifer laughed, and the sound made Velvette's blood run cold.
"I'll send him back to you, and then I'll slowly but surely dismantle everything that you have spent your pathetic little afterlife working towards. You and Valentino are going to lose everything, and your lives will become so wretched that suicide will be your only escape" he said, flicking his gaze towards Velvette "You, honey, are to be a guest at the Hazbin Hotel. If Vox gets any smart ideas about blabbing my secrets, you and the dusty pimp die"
"Stay the fuck away from her!" Vox snarled, holding her even closer "She's mine!"
The deal forced Velvette to speak.
"I don't belong to anybody!" she snapped, and to her horror she found herself pulling away from Vox "You can't own someone, you flat-faced fuck!"
"Tell that to Valentino. He owns Angel, doesn't he? Just like how Vox owns so many souls, and how you own souls of your own" Lucifer pointed out, tapping his fingertips against the terrarium "...we have Angel Dust to thank for me finding out about all this. He was dusting, and he came across Valentino. He knew who he really was instantly. Angel's a smart boy"
"Snaps for fucking Angel Dust" Velvette snarled, snapping her fingers sarcastically "Nobody owns me. I'm not yours, Vox"
"True, nobody owns you. But I can do whatever the fuck I want down here, and I am done with respecting the free will of demons. Velvette, you can come with me, or I can force you. What's it to be?"
Velvette's deal compelled her to save herself...
...and the safest place in Hell was in Lucifer's arms. Not Vox's.
"I thought we were giving Charlie a pet! What the fuck?!" she spat "You put a rapist in Princess Morningstar's bedroom, Vox. That's fucked up! What were you thinking?"
"I panicked!" Vox lied, his arms still securely wrapped around her.
Velvette never wanted to leave his grip, she wanted to stay with him forever. But the deal had other ideas.
She was forced to pull away completely from Vox, breaking his protective grip on her as she got up, sitting back down next to a surprised-looking Lucifer. She grabbed his arm, glaring down her lover.
"I don't care if you do kill me, Lucifer. I'm done with Vox, and I'm done with The Vees. Have a nice life, asshole" she was forced to say.
Velvette could see Vox's heart breaking as he stared helplessly at her.
"Velvette... I don't understand... don't..." Vox said, looking genuinely horrified. Velvette's heart skipped a beat.
Vox doesn't realize I'm being forced to leave him.
The limo came a sudden stop outside The V Tower. Velvette could see the familiar front doors through the tinted windows of the limo.
"Say goodbye to Velvette, Vox" said Lucifer, wrapping his arm around Velvette. He was as warm as he'd been in Club Chernobog, but Velvette found no comfort in it.
Oh God. Oh. God. Oh God.
I'm about to lose everything.
Velvette met Vox's eyes, her heart breaking as she saw the pain and confusion in them. But she was powerless to tell him why she was leaving.
Vox had obviously expected her to sit back and quietly let him deal with everything. But that wasn't who she was, and the deal had recognized that.
She prayed to a higher power that didn't love her that Vox would understand why she'd left him, and she prayed he'd understand soon.
Lucifer had already put the thought of suicide into Vox's head, after all.
"Don't hurt her" Vox begged "...and don't let Alastor hurt her"
Velvette felt like she'd swallowed ice.
Val and I are going to be at the mercy of Lucifer, and Alastor. Vox is about to become The Radio Demon's bitch, and there's nothing we can do about it she realized.
"Goodbye, Vox" Lucifer said coldly, making Vox's screen glitch with obvious fear for Velvette's safety.
Velvette realized that she was running out of time, and she reached out towards Vox, desperate to say I love one one last time.
But Lucifer had other ideas.
In the blink of an eye, everything around Velvette suddenly became red and glittery, like she'd been dropped into a bottle of nail polish. Once the veil of sparkling crimson dropped from around her, Velvette found herself sitting in the foyer of the Hazbin Hotel.
She stared blankly at her ornate surroundings, blinking back tears.
Vox?
Her lower lip trembled, and she let out a heartbroken sob before she could stop herself.
Lucifer looked down at her with a sympathetic tilt of his head, before making a soothing noise in his throat and handing her Valentino's terrarium.
She took it without question, clinging onto it like a lifeline. Valentino squeaked up at her as comfortingly as a moth could squeak.
Lucifer sighed and rested one of his unnaturally-warm hands on her shoulder.
"You made the right choice, and the grief and confusion will pass, eventually. I'm sorry that I'm going to have to use you as leverage, but if Vox behaves himself, it won't be forever. Chin up, Velvette, you're better off without him" Lucifer squeezed her shoulder before letting go, smiling slightly "So. Shall I show you to the duck room? It's been waiting for you"
Velvette didn't respond, she just held tightly onto the terrarium and stared blankly into space.
I've lost everything.
She wished, more than anything else, that Valentino was his usual self. That he could just sweep her up into his many arms and march out the doors of the hotel, leaving a trail of smoke behind him. He'd take her back to Vox, and she'd never leave Vox's side again, she'd tell him she loved him fifty times a day...
…but it was a stupid fantasy. Even Val was helpless in the face of Lucifer Morningstar’s power, and who’s to say that the dusty fuck wouldn’t just take advantage of her heartbreak for his own sick purposes.
"Velvette? Don't you want to see the duck room? I worked really hard on it..." Lucifer said, sounding more and more concerned as he approached her.
Velvette shook her head, snapping out of her reverie.
"Okay. Duck room. Sounds fucking fantastic" she said.
Lucifer grinned and wrapped an arm around her, guiding her off the sofa and towards the grand staircase.
As Velvette and Lucifer begun ascending the stairs, Valentino squeaked in his terrarium, and Velvette smiled sadly down at him.
We're both in a cage now, Val.
Velvette's last attempt at navigating the labyrinthine corridors of the Hazbin Hotel had left her helplessly lost. She couldn't help but admire how effortlessly Lucifer led her through the seemingly-endless halls.
Finally, he brought her to a nondescript door with a cheerful-looking plaque of a rubber duck in a bathtub attached to it, displaying the room's number in cartoon soap bubbles.
"Cute, huh?" Angel Dust's voice made Velvette jolt, and she turned her head to watch the spider demon saunter towards them from the other end of the corridor, offering Lucifer one of his usual flirtatious smiles before dropping a ring of keys into Lucifer's blackened hand "The room's looking perfect, King Lucy"
"Angel..." Velvette stared up at him, tears in her eyes "I'm so glad to see you"
If anyone would understand the pain she was in, even a fraction of it, it was him. Besides, she was so desperate for a friend that she didn't hesitate to be disgustingly sentimental as she approached him, clutching Valentino's terrarium with a white-knuckle grip.
"I left Vox. I've lost everything I've ever known down here..." she whimpered, expecting a kind word, or even a hug.
What she didn't expect was the ice-cold and hateful look that Angel Dust shot her way, advancing on her with a furious expression.
“Charlie’s my friend, and you put Valentino in her bedroom! Do you have any idea what a disgusting, low-life, perverted piece of shit he is?" he snarled, tapping Val's terrarium with a gloved hand "Yeah, you. You're a piece of shit"
Velvette went to say something, only for the deal with Vox to force her to shut up. Luckily, Lucifer spoke for her.
"I know you're angry, Angel, I am too. But Velvette had no idea, she thought Valentino was sick in bed. Vox lied to her. All of this is on him" Lucifer explained, starting to look through the ring of keys "...and you could've handed me the key to the room instead of the whole damn ring, you know..."
"...Huh. I thought you and Vox were a team. I guess I was wrong" Angel Dust said nastily "Did Vox also force you to say you wanted Valentino to shoot me in the head and fuck the hole?"
Lucifer shot Velvette an unimpressed look. Velvette just glared, ignoring the pain of losing her fledgling friendship with Angel Dust.
"What happened to Val, anyway?" Angel Dust asked Lucifer "Did Charlie's Uncle Ozzie pay him a visit? Everyone knows how much The Sin Of Lust hates Val"
"Ha, no, it was nothing so dramatic. Vox got his hands on some sort of potion from another Ring in Hell. I just need to work out what it was, and then I can restore Valentino and send him back to Vox, without Velvette” Lucifer said, finally grinning with triumph and holding up a key that had a little metal duck on it.
"Without Velvette, huh? Good idea. Trust me, Toots. You're better off away from them, you were the dumbest bitch in Hell thinking you could ever be their equal"
Velvette ground her teeth, furious.
“You were the dumb bitch that tried to reason with Alastor. Do you have any idea how humiliated Vox and I were?!” she said defensively.
“It’s not my fault Alastor’s a piece of shit! Take it up with his little royal boy-toy!” Angel Dust snapped, gesturing towards Lucifer as the fallen angel unlocked the door.
“I’ve already spoken with Alastor, he’s… well, he’s not remorseful, but he’s willing to apologize to Velvette” said Lucifer, swinging the door open “Come take a look at your new home, Velvette”
He flicked the light-switch, and Velvette stared at the room in disbelief, allowing Lucifer to usher her in.
"Well. It's certainly a duck room" she finally said.
It was as grandiose as any other room in the new and improved Hazbin Hotel, with the caveat that everything in the room was rubber duck themed, right down to the crystal rubber ducks that made up the glittering chandelier.
Even the light fixtures were rubber-duck themed.
“Isn’t it amazing!” Lucifer said, sweeping his arms out as he stepped inside, deftly walking around a pile of actual rubber ducks that took up one corner “I designed it myself, from the ground up!”
“Really? I would’ve never known” Velvette said sarcastically, looking around herself, still clutching Valentino's terrarium so tightly that the glass was in serious danger of cracking.
Valentino squeaked, a warning, but she ignored him. She didn't intend on keeping him in the glass cage for much longer, anyway, she just wanted to wait for the very dangerous King of Hell to leave before she freed him.
I'm not losing you too, Val.
“I’ll leave you to get settled in, Velvette, and then I’d like to have a word with you in my office- Angel Dust can show you where it is” Lucifer said, glancing up at the spider demon with a more serious expression “Keep an eye on her”
“Don’t worry, King Luci, I ain’t taking my eyes off her for one second” Angel Dust said with a sneer, blinking all eight of his eyes for effect.
Velvette kept forgetting that the freckle-like markings on Angel’s face were eyes, and she jolted at the reminder.
“Thank-you, Anthony. I’ll see you later, Dolores” with a wave, Lucifer was gone.
Angel and Velvette stared at each other, disconcerted at Lucifer's casual use of their real names. The stares soon turned to mutual sneers, and Velvette turned away, walking towards the bed.
She sat down on the edge, before carefully opening the lid of the terrarium and letting Val flutter out.
He didn't go far, immediately alighting on her shoulder and squeaking sadly at her. Angel looked down at the both of them with disgust written all over his face.
"Ya know, 'Dolores' means pain. It suits you. You are pain. Your whole life has just been a never-ending tale of pain being inflicted on you, or you inflicting pain on others" Angel Dust said, his tone colder than Velvette had ever heard it be before.
“Angel, I’m sorry-"
“It’s too late for that, Velvette. We ain’t friends and we ain’t ever gonna be friends. I'm swiping left on your bitchy ass. I hope you like the cage you made for yourself, ‘cos I sure as fuck ain’t making it nicer for you”
Velvette felt her eyes fill with tears and she looked away, staring at the duck-themed wallpaper on the wall.
Valentino squeaked sadly, scurrying closer to Velvette's face, his antennae and wings brushing against her cheek in a helpless gesture of comfort.
Velvette stared blankly at the happy little rubber duck cartoons that papered the wall, remembering a happier time, when Vox and Val had danced around Valentino's apartment while she filmed them, music in the air.
"After the battle, masterless cattle! Overlords hanging by a thread! With a bit of bravado, maybe tomorrow, We'll be atop the heap!"
Vox and Valentino's arms were around her, and they were all laughing, imagining a bright future in Hell together.
"The future of Hell belongs to The Vees"
To Be Continued...
Notes:
Well, that was fun, wasn't it? Time for some notes!
1. An 'omniglot' is someone who can speak all languages. An impossible feat, unless your brain happens to be some sort of hellish supercomputer...
2. "Eres un huelebicho" is Puerto Rican slang for calling someone an asshole, literally it means "you're a dick smeller".
3. Did anyone catch my Legally Blonde reference? Christian Borle (Vox) was Emmett in the original Broadway cast of the musical adaptation, I couldn't resist slipping in a little nod towards the franchise purely for that reason.
Chapter 14: You Lost Your Relevance
Notes:
Content Warning: there are graphic depictions of self-harm in this chapter.
Chapter Text
When the Hazbin Hotel was being rebuilt, all of it's occupants were given the chance to add their own individual flair to the magnificent new building.
Velvette had heard Charlie Morningstar gush all about it on one of Alastor's broadcasts, shortly after the thwarted extermination that had resulted in the original hotel's destruction. Normally The Vees avoided tuning into Alastor's radio show, but Vox wanted to keep abreast of any developments to do with the hotel. So they'd snuggled up and listened to Charlie's guest spot together, laughing and making off-color jokes about the possibility that Charlie was recording her bit while sitting in Alastor's lap.
"That selfish fucker only ever has a seat for himself in his studio, trust me" Vox had chuckled, clinking the ice in his glass as he took a sip of Scotch, rubbing his clawed hand against Velvette's arm as she- ironically- sat in Valentino's lap.
When Lucifer had gotten the chance to redesign his wing of the hotel (a gift from Charlie, in exchange for his continued involvement with the hotel), he'd rebuilt it to resemble an apple. The office located inside the fruit-shaped structure was just as whimsical, themed around rubber ducks like Velvette's room was.
As a still-bitter Angel Dust led her into the twee little room, Velvette took a moment to appreciate how much Lucifer- The King Of Hell- resembled a pixie from a children's picture book. If Velvette didn't have very good reason to be scared of Lucifer, she'd find it cute.
Lucifer was sitting at his desk with his chin propped in his hands and his elbows on the desk, staring dreamily out of the nearest window. He smiled warmly at Velvette, and she couldn't help but smile back.
"Settled in?" Lucifer asked, gesturing for Velvette to sit down.
She did so, gently petting Valentino's head with the tip of her fingernail as she did so. Val had made himself comfortable on her shoulder, looking like the most bizarre broach in Hell.
“I’ve arranged all the ducks to my liking” she said, making Lucifer chuckle.
"Do you need anything else from me, Short King?" Angel Dust purred, smiling flirtatiously at Lucifer.
"No thank-you, Angel. I can take it from here. Go... uh... do whatever it is you do in your free time" Lucifer said.
"Cool! Back to learning how to suck my own dick!" Angel Dust joked, giving Lucifer four thumbs up before spinning on his heel, walking away and closing the door behind him.
Despite her falling-out with Angel, Velvette burst out laughing, while Lucifer flushed with embarrassment at Angel Dust's joke. Their proximity across the desk gave Velvette a front-row seat to the unusual way that the King of Hell blushed, and her laughter died out as she stared at his face, entranced.
Lucifer blushed so darkly that it blotted out the doll-like markings on his face, before his blush faded away to a soft golden hue, glowing for a few moments before darkening once more.
Angel blood glowed gold. Velvette had seen it firsthand, she'd even touched it when she'd found that Exorcist's head. But there was something different about Lucifer's blood.
"You can ask about it, you know, I won't be offended" Lucifer said with a wry smirk, making Velvette blush herself as she realized how blatantly she'd been staring at Lucifer's pretty face.
There was no point in playing coy.
"What color is your blood?" she asked bluntly.
"I'm a fallen angel, so I have the blood of an angel, but on every alternating beat of my heart my blood goes to Hell faster than I did. It's actually rather beautiful, if I do say so myself" Lucifer picked up a letter opener from his desk "Do you want to see?"
Velvette couldn't believe what she'd just heard.
"Do I... what?"
"I'll barely feel it, don't worry, I'm tougher than I look" Lucifer curled his hand around the handle of the letter opener and held his arm out. His sleeves were rolled up, leaving the grey-to-alabaster ombré of his skin visible.
Velvette, feeling unusually warm under the collar of her sleeveless coat, nodded eagerly.
Without warning, Lucifer jammed the letter opener into his wrist, yanking it down and pulling it out forcefully, slashing open his radial artery and causing angelic blood to spill from the wound and all over his desk. It pooled like liquid gold onto the burl wood, before the blood dripping from his wrist suddenly started to run a near-black shade of red that glittered softly in the red 'sunlight' of Pride.
It did indeed look hellish.
Velvette wasn't a cannibal, but she'd always had a thing about tasting blood. Valentino tasted faintly like smoke, and Vox tasted like a battery. She desperately wanted to know what Lucifer Morningstar tasted like.
She reached out, touching the swirling pool of black-and-gold blood that had gathered on Lucifer's desk, trailing her fingers in it and raising her hand to her mouth. But before she could suck the blood off, her wrist was grabbed by a familiar hand.
She glowered at the red fingertips curled around her wrist, as though she could disintegrate them with her hateful glare alone.
"Fuck off, Alastor" she snapped.
"Ah, ah, ah. That’s hardly ladylike language, sweetheart! Oh, and a word to the wise, Lucifer's blood isn't safe for such a delicate little doll to taste" Alastor, standing over her and holding her wrist, warned. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and methodically wiped her fingers clean "Are we showing off, Duck?"
"If you've got it, flaunt it" Lucifer joked, showing off his arm, which was once more completely unblemished.
"A wise saying! But I don't like to think about you harming yourself for the applause of drooling idiots-"
"Hey!"
"-if you're bored, why not listen to a good record, or go dancing?" Alastor suggested, ignoring Velvette as she tried and failed to break out of his grip.
"Maybe I’ll do both. Hell knows I haven't got anything better to do today" said Lucifer, before he unexpectedly got to his feet, brushing down his still-pristine trousers.
As Velvette stared at him in confusion, he offered her an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, Velvette, I lied. Alastor is the one who wants to talk, not me" he said, making Velvette's eyes widen in horror and disbelief.
"No, no, no, please don't leave me alone with him! Please!" she begged, grabbing Lucifer's wrist as he tried to walk past her chair.
"Velvette, he's not going to do anything to you. Trust me, I know what it's like to dislike him, but if I can change my mind about him I'm sure you can too" Lucifer said softly, gently chucking Velvette on the chin before pulling away.
"He humiliated me!" Velvette snarled, ignoring the way Alastor tightened his grip on her wrist.
"Velvette, I’m sorry that I embarrassed you and Vox, but I will not apologize for showing Hell what Valentino really is. It sickens me to see the masses delude themselves that Valentino's slaves aren't being tortured on tape for their salacious amusement"
"Anything more passionate than a kiss sickens you, you freak!" Velvette spat at Alastor.
She immediately regretted it when she felt Lucifer rest his hand against her shoulder. His touch was gentle, but it wasn't kind, making fear surge through her and her palms sweat. Still perched on her shoulder, Valentino squeaked, crawling away from Lucifer's fingers with obvious alarm.
"Velvette. If you ever speak to Alastor like that again, I will show you the true meaning of Hell. Have I made myself clear?" Lucifer said coldly.
"Yes, your majesty" Velvette said, staring up at Alastor with wide, fearful eyes. Alastor's smile gained a smug edge.
"Good girl. Alastor, go easy on her" Lucifer said, letting go of Velvette "I don't want to have to come running, but if I hear her scream, I will"
Alastor nodded demurely, while Velvette turned her head to stare pleadingly up at Lucifer.
"Please, I'll do anything! You can experiment on me! You can use me as a test subject for the next potion you make! I'd be an ideal candidate, right?" Velvette said, completely desperate, before she could think better of it.
Lucifer, luckily, looked more guilty than suspicious. His own unease about his actions blinding him to Velvette's inadvertent admission that she knew more about his potion than she should've.
"...I'll be within shouting distance" he said with a tight smile, pulling away from Velvette and starting to walk away without another word.
"No, no, please, don't-" Velvette said, but Lucifer closed the door behind him with a resounding snap before she could finish her plea.
Alastor let go of her wrist, before walking over to Lucifer's desk and leaning over the duo-tone pool of blood, clasping his hands behind his back before proceeding to lap at the mess like a cat.
Velvette stared at him in horror and disgust.
"...you tried to lick this very blood off your fingers just a few minutes ago" Alastor leaned back, motioning towards the bloody mess with one hand and adjusting his monocle with the other.
Velvette just glared at him.
"Now, to business!" Alastor sat down, crossing his legs and resting his microphone across his knees "Lucifer told me his own plans for The Vees. I don't imagine you're enjoying envisioning what your future holds, to be separated from the men you love, and forced to watch as The Vees' empire crumbles..."
Velvette tried to keep glaring, even as her lower lip trembled with poorly-suppressed emotion.
"But fear not! My dear, dear girl, I assure you that will not be your fate!" Alastor grinned widely, so widely it seemed to extend beyond the boundaries of his face, his eyes starting to spin like hellish radio dials.
Velvette shrank back as Alastor loomed more and more over her, his antlers growing as his shadow expanded to fill the room, leaving her and a panicked Valentino shrouded in darkness. The only light sources in the room soon became Alastor's glowing eyes, and the shining symbols that floated in the air around him.
Velvette thought back to a time, not so long ago, when she didn't fear Alastor...
...it felt like a lifetime ago.
"I promise you this, Velvette; you will die in your lovers' arms, and you will die a bloody death at the claws of Lucifer himself. The only say you have in your fate is whether you will die first, or last… but I'll give you time to think about your answer. Don't think you can outsmart me, you can't" Alastor said, his voice almost inaudible through all the static distorting it.
Velvette shrank back even more, and Valentino crawled into her hair to hide, squeaking in distress.
As suddenly as Alastor had assumed his demonic visage, he snapped back to normal (or as normal as anything was in Hell), smiling pleasantly down at Velvette.
"...but relax, Velvette! You don't need to worry about that until Valentino is back to his usual self, until then, you're an honored guest at this fine establishment!" Alastor gestured around himself "...dinner is at seven, you're free to do whatever until then, as long as you stay within the boundaries of the hotel"
Velvette was trembling, unable to do anything asides from cower in her seat and whimper piteously.
Alastor patted her head patronizingly, grinning down maliciously at the terrified Velvette.
"I do abhor rapists, and under any other circumstance I would've wanted to help you... but unfortunately, your love for Vox ties you to his fate, and I've been planning on killing him for a very long time. Have a nice day"
Before Velvette could say anything, Alastor melted away into shadow, vanishing without a trace and leaving the terrified young Overlord trembling from head to toe.
Valentino climbed out from her hair, fluttering away in a flurry of hurried flaps and terrified squeaks and escaping through an air vent in the ceiling. Velvette didn't blame him in the slightest, she would fly away too, if she could.
But every time she tried to get up with the intention of fleeing the hotel, Vox's deal pushed her back into the chair like a physical force. She was trapped more thoroughly than a mouse in a glue trap.
The knowledge that she couldn't leave the hotel left her even more paralyzed, and she soon gave up on moving at all, staring fearfully into space as her fear and hopelessness consumed her.
I've lost everything...
~
"Okay kid, playtime’s over. You gotta get up"
"No"
"I know it feels good to fall apart, Velvette, but this is Lucifer's office. He'll need it back eventually. Get up”
"No"
Velvette didn't know how much time had passed, she didn't even know who was talking to her. All the progress she’d made since her breakdown had been undone, and she felt like she’d shatter if she made any sudden movements.
Part of her welcomed the through of shattering, of falling apart into a million pieces and embracing sweet oblivion.
I'm dead either way. At least the shattering will be fast...
"Look, I know you're scared, and I know everything has changed for you very suddenly and you're not coping with the adjustment. But you can't just give up. Maybe that worked when you had Vox picking up your pieces, but you don't have him anymore and you're not among friends here. Most of us don't mean you harm, but some of us do, and those of us who don’t mean you harm are either too naive to protect you or can’t protect you”
Velvette didn’t want to, but self-preservation forced her to heed the newcomer’s words and start pulling herself out of her reverie. She raised her head, blinking owlishly as the realized who her Good Samaritan was.
Husk was leaning over her chair, peering into her eyes with concern.
“Alright. This is a step in the right direction. Now stop the pity party and get up”
Velvette quickly shook her head, pressing herself back into her chair and letting out a broken sob.
"I c-can't move..." she gasped out, struggling to speak coherently, she was in such a state “I can't move, I want Vox, I want Vox!"
“You… what the fuck are you going on about, kid? You left Vox, don’t you remember? Have you changed your mind?” Husk looked confused, furrowing his brow as he peered down at Velvette.
The deal, the deal that forced Velvette to protect herself, kicked in.
"No. I'm done with him. I don't want to go back" she said immediately.
Husk stared at her, before straightening up stiffly with a groan and a roll of his shoulders.
"...something else is going on, isn't it?" he said, rolling his shoulders again and looking uncomfortable.
Velvette said nothing.
"I’m guessing it’s something you can’t tell me about?” Husk continued.
Velvette continued to say nothing, her eyes misty with tears.
The silence was deafening, and she could only cope with it for so long.
So she tried to respond to Husk’s question, while not responding at all.
“…Vox is always having trouble with his back, because he’s tall and thin with a huge TV on his head. Val and I are always having to give him massages when he has flare-ups. Fuck, who’s gonna look after him now?” she choked out “He looked after me so well, and now he’s gonna be in so much pain the next time his back acts up”
Husk nodded, and Velvette could see that he understood. Maybe he didn’t know all the details, but he got the general idea:
Velvette still loved Vox, and Vox had done something to keep her safe that had torn them apart, but she couldn’t talk about it.
"Okay, kid. Let's get you back to your room. How does that sound?"
Velvette lowered her eyes, before nodding.
I used to sneer at you, Husk, now look at me. I'm more pathetic than you. How did that happen? When did I lose my relevance so badly that I ended up more pitiful than you?
Velvette trailed alongside Husk as they made their way back to her room.
The silence grew awkward, and Velvette forced herself to make idle conversation.
“How did you know I was in Lucifer’s office? Did Alastor tell you to come scrape me out before I melted into the chair?”
“Ha. He’d happily have left you to rot. Your boyfriend told me” Husk tapped the side of his hat.
A familiar moth crawled to the edge of the brim, squeaking happily down at Velvette. Thanks to the height difference between Vel and Husk, she hadn’t seen Valentino up until that point.
“…and to think I thought you were running away” she said fondly.
"He wouldn’t stop squeaking in my face until I followed him. I think he was looking for Angel Dust at first, but Angel's gone out. Alright, Valentino, scram” Husk made a shooting motion.
Val happily squeaked, fluttering off Husk’s hat and onto Velvette's shoulder, brushing his wings against her cheek in a facsimile of a kiss.
It was so cute that it made Velvette forget what a monster Val actually was, just for a moment.
"Look. Of The Vees, I reckon I hate you the least. I don’t like seeing you so… unlike yourself. Is there anything you'd like to talk about, kid?" Husk asked, his tone surprisingly gentle.
"Not to you" Velvette said, without any real malice.
“Alright. But if you ever change your mind, I’m here, and so’s Angel Dust”
“Angel Dust hates me” Velvette said as they came to a stop outside her door “I was too much of a bitch for him”
Husk just laughed, an unexpectedly pleasant sound from such a sour person.
“Angel’s just in a bad mood. He’ll forgive you before you know it. He’s fond of you, you know. I think you remind him of someone he’s lost”
“You’re being nice. It’s pathetic” Velvette said with a roll of her eyes.
Husk huffed in disappointment and shook his head, setting his mouth into a thin, disapproving line.
“Get some rest, I’ll bring some food up later- I’m guessing you don’t want to eat with us?”
“I’d rather eat shit alone than eat ambrosia with you do-gooder fuckers” Velvette muttered, unlocking her door and stepping inside.
“Charming. I’ll see you around”
With a swish of his wings, he turned and walked away from her.
Velvette rolled her eyes again, kicking a nearby duck to vent her feelings as she stormed over to her bed, dropping down onto it and staring darkly out the window at the red glow of Pentagram City. The V Tower stood tall against the skyline, and Velvette found herself staring wistfully at it.
She thought of Vox, alone in their spacious penthouses, thinking that she hated him. The thought made her want to cry.
“Poor Vox” she finally sighed, pulling out her phone and scrolling through the latest news about VoxTek “He can’t keep running the whole show forever, he’ll go crazy”
For obvious reasons, the debut of Velvette’s Val-and-Vox themed collection had been pushed back to a TBA date. Judging by what she could see online, the greater public believed that Vox had put her and Val under house arrest while he did damage control on their reputations.
It was the best lie Velvette could hope for. Knowing that The Vees were effectively disbanded, or thinking that she and Val were sick- the lie that Vox seemed to be maintaining- would be a death sentence for Vox. Yes, the souls he owned couldn’t hurt him, but there was nothing protecting him from being torn to shreds by her and Val’s angry employees.
“This is all your fault, Val. We were fucking brilliant! We were the fucking Vees! We could’ve had Hell by the fucking balls and you… and you…” She finally said. Valentino fluttered off her shoulder, perching on her nightstand and squeaking at her “Vox cheated on a lover who was giving him everything on a silver platter, because he loved you that much. He showered you with gifts and money and power, he practically made you an Overlord, and you repaid him by beating and raping him regularly. All I did was tease you while I was drunk and you raped me to death. You shot me in the head because of your own paranoid delusions! You have broken me, Val!”
She actually did start crying as she ranted; inelegant, heaving sobs.
“I was the baddest fucking bitch in hell. Now look at me! I’m a fucking mess, my reputation is in shambles, I’m barely even an Overlord anymore, I’ve lost my relevance, I’ve lost everyone I love and… and I…” she trailed off, feeling bile start crawling up her throat.
She jumped to her feet and ran to the bathroom, only just making it to the toilet in time to vomit. She spat in disgust, slumping against the porcelain and glaring at Valentino as he fluttered in after her, squeaking in concern.
“Shut the fuck up, or I’ll clip your wings”
Once Velvette had brushed her teeth, the first thing she did was try to call Vox. She knew it wasn't going to work, but she was so desperate to talk to him that she was willing to try.
She wasn't surprised when her screen filled with static, and Alastor’s laughter rang out in lieu of Vox's comfortingly smooth voice.
“Aren’t you The Radio Demon, not The Mobile Phone Demon?” She muttered.
“I might not like modern technology but I do know what I’m doing with it. You can do as you please, but you won’t be contacting your flat-faced prince. I’m sorry” said Alastor mockingly.
I have never referred to Vox as a flat-faced prince outside of the V Tower. How long have you been spying on us for? Velvette fretted as her phone returned to normal, displaying her lock screen.
It was a candid photograph she'd snapped during a rare moment of sentiment, back before everything went to shit; Valentino was sleeping on the sofa, with Vox curled up in his arms.
She ran a manicured fingertip affectionately against her screen.
“Okay. I guess I might as well…” she trailed off “I’ll see what that bitch Verosika Mayday was wearing in her last post! I’m sure I can make her cry if I try hard enough!”
She opened Sinstagram, pretending that she didn’t feel like the walls were closing in on her. As Husk had warned, she couldn’t let herself fall to pieces here.
It wasn’t safe.
“Dinner” Angel Dust swung the door open, a sour look on his face as he stomped into the room, holding a tray with a slice of lasagna and a can of soda on it.
“You’re not Husk” said Velvette, sitting on her bed with her legs dangling over the side, swinging her feet idly as she scrolled Sinstagram.
She hadn’t made Verosika cry, but she had shattered the self esteem of a good few dozen young Sinners that had been clamoring for her approval. So she was feeling slightly better.
“Husk had better shit to do than be your butler. So you’re getting me. Bon appétit, bitch” Angel snapped.
Velvets peered critically at the tray.
“All the basic food groups, huh?”
“It’s my Ma’s recipe. If you don’t like it you can go fuck yourself with the can of pop” Angel Dust put the tray down on a desk by the window, slamming it hard enough to cause the can to fall off and roll onto the floor.
“How do I know you haven’t spat in it?” Velvette asked.
Angel shrugged.
“Good point, Toots. I wouldn’t want to make you live with the uncertainty” he said, before leaning over and spitting into Velvette’s food.
Velvette rolled her eyes, doing her best not to let Angel get a rise out of her, as disgusted as she was.
Valentino suddenly fluttered by Angel’s head, making him flinch.
“…tell Val to stay the fuck away from me. Don’t think I won’t rip him into little segments” Angel said with surprising malice.
“What the fuck, Angel?! Leave him alone!” Velvette held her hand out, letting Val flutter over to the palm of her hand.
“You wanna know how many videos there are out there of Valentino fucking my dead, mutilated body? Too fucking many, that’s how many. You got off easy, Toots. If you’d been through what I’ve been through, you wouldn’t be feeling so protective of the dusty fuck”
“Stay away from him” said Velvette, carefully resting her other hand over the one holding Val, putting him in a protective cage of her own fingers.
“I will. Because I don’t have any other fucking choice, do I?” Angel laughed hollowly “Deals are a fucking bitch, not that you’d know about that. You sold your soul to a man who loves you so much he gave it back to you, I sold my soul to a psychopathic freak who isn’t capable of love”
“Valentino is capable of love! He loves Vox and I!” Velvette protested.
“Valentino is a sociopath at best. Stop kidding yourself. Take my advice and squish him now, spare yourself any further pain” Angel Dust said, glaring at Valentino through Velvette’s fingers.
“Get out of my room” said Velvette, in lieu of facing any uncomfortable truths.
“Fine. Enjoy the spit” Angel said spitefully, before flouncing towards the door and slamming it shut behind himself.
Velvette didn't want to eat Angel’s spit, but she also didn’t want to give the spider-demon the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten under her skin.
She played around on her phone until past midnight, when her empty battery and equally empty stomach compelled her to take a break.
There was a charging cradle shaped like an apple on one of her nightstands. She slipped her phone onto it and got to her feet, Val fluttering from where he’d been flitting around the light fixtures to rest on her shoulder once more.
“…you can understand me, right Val? Two squeaks for yes” Velvette said as she picked up her tray and crept towards her door, opening it slowly to avoid any creaking.
Squeak! Squeak!
Velvette grinned.
I’m a fucking genius. Why didn’t I think of this before?
“So. Can we have a two-way conversation about your behavior, then?”
Silence. Val didn’t even ruffle his wings.
…I’m a genius, but Val is still stubborn.
“Fine. Fuck you, then” she muttered, sneaking down the hall cautiously.
The hotel's lights were dimmed, and the hallways were unnervingly quiet and still. Everyone must've been asleep. It would not shock Velvette to find out that Charlie Morningstar had some sort of mandatory bedtime at her establishment. She was careful not to make a sound, creeping towards the kitchen with Valentino on her shoulder and her untouched dinner in her hands.
Velvette blinked owlishly in the bright lights of the kitchen, closing the door behind herself and relaxing as she finally felt a sense of privacy.
She threw her dinner into the garbage disposal, the blades slicing her saliva-soaked lasagna into little pieces as she opened up the massive commercial refrigerator that took up a huge chunk of the kitchen, pulling out the leftover lasagna. She cut herself a generous portion, before dropping it onto a plate and sticking it into the microwave to warm up.
While her dinner spun, she continued to forage around for sustenance. She was famished, despite the vomiting.
She found a packet of crisps that reminded her of home, and a pint of ice cream with chunks of fudge in it. She set herself up a place at the kitchen table, casually adding a bottle of wine to her ransacked dinner before pulling her hot lasagna from the microwave.
She dug into it ravenously. To her annoyance, it was fucking delicious. She’d been wanting to tell Angel Dust that his Ma’s recipe sucked.
She finished the lasagna quickly, before hungrily attacking her ice cream and crisps. With nobody judging her (except Valentino), she felt no shame about using the crisps to scoop up chunks of ice cream.
Valentino, perched on a salt shaker, squeaked at her. She flipped him off.
“Look who finally found his voice again? Fuck you. You don’t get to judge me, not when you’re currently stuck eating… uh… hey, what do you even eat?” she realized that she had no idea how to actually look after a moth.
With her phone charging, she had no way to look it up. So she finished her sweet-and-salty ice cream treat quickly and got to her feet with the wine bottle in one hand, in search of moth food.
If ‘moth food’ was even a thing.
Apparently it was, because after five minutes of searching she found a bottle with ‘moth food’ written on it in Charlie’s handwriting. It looked like it was full of some sort of honey or nectar.
She poured a healthy amount onto the spoon she had abandoned in favor of using her crisps to eat her ice cream, watching Val scurry over to start… sipping?… up the nectar.
As she watched, she felt her stomach churn, grimacing and resting a hand against it.
That was all the warning she got before she felt her dinner start to come back up again.
She ran for the sink, making it just in time before she started vomiting, retching until there was nothing left to bring up and whining in misery once she was finished.
Val squeaked at her in concern, fluttering over to her and circling her head. She waved him off dismissively as she wiped her mouth.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have had so much after being sick” she said weakly “I should get some rest. Maybe I’ll feel better in the morning”
The hotel was still as labyrinthine as ever, but after being led through the halls a couple of times, Velvette was able to at least navigate herself back to her duck-themed suite without getting lost along the way.
Halfway back, however, she was distracted by a moan coming from one of the numerous doors that lined the corridors.
She tip-toed towards the door. She knew exactly what she had just heard, you don’t fuck a porn producer-come-pimp for years without having a very good ear for sex.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck me. Fuck me, fuck me hard, fuck me harder, oh my- fuck!”
Velvette paused. Even Angel Dust would’ve winced at how over-the-top the moaning and gasping was. The most embarrassing part of it was that it sounded completely genuine.
She carefully knelt down in front of the door, peeping through the keyhole.
She found herself looking at a bedroom not dissimilar to her own duck room, while also being noticeably distinct: her room wasn't half-bayou.
He knew immediately whose room she was peeping in on, but that didn't deter her from peering closer, her mouth splitting into a perverse, gleeful grin as she took in the scene before her.
Lucifer was lying on his back in the apple-themed bed that took up most of the duck-themed half of the room, completely naked with his normally-perfect curls disarrayed and sweaty. Shimmering purple eye-shadow had bled down his face, making him look like he was crying glitter-
I knew he was wearing makeup!
-and his wings were unfurled, allowing him to lie on them like a feathery mat. Velvette tilted her head in surprise as she got a good look at Lucifer's legs and feet. They were blackened the same way his hands and forearms were, but they were otherwise normal.
Velvette had been expecting hoofs.
Maybe Charlie got her trotters from Lilith. I don’t think that bitch ever wore a dress wasn’t at least twice as long as she was.
The thing that really made Velvette's pulse quicken, however, was what Lucifer was doing. His blackened legs were wrapped around the slim waist of The Radio Demon as Alastor knelt up on the bed, fully dressed in his usual red suit asides from some obvious adjustments, holding Lucifer’s hips up as he-
Oh fuck. They're fucking. Alastor's fucking Lucifer. His dick is right up Lucifer's ass. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Velvette had always found Lucifer attractive, and she was already aware that he was fucking Alastor. But she never in a million years would've guessed how aroused the sight of the two unlikely lovebirds together would make her.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck Al! Fuck! Please!” Lucifer was outright whining, pawing at Alastor’s jacket. Velvette wasn’t surprised Lucifer was a bottom, especially with someone so much taller than him, but fuck was she surprised at just how submissive the King Of Hell was.
(She realized, with a pang, that the height difference between Lucifer and Alastor wasn't all that different to the height difference between herself and Vox. She wondered if she’d looked like Lucifer did when they made love, perfectly cradled in Vox's arms as he made her scream)
“Your Majesty. What have I told you about keeping your voice down. You’ll wake up the whole hotel!” Alastor affectionately chided, tapping a finger against Lucifer’s lips.
“I c-can’t help it… I’ve always been loud…” Lucifer squirmed “Take it as a compliment”
“When The Prince of Lies is complimenting my performance so enthusiastically, I take it with a healthy dose of skepticism” said Alastor, and Lucifer smacked his arm.
Alastor was unfazed, moving his hips in a way that must've hit something sensitive inside Lucifer, because the former angel whined and positively writhed like a snake in Alastor's grip.
Velvette knew she should've looked away, but she was transfixed.
Lucifer’s cock was currently so hard that it was pressing against his flat stomach. Engorged with blood, it alternated between looking as blackened as his fingertips, and glowing with golden radiance.
Alastor trailed his fingers along it gently, making Lucifer whimper.
"That's it, your majesty. Come, come for me” he purred, his voice distorting even more than usual with static.
Lucifer's cock was already leaking pre-cum over his torso, he didn't need much encouragement before he was gasping, whining Alastor's name so shamelessly that even Angel Dust would've sneered at his dramatics.
Valentino was right, he could’ve made a fortune from exploiting The King of Hell.
Surprisingly normal-looking cum splashed all over Lucifer's chest and wings, some of it even getting onto Lucifer's face. At the angle he was at, Alastor was safe from any splash-back, and his permanent grim looked slightly smug as he watched Lucifer make a mess of himself.
"...are you close?" Lucifer asked breathlessly, his chest heaving.
"The stimulation is nice" Alastor non-answered "But I don't think I'm going to be able to achieve... that... tonight. I'm sorry"
Lucifer nodded understandingly.
"You don't have to apologize, Al. Are you done, or do you want to keep going?" Lucifer asked.
Alastor had stopped thrusting, awkwardly kneeling on the bed with his dick still up Lucifer's ass. He looked down at Lucifer contemplatively.
"I'm done" he finally said.
Lucifer nodded.
"Okay, we should clean up"
Alastor went to disentangle himself from Lucifer, but before Velvette could get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see The Radio Demon's cock, she was interrupted.
"Baby!"
Velvette jolted, falling onto her backside and whipping her head 180 degrees to stare at the pitch-y newcomer who'd interrupted her voyeurism.
Niffty was standing behind her, holding up a putrid-looking rag and grinning even more dementedly than usual.
"Baby!" she repeated.
"Niffty, keep it down! I'm- busy!" Velvette hissed, twisting her body to re-align it with her head as she tried to hush the little cockroach girl.
"...baby! You're having a baby!" Niffty said, no more quietly than before despite Velvette's pleading. She waved the rag at Velvette, who wrinkled her nose in disgust as she realized it was soaked in what Velvette had vomited into the sink earlier.
"That is fucking disgusting, you little- wait, what did you say?"
"You're having a baby! BABY!" Niffty shrieked, jumping up and down in excitement.
"Sinners are infertile, you little idiot! Now would you shut up-"
"You're having a baby! You've been kissed by an angel, you're having a baby!" Niffty insisted.
It felt like time slowed down around Velvette.
Angels were powerful. There was a reason that even the most nightmarish of Sinners feared the Exorcists, and Seraphim were even more powerful than the run-of-the-mill angels that routinely slaughtered the Pride Ring's population.
Nobody knew how high up in heaven's hierarchy Lucifer had been before his fall, but it was well-known that he was important, whatever he'd been.
You're not God's favorite angel for nothing, after all.
...and Velvette had kissed him, she'd kissed him hard enough to taste his lover's breakfast.
"You're having a baby!"
Velvette stared at Niffty, still grinning and happily presenting the vomit-soaked rag to her...
...and then the world went sideways as she fainted.
To Be Continued...
Chapter 15: Ugh
Notes:
OH MY GOODNESS I think this is my longest break between Lepidopterophobia chapters yet, my apologies!
(Yes, I'm aware my Star Wars muse has been dead for many months now. Shh, she'll come back to life eventually. I'll focus on being guilty about one slipped schedule at a time).
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and the dreary grey light of a cloudy London day was illuminating Dolores's bedroom. In contrast to the outside world, everything in Dolores's bedroom was hot pink and covered in hearts and brand insignias for her favorite dolls- Barbie, Polly Pocket, My Little Pony, and Care Bears reigned supreme.
Dolores herself was quietly sitting on a carpet covered in cartoon images of butterflies, acting out scenes of happy families with her extensive Barbie collection. Daddy-Ken had just come home from work, and Mommy-Barbie was so happy to see him. They were kissing while a Kelly doll played with a plastic Golden Retriever in the back.
Dolores picked up a nearby Skipper doll, staring at her with a tilt of her head and wondering if Kelly needed an older sister....
"-fucking wish I never had the brat in the first place! She's a little fucking bitch! All she does is cause us problems!"
"Leave her alone! You can't blame her for you sticking your dick into every slut at your office, you piece of-"
...Kelly patted the Golden Retriever's head with a plastic little hand, and tears dripped down Dolores's face as she tuned out the sound of her parents arguing.
Then everything went quiet.
Dolores looked up, sniffling, at the unexpected calm.
Footsteps, slow and deliberate, approached her door and she shrank back fearfully.
I'll be good! I'll be quiet! Please don't hurt me, please-
The door opened with a creak, and a man Dolores had never seen before was standing in the doorway. He was so strange-looking that all Dolores could do at first was stare.
He was tall, sporting dark blue hair with a red streak in it, and cyan eyes with red sclera. He was wearing a blue suit, with a black-and-red striped vest, and a red bow-tie.
"Oh, darling. Look at you. Aren't you precious?" the man said, taking a step inside and smiling warmly down at Dolores.
Dolores scrambled backwards, grabbing her dolls and holding them protectively in her arms "Stay back!"
"Dolores, I'm not going to hurt you. You know I'd never hurt you" the man said softly, stepping closer with his hands held out, as though he were approaching a shying horse.
"LIAR!" Dolores screamed, throwing her Kelly doll at the man so hard that-
-that-
-the doll harmlessly pinged off Vox's screen, falling onto the gangway that separated The Media Demon's desk from his office door. Velvette, still sprawled out childishly on the floor, glared up at him.
"I'd never hurt you" Vox repeated, rubbing his screen with a grimace.
"You have hurt me. You've hurt me physically, and you've hurt me emotionally. Don't you fucking dare deny it!" Velvette got to her feet, balling her hands into fists as she glared up at Vox.
Vox looked down at her, before his digital mouth split into a humorless grin.
"Everything I've done has been for our brand. Do you really think I can just let you do what you like without reproach, you spoiled fucking brat?!" Vox suddenly snarled, before advancing on the smaller Overlord with a manic gleam in his eyes. Velvette shrank back, crying out as he grabbed the front of her shirt with a clawed hand, digging holes into it.
"I feel like Sisyphus with his fucking rock when it comes to you. I have tried, and tried, and tried to be a good partner to you. I have tried to guide you. But you're impossible. All you do is make my life harder. Look at what you've done to The Vees!" Vox spat in her face.
Velvette was terrified, but she stood her ground.
"Look at what I've done?! You cheated on Alastor! You broke that smiling freak's heart and now we're all paying for it, so don't you fucking dare pin this mess on me. You fucked yourself long before I came hurtling down to Hell" Velvette said, glaring up at him.
Vox laughed, shaking his screen before shaking Velvette slightly.
"Maybe I should beat my lessons into you. This is how you act like a real Overlord, pow! This is how you conduct yourself at a meeting, slam! This is how you deal with life in Hell without collapsing into a heap because it's not all sunshine and rainbows, wham!"
Vox slapped Velvette across the face and she tasted copper, whimpering in pain as she felt blood drip down her face from fresh claw-marks in her cheek.
Vox looked unsympathetic.
"Don't whine, Velvette. This is the only way you ever learned in life, isn't it? When I stopped hitting you, that's when you really became a fucking bitch. Look at that poor, sweet girl you murdered"
Vox wasn't speaking with his own voice anymore, he was speaking with Dolores's father's voice.
"You're not Vox" she said, horrified.
"I'm what you wish Vox was. Don't act like your Lolita act wasn't deliberate. All you wanted was a big strong man to look after you, so you went after the biggest cunts in Pentagram City. Val and I reminded you of Daddy, on some level" Vox shook her again, smirking.
"You're not Vox!" Velvette repeated, her voice a scared and furious shriek that echoed around the office, before she lashed out in desperation and clawed at his face.
Her nails met glass that splintered into millions of sharp little pieces from the force of her blow, and Vox let go of her with a cry, the sudden movement causing Velvette to fall backwards into the endless abyss that surrounded his office.
She fell, and fell, and fell, and Velvette felt like she was Alice plummeting down the rabbit hole...
...rabbit hole...
"...rabbit hole. I thought I'd fall forever" Velvette said with a sigh "It was such a scary dream, thank-you for waking me from it"
"Of course, picardias. You know I'd do anything for you. I have to say, though, you'd be a terrible Alice. You'd have shot that rabbit and turned it into gloves" Valentino purred, one of his many hands carding through Velvette's hair.
As if waking from a dream once more, Velvette blinked and shook her head, staring up at Val in shock.
He was sprawled out on one of the sofas in his penthouse, and she was lying across his lap, wearing nothing but a red camiknicker. Valentino had his wings folded back, and was wearing a black negligee.
Clearly, they'd both recently woken up, but Velvette couldn't remember going to bed with him. She had no idea how Val, back to his usual self, was even there. But logic flew out the window as love came in the door.
"Val! Oh my God, Val!" she cried out, scrambling up so she was kneeling between Val’s legs and flinging her arms around the overgrown moth demon, choking out a sob as she felt his lower set of arms wrap around her, burying her head into his ruff and breathing the scent of him in “I've missed you so much!"
“Aw, sentiment suits you, querida. I’ve missed you too. But I'm not complaining about getting to see Princess Morningstar take her bra off" Valentino said, taking a drag of the cigarette that was in one of his upper hands "Your tits are better, though"
Velvette raised her head, wiping her eyes before reaching out with trembling hands and touching Valentino's face, sliding off his glasses so she could get a better look at him.
"You're so handsome" she said, her lower lip trembling “I love you, Valentino. I love you so much. I’m so happy you’re back”
Valentino grinned, before he leaned closer and ran his elongated tongue against her cheek, leaving a trail of tingling saliva against her face.
"...and you are very beautiful" he murmured, kissing the shell of her ear “Muñequita”
Velvette smiled dreamily, wrapping her arms around him a little tighter.
"So, if you love me so much, why did you kill me?" Valentino asked, his smile vanishing.
Valentino's mood swings were dangerous, so Velvette didn’t hesitate before trying to get off Val’s lap in a panicked scramble, crying out as Val effortlessly used all four of his arms to pin her down onto the sofa and get on top of her.
Trapped with no hope of escape, Velvette stared up at Valentino pleadingly, whimpering as she felt his monstrously large erection press against her stomach.
"Valentino, I swear on my life, I wasn't trying to kill you! I was trying to fix you!" Velvette pleaded "I was trying to save The Vees! Our brand is perfection, Val, and you were threatening that!"
"Oh, and you think you're perfect, my dear?" Vox said with a scathing laugh from somewhere near the doorway.
Velvette turned her head and...
...Velvette turned her head...
...Dolores turned her head and stared curiously at Vox's 'friend'.
Vox was holding her in his arms as he stood in the foyer of an idyllic suburban home, straight out of the pages of Better Homes And Gardens. After whisking her away from the violence of her old home, Vox had taken her here and told her that this was her new home, and that he and his friend were going to be her parents now.
Dolores didn't question any of it. After all, there's no point questioning the logic of dreams.
Vox's friend was handsome like him, with purple streaks dyed into wavy brown hair and a gold tooth glinting in the warm summer sunshine that filled the house.
"Oh, she is precious, my pequeño cariño!" he said, waving a lit cigarette in one hand and trailing pink smoke behind himself as he reached out with his free hand.
He took Dolores's tiny hand in his much larger one, cold rings pressing against her skin. His grin widened as he looked down at her, and Dolores started to feel uneasy.
"We're keeping her" he said.
"Of course we're keeping her!" Vox said with a laugh, jogging Dolores in his arms and smiling at her with warmth in his unusual eyes "We aren't going to leave her in that hellhole, we're her family now"
Family?
"Daddy?" Dolores reached out curiously, touching the side of the purple-haired man's face before patting it experimentally.
"Aw, Vox! Her first word with us!" the man cooed "Yes, princesa. I'm your new Papá"
"Does that make me Mommy, Valentino?" Vox joked.
"Well, if you're going to see the world through such an old-timey lens..." the man, Valentino, snickered as he let go of Velvette and adjusted his heart-shaped glasses with one finger "Don't worry, querubín, you're safe now. We'll look after you..."
...we'll look after you...
"...we'll look after you, you fucking bitch! We promised you that! All you had to do was help us, not hinder us, and now I find out you're fucking pregnant?!" Vox, his screen glitching from rage, was pacing around Valentino's penthouse as the moth demon held Velvette tightly in place.
"Fuck you, Vox! I didn't even know I could get pregnant, and it's not like you ever suggested birth control! It takes more than one person to make a baby, you flat faced f-" Velvette started to say.
Valentino's grip tightened painfully, and Velvette wisely shut up.
"You stupid fucking whore! We're supposed to be perfect! How many times do I have to fucking say it?! Our brand is perfection!" Vox ranted, turning on Velvette with a furious expression "We'll have to get rid of it"
Velvette's heart skipped a beat.
"Vox, wait, I haven't even had the chance to think about it, I... I think I'd like to have children with you!" Velvette pleaded "Maybe- I'm not sure! Just let me think about it! Let me decide!"
But Vox was shaking his head, already advancing on her, holding his hand out and allowing cyan-colored lightning to spark threateningly between his fingertips.
"Hold her still, Val. This is going to hurt..."
...this is going to hurt...
"...this is going to hurt, that's what we kept telling you, darling. But you were so determined" Vox was saying softly to Dolores as she screamed.
She was lying in a hospital bed, feeling pain like she'd never felt before as she screamed and thrashed. She was a grown woman now, but the pain of childbirth had reduced her to a crying, screaming mess.
"Shh, it's alright, Papá's here" Valentino was purring, rubbing her arm "Papá's here, and Mommy's here..."
"Fuck you" said Vox, rubbing Dolores's other arm.
Dolores stared blearily around the room. It was sterile, and completely barren, devoid of any life that wasn't her, Val, and Vox. It almost felt like they were the only people left in the world, it felt so empty around them.
"...where are the doctors? Aren't there supposed to be doctors?" she finally said, confused.
"Shh, don't worry that pretty little head about a thing" Valentino purred, kissing her temple "Mami and Papi are going to look after everything"
Dolores's worries were forgotten as she screamed...
...she screamed...
...she screamed. All she could hear was screaming and all she could feel was pain. She felt like she was being split in half, crotch-first. She'd never felt pain like it before, not even when she'd died. She screamed, clawing at an assailant she couldn't see before crying out in panic as her wrists were easily grabbed and pinned down.
...pinned down...
...pinned down under a small mountain of blankets, Dolores smiled blankly as Vox cradled a bloodstained baby blanket in his arms, standing between her legs.
"Congratulations, Dolores!" Vox cooed "It's a girl!"
Dolores stared at her 'mother', before reaching out as Vox offered the bundle to her, cradling it in her arms without questions.
Swaddled in blood-soaked pink blankets, a Barbie doll with a flickering television for a face stared back at her.
Dolores smiled dreamily.
"She's perfect!"
Velvette woke up with a gasp and a jerk, reflexively clutching her pillow as she hyperventilated, her nightmare leaving her heart hammering in her chest and her entire body clammy with sweat.
"Shh, shh, it's okay, you’re okay. You just had a bad dream" murmured someone from above her, a hand reaching out to stroke back her hair "You’re safe. Nothing’s gonna hurt you”
Velvette whimpered, clutching her pillow even tighter to herself as she leaned into the touch.
"Vox?" she asked, still half-asleep and disoriented.
"A-ha... no, sorry to disappoint" the voice replied.
Velvette slowly let go of her pillow and turned her head, her sleep-blurred vision seeing a pretty face and a shock of blonde hair.
"Lucifer?" she tried again, blinking to clear her vision.
"Keep trying, Toots, you'll get there eventually" Angel Dust grinned, showing off his gold tooth in the red 'morning' light of Pride.
“What the fuck?!” Velvette shrieked, scrambling away from Angel so suddenly that she managed to fall off the edge of her bed and onto the floor.
Glowering, she climbed back onto the bed, a sheet covered in images of rubber ducks wearing little raincoats and splashing in puddles wrapped tightly around her.
Angel was laughing hysterically, slapping the bed with one of his hands as he sat perched on the edge.
“Oh fuck me! That was fucking hilarious! I gotta wake you up like that more often” Angel snickered.
Velvette continued to glower, tightening her grip on the duck-themed sheet as she took stock of her surroundings.
She was back in her duck room, still fully dressed aside from her shoes (which she could see clumsily discarded next to the door), and starting to feel uncomfortably grimy.
“It’s not that fucking funny. Piss off” she snapped as Angel Dust kept snickering.
"Oh, I beg to disagree" Angel Dust chuckled, even as he pulled himself together, petting the top of her head patronizingly in lieu of an apology "How are you feeling? You gave Husk and I a shock"
"What do you mean?" Velvette tried to remember what she'd been doing before falling asleep, but her head felt like it was full of clouds, and her vivid nightmare had left her discombobulated.
"You were slumped unconscious outside Lucifer and Al's room. It was pretty fucking scary, I thought you'd killed yourself, and Husk thought you'd heard those two fucking and died from shock" Angel winked "Being a little peeping tom, huh? You're lucky those two had no idea you were there, you do not want to see King Lucy when he's angry"
You have no idea what I've seen, Angel Dust...
"Shut up, it was just a coincidence that I was there..." Velvette lied "I haven't eaten much, I must've collapsed..."
Niffty. The rag. The baby.
"Have you talked to Niffty at all today?"
"Niffty? Uh, yeah. She's been going on about some big secret she's keeping for a friend. There’s probably some hot gossip going on in Cockroach World" Angel shrugged "Why?"
"Why do you fucking care? I thought we weren't friends?" Velvette crossed her arms, a petulant expression on her face.
Angel Dust's shoulders slumped.
"I shouldn't have said what I said. I'm sorry" he said, his mismatched eyes meeting hers “Don’t get me wrong, what you said was fucking gross, but I kicked you while you were down and that was a dick move”
"You look good grovelling, Toots, it's no wonder Val makes you do it all the time" Velvette taunted with a cruel smirk, before her expression softened "Look, I am so sorry about that text, Angel. It was out of line"
As if summoned by the mention of his name, Val fluttered over to Velvette, taking his now-usual perch on her shoulder.
Angel stared at the moth, chewing his lower lip thoughtfully before he offered Velvette a genuinely warm smile.
"Eh, you're a bitch, I'm a bitch. It's just in our nature to be bitches to one another, the whole thing is water under the bridge" Angel Dust flip-flopped his hand dismissively "So, why were you asking about Niffty?"
Velvette opened her mouth to lie, before she grimaced and shook her head.
“Toots?” Angel sounded worried.
"No. I can't do this. I can’t do anymore secrets. Niffty thinks I'm pregnant. She says that because I was kissed by an angel that I have the ability to have a baby"
"Kissed by an angel?" Angel Dust frowned.
"I kissed Lucifer" Velvette cringed "He paid me a visit at the V Tower while I was half-asleep and... uh..."
Angel Dust laughed, while Val squeaked some no-doubt filthy comment in moth-language.
"Say no more, Toots. We all want to lay one on King Pretty-Boy in our wildest dreams" he teased, ribbing her with one of his elbows "How does Niffty know?"
"Who fucking knows. Maybe a cockroach told her" Velvette rolled her eyes "I know it sounds crazy, but it makes sense. I couldn't keep anything down yesterday, and I've felt so... off"
"Your life has just been completely uprooted, Vel. Anyone would feel a bit weird after that" Angel Dust said, not unkindly.
Velvette reached out, taking his lower set of hands.
"Please. I don't care if it's a fairy-tale. Please let me play pretend. Please" she begged.
Angel Dust smiled sadly, his eyes softening with understanding as he squeezed her hands.
"Okay. We'll play pretend" he winked "Just as long as I get to name the little tyke”
"Of course" Velvette smiled gratefully, playing along with Angel’s joke with a nod.
"...if it's a girl, Kandii. With a 'K' and two 'I's'. If it's a boy, Edgar Bartholomew The Third" Angel Dust finally said.
Velvette and Angel stared at each other, before they burst out laughing.
Velvette and Angel were the last ones down to breakfast. Velvette was in desperate need of a fresh outfit and a shower, so she and Angel had spent the better part of the morning retrofitting some of his own clothes to suit her, before she'd had a lightning-fast shower to freshen up.
Still slightly damp, she held her head high as she walked into the dining room. She was wearing one of Angel’s black mini-skirts and a glittery pink crop top, accessorized with black gloves and a white belt with purple studs, as well as her usual skull earrings and Val’s bracelet.
She felt far more exposed than she would’ve wanted to be while in enemy territory; her bra was being washed along with the rest of yesterday’s outfit, and Angel’s idea of a ‘modest’ neckline was extremely risqué on her. But she wasn’t about to start being self-conscious now, not after everything she’d been through, so she kept her head held high as she clicked across the marble floors in the same pumps she’d arrived at the hotel in, sauntering towards the dining room table.
The breakfasting occupants of the table (which was laden with mountains of breakfast food, like the Hazbin Hotel was Lucifer-damned Hogwarts) stopped eating as she approached, staring at her with varying degrees of hostility and pity until Charlie jumped up with a huge grin.
"Velvette! Hi! Did you sleep well?" she said, running over to Velvette and ushering her closer to the table "Take a seat! Husk saved you one!"
Charlie Morningstar might've had the biggest heart in Hell. Velvette couldn't imagine how uncomfortable she must've felt when she'd found out the truth about 'Velvet', but there wasn't a hint of malice or discomfort in her smile.
"So, was I right, Angel? Velvette didn't want to get out of bed?" Husk asked, giving Angel and her a loaded smile.
Velvette smiled gratefully, picking up that Angel and Husk hadn't told a soul about where they'd found her last night.
"King Lucy must've stuffed the mattress with his own feathers or something, I was too cozy for my own good" she said, glancing in Lucifer's direction. The King Of Hell toasted her with a glass of apple juice and a wink.
Lucifer was relaxing in his chair, wearing his usual suit with the collar loosened, his curls disarrayed, and his makeup more lazily applied than usual.
Velvette felt heat rise to her face as she thought about the state she’d seen him in last night, quickly looking away from Lucifer as she took a seat between Angel Dust and Husk, nodding tersely at Charlie as she dropped the bottle of ‘moth food’ onto the table in front of her.
“For Val” Charlie explained, making the moth in question- perched on Velvette's shoulder as usual- squeak happily.
“Fabulous. He’s good at licking up viscous fluids” Velvette ignored Valentino’s more indignant squeak as she poured some of the syrup onto a spoon, setting it aside for him.
“I’m curious, what’s gonna happen to The Vees now? You and Val never gave up your souls, right? So you’re both still Overlords?” Husk asked as Val fluttered over to the spoon to have his breakfast.
Velvette, currently trying to decide what food she was least likely to throw up again, looked up at Husk's question.
She didn't have a good answer, so she just shrugged.
"I have no fucking idea" she said honestly "Right now, all I want to think about is breakfast"
She knew what her future held; a slow, painful wait until Valentino was returned to normal and Alastor put his machinations into work to see all of The Vees slaughtered by Lucifer, as he’d promised.
But the table would never believe her. So she avoided the question and grabbed two pieces of dry toast, dropping them onto her plate along with a spoonful of an artisanal-looking blackberry preserve.
"Try a pancake, honey. They're chocolate chip!" Lucifer cajoled, smiling softly at her from across the table.
Velvette's stomach churned and she rested a hand against it as she shook her head.
"I'm fine" she said.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Angel Dust grab his phone and start typing, holding it out towards her with a grin once he found what he was looking for.
Across the screen was the website of one of Sloth's hospitals.
'...chocolate is perfectly safe for a pregnant demon, in moderation...' Velvette started to read in her head before glaring at Angel.
"Fuck off" she hissed "I don't want to throw up again, it has nothing to do with... that"
"Just trying to help, Toots" Angel Dust put his phone away with a smile.
Velvette smiled back at him, before returning to her food.
Her hand was still resting over her stomach, and she pressed down gently, as though trying to feel for signs of life.
She might never get to meet her baby, if there even was a baby...
Valentino was sipping happily at his breakfast, oblivious to Velvette's inner turmoil. She frowned as she watched him.
...and even if there was a miracle. Even if The Vees were reunited and Lucifer and Alastor backed down, who knew how Vox would react to the news, and who knew what Valentino would do.
She curled her arm around her middle, creating a physical shield between Valentino and her stomach.
You’re never touching my baby, Val. I know that for sure.
While the table chattered about unimportant things around her, Velvette finished her breakfast in silence, moodily staring at Valentino as he finished his own breakfast.
She was so wrapped up in her own melancholia that she didn't notice that breakfast was over and everyone was preparing to start their day until a pair of elegant, blackened hands suddenly scooped Val off the table.
Lucifer offered her a fanged grin as she stared up at him with trepidation.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of harming him while he's in this form. It would be counter-productive" he said gently, clearly thinking that this would comfort her.
"...and then when he's all better you'll destroy his and Val's life?" she said churlishly.
"Exactly! Run along now!" Lucifer said brightly, starting to turn away "I'm sorry I can't join you all, but I've got my hands full; I'm going to start running tests on Valentino today"
"Wait-" Velvette reached out "Can I help?"
Lucifer stared incredulously down at her.
"Can you help?" he said.
"I helped make that love potion that Val and I have on the market. I was top of my class in chemistry, and biology, and I went to culinary school!" Velvette beamed proudly.
"What does that have to do with-"
"I'm just saying. I'm not an idiot. Please, I want to help"
I want to make sure you don't hurt him.
"Thank-you for the offer, Velvette. But I'll be fine. Now, have fun with Charlie. I know she's been looking forwards to this" with a nod in his daughter's direction, Lucifer finally turned on his heel and walked away.
Velvette sighed, pulling a face as Charlie grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.
"Let's turn that frown upside-down, Velvette! I have an amazing day planned for you!” she trilled.
Angel Dust and Niffty, halfway through clearing the table, exchanged a look. They were both grinning, but for different reasons.
“Yeah, sure, amazing” Angel smirked evilly.
“Wee!” said Niffty enthusiastically, clearly not understanding the concept of sarcasm.
“Two truths and a lie? What am I, twelve?” Velvette said in disbelief.
Charlie had gathered everyone (sans Lucifer and Val) in the foyer, standing them in a circle she stood in the middle of, excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Don't be like that! Trust me, it’s a great icebreaker! I’ll go first! Hi, I’m Charlie, my girlfriend is a fallen angel, my Dad’s the King of Hell, and I hate rainbows!” Charlie said enthusiastically “See?”
“Babe… these are supposed to be at least a little hard” Vaggie said, even as she smiled affectionately at Charlie.
“Ha! I bet Velvette’s said that before, with her taste in geriatric men” a newcomer called out, sauntering into the foyer like she owned the place.
Velvette curled her lip in disgust.
"Cherri Bomb"
"Lolita" Cherri Bomb retorted.
Cherri didn't know what Velvette's real name was. Lolita was just the scathing appellation she'd given to Velvette on the day she'd met her.
Their first meeting had been as full of blood and ashes as any Academy Award-nominated war film.
Cherri had been waging her own personal war against The Vees for years, and she'd added Velvette's name to her list of enemies without hesitation as soon as Vel became a Vee. During a party to celebrate Velvette's latest collection, Cherri Bomb had explosively gatecrashed the event.
Velvette had retorted by tearing out Cherri's one eye so violently that, according to word on the street, it took days for her to completely heal.
They'd hated each other ever since.
“Cherri! I thought you were going to be busy for the rest of the month!” Charlie said, delighted and completely oblivious to the tension between Cherri and Velvette.
"Oh, I was. Those VoxTek warehouses aren't going to vandalize themselves!" said Cherri, making Velvette grind her teeth "But when I heard that Vox and Valentino's slutty little Bratz doll had washed up as a guest at this joint, I had to come see it for myself"
"You. Are. A. Cu-" Velvette started to say, before Charlie quickly cut her off.
"-we're playing two truths and a lie, Cherri. Would you like to join in?" she asked, moving away from the center of the group to stand next to Vaggie, taking her hand and squeezing it.
Vaggie smiled up at her, and Velvette felt lonely.
Cherri Bomb inserted herself into the group with an eager grin, standing between Angel and Alastor.
“Sure! My name is Cherri, this is my natural hair color, I’m the one that blew up all of Valentino’s posters around town that one time, and I’m the one who threw a bomb into Vox’s limo last Valentine’s Day!” Cherri said cheerfully.
Velvette ground her teeth.
“I lost an arm, you fucking bitch” she snarled.
"So what? I bet one of your Sugar Daddies put it back on for you and kissed it better. No body, no crime" said Cherri Bomb breezily, tossing her dyed hair.
She was completely right, but Velvette was hardly about to admit it, nor was she going to dwell on how she'd spent that night in Vox and Val's arms, being adored by the men she loved. She glared daggers at the other Sinner.
Cherri Bomb rolled her eyes.
"Come on, you’re fine now, and you’ve split from those creeps. You’ve got nothing to be upset about” she said.
“Just because I made the decision to leave them doesn’t mean I don’t love them!” Velvette snapped, and even she was shocked that Vox’s deal hadn’t stopped her from saying that.
The whole group stared at her.
“Ha, I knew you were faking it! What’s the scheme, Velvette? Gonna infiltrate the hotel like my late Boo did? At least he was cute. You’re a fucking mess”
“I’m still in love with Val, Cherri. It’s not as simple as just walking away” Angel Dust said quietly, staring at the floor as he made his confession.
The whole room turned to stare at him, with mixed expressions of shock and pity on their faces.
Asides from Alastor, who just kept smiling, tilting his head slightly.
Angel Dust looked embarrassed, tugging at the collar of his blazer and grimacing.
"Why's everyone looking at me like that?"
Hating herself for her newly-acquired empathy, Velvette took a step forwards, drawing all eyes towards her and away from Angel.
"My name is Velvette, I went to culinary school, I hate the color pink, and last night I had a dream that Vox and Valentino were my parents. So. I think I deserve more judgement than Angel does” Velvette said, clearing her throat as she carefully looked around the group, avoiding meeting anyone's eyes.
There was a tense silence, full of tension so palpable you could probably stab it if you tried hard enough.
"Uh. Okay. This has gotten a little bit out of hand and I think it's doing more harm than good, so maybe we should end things-" Charlie started to say.
“-woah, woah, woah! Ending things before Smiles has a chance to play? Fuck no! I have gotta hear his two truths one lie!” said Angel Dust.
Alastor chuckled, smoothing down the front of his coat as he stepped forwards. Velvette stepped back, rolling her eyes in anticipation of Alastor's usual brand of bullshit.
“My name is Alastor, I was a cannibalistic serial killer in life, I love jazz music, and I have green hair. Is that what you were hoping for, Angel Dust?”
Old-timey prick Velvette thought, practically hearing Vox's infuriated snarl in her head.
She thought about her hallucinations of Val that had precluded her nervous breakdown and took a second to mentally assess herself, but Vox's cadence was no hallucination, just a fond memory.
I miss you already, Vox...
“Ugh. Fucking lame!” Angel whined.
“Husk, your turn” Velvette said “My name is Husk, I’m a barely-functioning alcoholic, I can’t play cards to save my soul- literally- and I don’t want to fuck Angel Dust silly!”
Husk glared at her, unimpressed, as she badly imitated his voice. Angel, meanwhile, laughed so hard he nearly made himself sick.
"G-geddit? Because he totally wants to tap this!" Angel choked out as Alastor and Charlie tried to calm him down before he made any unnecessary messes for Niffty to clean up.
Charlie’s fun-packed day was a slow form of torture for Velvette. It wasn’t that she was antisocial- she’d been part of a throuple-come-business partnership for years, after all- but The Vees wouldn’t have been caught dead doing anything as saccharine as trust fall exercises.
Princess Morningstar, on the other hand, seemed to feel that a moment spent not playing some children’s schoolyard game was a moment wasted.
“This is just because we have a new arrival, don’t worry, it’s not always like this” Angel Dust discreetly whispered to her during their third trust fall exercise, standing to the side with her.
(To Velvette's disappointment, Alastor excused himself from participating by saying he had a bad back. Personally, she thought he was just stealing from Vox’s Rolodex of handy excuses. He probably knew that Velvette intended to let his head smash against the marble floors)
“Thank God. I'm ready to grab Vagina’s spear and disembowel myself with it” Velvette whispered back, watching as Cherri Bomb was caught by everyone “…what did I ever do to her? What did Vox and Val ever do? We don't give a fuck about her, Hell, Val kinda respected her chaos. She could've been an ally"
Angel smiled ruefully.
"You guys never did anything to her, no. But... you did a lot of shit to me. Especially Valentino. So, she declared war on your fuckers, it's as simple as that. Oh, and it's Vaggie. But I like your version too"
"...right. That makes sense" said Velvette, wondering when she suddenly starting feeling so fucking guilty all the time and hating every second of it.
Even if Charlie’s activities were tedious and childish, they made the day go by fast. Before Velvette knew it, they were sitting down to watch the evening news while Alastor finished preparing dinner for them all.
“It’s jambalaya! My mother’s recipe!” He'd said brightly, before leaving the room with a jaunty tune following him.
Niffty turned on the television, excitedly scurrying to her seat and practically vibrating with excitement.
"...she likes the TV. She thinks it's magical" Angel explained quietly to Velvette.
"No wonder Vox made her so wet" Velvette whispered back, watching as the familiar station ident of 666 News appeared on-screen, and praying that Vox wouldn't choose today of all days to hi-jack Katie and Tom's airtime.
He hadn't, thank Lucifer, and Velvette relaxed minutely as the camera slowly moved towards the familiar sight of Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench sitting at their glossy desk together.
Katie couldn't seem to sit still. Velvette cocked her head in an Alastor-like fashion, trying to work out what the fuck Vox had been doing to her. Just like how Tom Trench was Katie's chew-toy, she was Vox's (when Not-Eelijah got boring to play with).
But he obviously hadn't been fucking her, which left the reason for her sore backside a mystery. Maybe she’d found another use for Tom Trench asides from ‘on-air punching bag’.
“Welcome to 666 News's 6 O’Clock news! I’m Katie Killjoy!” she said with a too-wide grin and a minute squirm of discomfort.
“…and I’m-"
“No one gives a shit! Before we get started, a quick word from our sponsor!” Katie picked up a sheet of paper “The Performing Arts!”
The group gathered around the television stared in confusion.
“…uh. Yes. According to this paper I’ve been asked to read out, we’re sponsored by the performing arts. Our sponsor would like any viewers at home to know that some people are just natural born actors, especially people with backgrounds in sales or… cult… management…”
Katie stared at the paper again, before staring at someone off-camera.
Velvette slowly smiled.
Vox...
"...and they would like to let one very special viewer know that some people are such natural-born actors that they can convincingly pretend they... uh... 'buy your am-dram bullshit'. They want this person to know that they love them and know how deeply they are still loved in return. Also, 'please don't fuck anyone. I'm going fucking crazy here'" Katie stared at the paper.
Velvette hid her grin behind a bored yawn.
She felt like her heart was soaring, she was so happy.
Vox knows I still love him. Vox still loves me. Vox is doing well enough to crack jokes. Oh, Vox...
“Alright. We have gotta start fucking proof-reading these, what the fuck was-" Tom Trench started to say, before Katie shoved him off his chair with one hand.
“Shut the fuck up, Tom, or we’re both dead! Moving on; the weather!”
“What the fuck was that?” Angel said.
"Probably some relationship drama going on behind-the-scenes. The crew are all fucking each other" Velvette lied smoothly.
"Really?" Angel Dust looked skeptical.
"Uh. Duh. Have you met Eelijah. He is sex on fucking legs, Angel" Velvette pretended to yawn "Oh, look, we're getting acid rain tomorrow"
Just like Vox had pretended to, everyone present bought Velvette's am-dram bullshit, and the strange ad read was forgotten about.
One day, Velvette would get the chance to insult someone's mother's recipe. But unfortunately, today was not that day; Alastor's jambalaya was surprisingly pleasant.
Not that she was forced to compliment his cooking to his face, as Alastor and Lucifer opted out of joining the rest of the hotel for dinner, choosing to eat together in Lucifer's study.
As if Velvette's night couldn't get any better, Charlie opened dinner conversations with a simple, yet fateful, question;
"So, Velvette. What do you enjoy about fashion? What got you into that field?" she asked obliviously.
"Charlie! You idiot!" Angel wailed dramatically.
Velvette ignored him as she launched into her favorite subject; herself.
After a two-hour long dinner-come-monologue, everybody present knew more about Velvette's history with fashion design than they had ever wanted to, and Velvette was in much brighter spirits as she happily skipped upstairs, dropping down onto her duck-themed bed and scrolling Sinstagram as she lounged against her pillows.
She hummed to herself as she 'liked' pictures and left bitchy comments. For a blissful moment, all her worries were forgotten.
But bliss, much like the self-esteem of anyone posting a selfie on Sinstagram that night, was a fragile and ultimately doomed thing.
“You’re out of tune” Lucifer’s voice interrupted Velvette's happy reverie, making her jolt and nearly drop her phone.
The King of Hell was standing in the doorway, holding Val in one of his blackened hands.
“How did the experiments go?” she asked, feeling like she'd swallowed ice as she remembered the reality of her predicament.
“They went very well” said Lucifer, making Velvette’s heart sink as she watched him approach her bedside “I give it a week before Valentino is returned to normal”
Val squeaked happily, flapping over to perch on one of Velvette’s knees.
“That means you get killed, idiot” Velvette pointed out.
Val squeaked again, more sadly this time. Velvette looked up at Lucifer, desperation all over her face.
"Lucifer. Please. Don't hurt them. Can't you practice a little forgiveness?" Velvette pleaded.
"You're confusing me with my father, Velvette. Besides, I don’t intend on killing them myself” Lucifer reminded her.
“Yeah, all you're going to do is drive them to a murder-suicide. Aren't you a saint?” Velvette rolled her eyes.
There was no point in trying to tell Lucifer about Alastor's machinations. He'd never believe her.
“How was dinner?” Lucifer asked lightly, clearly trying to change the topic.
“Alastor probably fed us human flesh, but it was delicious” Velvette said.
“Ha. No, he prefers cooking with venison these days. But I’m sure he could make human flesh delicious” Lucifer joked.
Velvette didn't laugh, looking sadly at Valentino as he fluttered his delicate wings.
"Is everything alright, Velvette?" Lucifer asked, stepping closer.
Velvette shrugged.
“Your daughter managed to wear out my social battery. Seriously, is that bitch on crack or something?” she said, before she could think better of it.
But luckily, Lucifer saw it as the joke it was intended as, and not a malicious swipe at his precious baby girl.
“Lilith and I had her routinely tested. It’s all 100% Char-Char. Alright, I’ll leave you be. Oh, and Velvette?”
“Hm?” Velvette asked, still watching Valentino.
“Never call Charlie a bitch again” Lucifer’s voice took on a demonic reverberation, making Velvette flinch “Good night”
He closed the door, leaving Velvette to shudder, running a fingertip carefully along one of Val's wings.
“…our futures don’t look bright” she finally said “One week. One week until Alastor puts his plans into motion and gets us all killed, or if Alastor is somehow stopped, one week until Lucifer destroys everything Vox worked so hard to create and drives you two to suicide. Fuck, it’s so grim”
She ran her finger along Vox’s head.
“But let’s be optimistic, let’s pretend that Alastor and Mr. Lu Lu World out there have a change of heart. I could be pregnant. Vox… who fucking knows how he’ll react. As for you, I wouldn’t trust you near a baby in a million years”
Val squeaked indignantly, but she ignored him, tears welling up in her red eyes.
“Everything is so bleak... Val, why did you have to be such a monster?” Velvette sobbed out.
Val squeaked sadly, and she held out her hands for him to crawl onto, cradling him carefully in her palms.
“I love you, Val, I love you so fucking much. But I wish… I wish you were dead, I really do. All of this can be traced back to you. All of it… why… why can’t I just…”
…and then Velvette moved without thinking, clapping her hands together before Valentino could react. She felt the moth in her hands disintegrate into a gooey mess, insect blood dripping from between her fingers as she squeezed.
She stared blankly at the wall in complete shock, unable to process what she’d just done.
Val?
She slowly pulled her hands apart, staring at the sticky mess that covered them.
Oh God, Val... I'm sorry. I’m so sorry, I’ll get you the most deluxe nectar in Hell when you regenerate.
I’m sorry.
I’m so sorry.
But it's okay.
We're all going to be dead soon anyway...
To Be Continued…
Notes:
Hello~ Is it the author's notes you're looking for?~
1. Barbie has a lot of sisters! Skipper is Barbie's teen-aged sister. Before being replaced by Chelsea in 2010/2011, Barbie's youngest sister was a toddler called Kelly. Before being discontinued in 2003, she had a baby sister called Krissy. Thank you for coming to my Barbie Family Tree TED Talk.
2. In a vacuum, Vox and Val 'adopting' Velvette is kinda cute. I may revisit the idea in a non-DD:DNE fic some day, would anyone be interested?
3. Re: Angel's comment about "We all want to lay one on King Pretty-Boy in our wildest dreams". I'm here, I'm queer, I'm spreading my "Lucifer is an in-universe sex symbol" agenda. Your move, ~*canon*~
4. Two truths and a lie is FUN! Velvette is just being snobby about it.
5. I’m completely terrified of moths myself, and find them utterly disgusting. Writing Velvette squishing Valentino took years off my life, I swear. Hmm… I wonder if there’s some sort of fancy word for the fear of moths…
Chapter 16: No Wonder I'm So Respectless
Notes:
I’ve been extremely ill, but I finally got this behemoth of a chapter done! Sinners rejoice!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Vox-2-Nite might've aired in Hell, but Velvette didn't find it all that different to any of the late-night talk shows she grew up watching. The most notable difference was that the media personality who hosted it was far more upfront about being a demon.
...a demon that Velvette was very, very attracted to. She was annoyed at herself for her silly crush on Vox. At least finding Valentino- who literally oozed sexuality- attractive was understandable.
Vox was an arrogant bastard with an ego the size of Jupiter, a nasty temper, severe jealousy issues, a flat-screen television for a head, and the physique of an overgrown scarecrow. Velvette sometimes questioned what the fuck she saw in him.
...and then he started talking to her.
"So, Velvette" Vox was sitting at his desk, oozing charisma and charm in the same way that Val oozed sexuality, and if Velvette wasn't as strong-willed as she was she would've been putty in his clawed hands.
Vox had her sitting across from him on a pale blue sofa, and Velvette was so entranced by the drool-worthy power of his on-air charisma that she was actually worried there would be a damp spot when she stood up.
"Tell me, dear, how does it feel being the youngest Overlord in Hell's history? You've only been down here for... a month, correct?" Vox continued, taking a sip of his drink and giving Velvette space to answer.
Despite how entranced she was, Velvette kept it together. She wasn't some simpering teenager with a crush, she was a fucking Overlord.
"That's right! 28 days exactly. Oh, let me tell you, it feels right. Do I look like I'm just some average Sinner? I was always meant for greatness" Velvette purred, crossing her legs and leaning towards Vox, who leaned in with a smirk "Between you and me. I think that Hell desperately needed some fresh blood to shake things up. Things were getting a bit old and irrelevant around here"
Vox feigned hurt, holding a hand against his heart before he winked at her, turning back to the cameras and laughing airily.
"Ha! Who says that being respectless is a bad thing? Now, I have some questions from my viewers, to help give Hell a better idea of who our newest Overlord really is. Are you ready to answer them?" he asked, picking up a stack of cards and tapping them against his desk.
"Am I ready?" Velvette laughed incredulously "Fuck you, Vox. It's hardly rocket science"
"Alright then! First question... who was the lucky son of a bitch that molested you and gave you your daddy issues, you little fucking whore?" Vox read out, looking nonplussed as he smiled at Velvette "Well. Speaking of being respectless..."
Velvette stared at Vox, feeling the blood drain out of her face. It wasn't like whoever submitted the question was right about her background. She'd been sexually assaulted in prison, and she'd had her boundaries crossed time and time again as an influencer, but her childhood had been free of that particular evil.
Not that it had been an easy childhood...
...but that was a story for another time. The knowledge that her simpering crush was so glaringly obvious made her feel very, very small.
"What?" she finally said in a hoarse whisper, causing Vox to shoot her a quick, concerned look.
He turned back to the cameras just as quickly.
"We'll get to those answers after the break, stay tuned!" he said, grinning enough to fill the lower part of his screen. He kept smiling until the Sinners operating the cameras gave him a collective thumbs up, at which point he let the grin slide off his face like mud.
"Five minutes!" he called out, before getting to his feet with a groan, arching his back uncomfortably before straightening his cuffs as he approached Velvette, clicking his tongue in disapproval.
"Fuck you" Velvette spat, looking down at her lap so she wouldn't have to look Vox in the eye.
"Fuck you too, young lady. You fucked up my bit" Vox said, reaching out and brushing his clawed fingers against her cheek, forcing her to meet his eyes.
To Velvette's relief, he didn't look angry, he just looked curious.
"So, who did it? A creepy uncle?" he asked nonchalantly.
It took Velvette a second to realize what he was referring to, and once she did she spat at his screen in furious disgust. He let go of her, chuckling as he reached for his handkerchief.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I'm dangerous, Velvette" he said in a sing-song tone, wiping his screen clean "You're still very, very new, and Valentino is always looking for new toys..."
"You won't hand me over to Valentino. You're too desperate to fuck me yourself" Velvette taunted, doing her best not to look too interested at the prospect.
"Ha. Don't flatter yourself. I don't feel like getting stuck in such a tiny little crevice" Vox briefly squeezed himself between the legs with one of his clawed hands, red lines flickering into existence on his screen, giving the impression that he was drooling digital blood.
"Saying that I have a tight pussy isn't an insult, you know" Velvette pointed out.
"Well, it's only comparatively tight. I've just got a huge dick" Vox said, taking a seat next to her and nudging her arm "Look, darling, we're in Hell. There's no such thing as respect down here, on-air and off-air. The questions my viewers will want to ask you are going to be horrific. Do you want me to screen them? I could throw out the worst ones?"
It was a sweet offer, but it would also make her look weak. Velvette wasn't weak.
"No. I'm fine. I was just taken aback. Let's go back to air" Velvette said firmly, narrowing her eyes as Vox looked down at her with a skeptical frown "I'm fine, Vox"
Vox finally nodded, getting to his feet and stretching again, gesturing towards the cameras.
"BACK ON AIR IN ONE MINUTE!" he warned the studio, while Velvette smoothed down her skirt and shifted her weight on the sofa...
...and then she stiffened up, paling once more from complete shock.
Oh no. No. This can't be happening, it can't be! I'm dead!
"Vox, wait!" she cried out, holding out her hand in a blind panic.
Vox sighed, turning back to face her with a slightly forced smile.
"What now?" he asked.
"...I think we need to extend the break" she said, doing her best not to look as nervous as she felt "I... something... happened"
Vox stared at her in disbelief.
"What the fuck could be important enough to extend a commercial break that I'm not even supposed to be having in the first place, Vel?!"
Velvette opened and closed her mouth, rendered speechless from shame.
"We're on air in thirty seconds!" Vox snarled, losing his temper "What is it?"
"I think I just got my period!" Velvette wailed, and Vox's expression softened.
He turned to the camera again, making a 'cut it' gesture with his clawed hand against his throat before turning to face her again with a rueful chuckle.
"Aw, Babydoll. Welcome to Hell: you can't get pregnant but you can bleed" Vox said, approaching Velvette and shrugging off his jacket "We'll extend the commercial break. Come on, it's time for a quick trip to wardrobe"
Velvette stood up, trying not to look at the bloodstain on the sofa as she let Vox wrap his jacket around her.
Vox was extremely thin, but his jacket still drowned her, the tails trailing on the ground behind her as Vox wrapped his arm around her and started to guide her out of the studio. His jacket smelled like expensive cologne and cigars, and it still radiated warmth from Vox's own body heat.
Velvette tried to remember the last time she'd felt so... cozy... and came up blank. She did her best not to look too affectionate as she smiled up at her new business partner.
"Thanks, Vox"
"No need to thank me, Velvette! What are friends for?"
Velvette changed into a clean pair of trousers, inserted a menstrual cup, and sat back down on Vox's sofa (now covered with a throw-rug to hide the bloodstain) with a winning smile and not a care in the world.
She answered every question deftly and without so much as a stammer, no matter how shocking and respectless they got.
Vox's smile as the segment ended was nothing short of proud. Velvette ignored it, looking down at her phone and flicking through it as she got to her feet again.
"Thanks for the trousers" she said, tugging at the fabric of the 'borrowed' striped trousers that Vox's long-suffering assistant had found for her "I'm keeping them"
Vox nodded without hesitation.
"They suit you, I was going to give them to you anyway. But as I did you a favor, I need you to do me one"
"Ugh" Velvette rolled her eyes.
"Don't pull faces, it's unladylike"
"I will pull my cup out and throw it in your face, fucker" Velvette threatened darkly.
"Charming! Anyway, could you be a dear and go find Val for me? He's my next guest, but he's decided to go AWOL" Vox sighed "That moth, I swear he's given me lines!"
He pointed at his screen with a clawed finger, and Velvette leaned in, squinting.
"...are you seriously calling those little lines around your eyes wrinkles? Fuck me, you're vain" she finally said.
"They match the lines I had around my eyes when I was alive! They're fucking wrinkles!" Vox complained "...and I swear, I didn't have them down here until I hooked up with that overgrown lepidoptera!"
Velvette stared, and he cleared his throat.
"It's the order that butterflies and moths belong to" he explained.
"Ooh, check out Vox The Science Box! Alright. Fine. I'll find your boy-toy, but if he's doing something gross you're getting a face-full of menstrual blood"
"Yeah, because that's not gross at all!" Vox called out after Velvette as she gave him a lazy salute and sauntered out of the studio.
Valentino's studio was darkened and reeked of smoke and sex. The only lighting came from the hallway lights- pouring into the empty room as Velvette swung open the studio's doors- and a ring of light that emanated from around Angel Dust's dressing room door.
Velvette approached the dressing room door slowly. She was still very, very wary of Valentino. She knew how dangerous he was, and even though she knew (or at least thought she knew) that she had nothing to fear from him, something about him still raised her hackles.
The light around the edges of the door shimmered as she grew closer and closer to it. Her footsteps paused as she heard moaning and whimpering from within.
"Please, Val... please don't..." Angel Dust's distinctive voice was sobbing "Please, I don't wanna..."
"You don't get to say no under my roof, Angelito. Be a good boy, spread your legs, déjame ver tu coño" Valentino purred in response.
There was a thump, followed by more whimpering.
Uh-oh...
Velvette knew what Valentino did to Angel Dust, both on-and-off camera. But she'd never seen it firsthand.
Velvette's first impulse was to leave. She had been happy, ignoring the fact that her new business partner was a monstrous rapist. She'd be perfectly happy to continue living in that delusion...
...but she was A Vee now, and if Vox could stomach condoning Val's abuse, so could she.
She braced herself, before strutting forwards with her head held high and swinging the door open.
An overpowering smell of perfume hit her as she stepped inside, and Velvette's eyes watered as she took in the scene before her.
Angel's room was in disarray, most of the furniture was overturned, broken perfume bottles covered the floor, and shattered makeup palettes and lipstick tubes dyed the carpets and rugs a kaleidoscope of clashing shades.
Angel's vanity mirror was shattered, and he was currently being pressed against it by Valentino, his backside perched on a counter that had once held the hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars worth of beauty products that now littered the ground. Mascara-streaked tears dyed his face, while lipstick was smeared across his cheek like a bloodstain.
Velvette stared at the spider demon in shock. She was used to seeing Angel Dust as nothing more than a cocky bimbo. The broken creature before her felt like a stranger.
Valentino turned to look at Velvette, smiling warmly in contrast to the harsh way he was shoving his 'employee' against broken glass, two of his hands holding Angel by his shoulders while one hand held a cigarette and the other was clutching the front of the 'sexy nurse' costume Angel was wearing.
"¡Picardias! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? What brings you down here?" Val asked cheerfully, the lights of Angel's vanity causing his gold tooth to gleam as he grinned at her. Angel sniffled, two of his hands clinging onto the wood of the vanity while his other two hands clung to the front of Valentino's purple shirt.
Valentino brought his cigarette to his lips, blowing a cloud of smoke into Angel Dust's eyes and causing the smaller Sinner to gag and choke.
"You're supposed to be on the Vox-2-Nite set, Val" Velvette said with forced calm, stepping inside the dressing room and sitting down on the edge of the upturned sofa "Fuck your little whore afterwards"
Valentino sighed, stepping away from Angel and approaching Velvette. She did her best not to cower, folding her arms and meeting his gaze with a relaxed smirk.
Valentino was wearing white trousers (currently splattered with blood and cosmetic detritus) that highlighted the large and extremely unusual-looking bulge between his legs. Velvette couldn't help but let her gaze drift downwards to stare at it.
Valentino didn't miss her wandering eyes.
"Mm, curious, are we?" he teased, reaching for the heart-shaped buckle of his belt "Angel here thought it would be funny to bite down on his scene partner's dick, so I'm teaching him a lesson- care to join in?"
Velvette's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, Angel interrupted them.
"DON'T!" he said, getting off the vanity and throwing himself at Val, wrapping his multiple arms around him tightly "Look at her, it'll be a fucking bloodbath! Please don't hurt her!"
Val looked down at Angel with a scathing laugh.
"Jeez, calm down, Angelito! I wasn't going to hurt her. She's my business partner, I don't hurt my partners" he said comfortingly, using one of his hands to chuck Angel under the chin.
For some reason, Angel looked skeptical.
Velvette slowly tried to relax her posture, reminding herself that she was a Vee, and a part of all this.
"Wow. You really are a hysterical little bitch, aren't you?" she taunted Angel Dust, crossing one leg over the other "Val, Vox is already pissy, you need to be on set soon. Fuck Angel Dust later"
"But Velvette, I need to deal with this now" Valentino whined, squeezing his erection.
"Fine. Angel, suck Val's dick. Make it quick" Velvette said, pulling out her phone and pretending not to care as she started to browse Sinstagram.
She couldn't bear to see the hurt expression on Angel Dust's face. Even if he was just a cocky little whore.
"You heard the lady, Angel" Valentino finished undoing his belt-buckle, unzipping his trousers to pull out-
Holy shit!
"Oh, fuck, you're going to fucking choke to death!" Velvette laughed, switching over to the camera on her phone and holding it up "Get to it, you little Spider-Whore"
Angel glared hatefully at her.
"...one of these days, you'll regret this, Toots. When that day comes, don't come crying to me" he said darkly.
"Uh-huh, whatever. Come on, it's not going to suck itself" Velvette taunted him, making Valentino laugh.
"Vox is right, you really are respectless, niña! I like it!" Val chuckled, tangling a hand in Angel Dust's hair as the smaller Sinner reluctantly knelt down in front of him "Get sucking, Angelito..."
Respectless...
Respectless.
It used to be Vox's word. One he said regularly and with complete confidence. He didn't realize it wasn't actually a word until a year into Velvette's partnership with him and Val, when she finally broke the news to him.
He'd been embarrassed to realize his mistake, so of course Velvette had made a point of using the not-word around him. After time, it slipped easily into her vernacular.
Most people who heard her use it thought it was an English expression, but it wasn't, it was an in-joke between her, Vox, and...
...and Valentino.
Val...
Velvette stumbled into her bathroom in a miserable daze, scraping the remains of squished moth that covered her hands onto the countertop of her (duck-themed) sink.
Once finished, she washed her hands thoroughly, offering Valentino's remains one last look before switching off the bathroom light and bathing the evidence of her impulsive misdeed in shadows.
At least he can't retaliate against me. I don't want to think about what Val would've done if I'd killed him while he was at full strength.
With that not-so-comforting thought, Velvette closed the bathroom door and started undressing for bed.
Sometimes, the fact that Lucifer Morningstar was The King Of Hell was laughable. Sometimes, the fact that he was Charlie's father was very, very evident.
"Rise and shine! It's a wonderful morning in Hell and I made chicken and waffles, Al's recipe!" Lucifer chirped as he let himself into Velvette's room the next morning, flinging open her curtains to let the red light of Pride pour in.
Velvette groaned, throwing her pillow over her head and clutching it to her face, blocking out the light that was rudely interrupting her beauty sleep.
"Fuck off!" she snarled, extending her hand from the duck-themed bedding to flip Lucifer off.
"I'm your King, Velvette" Lucifer said, curling his hand over hers to gently fold back the offensive gesture "Show some respect"
"Fuck off, your majesty" Velvette said, her voice muffled "Respect? Ha. You don't know me very well"
"Come on. This is childish" Lucifer said with a laugh, letting go of her hand to grab the bedding and flipping it back without warning "Charlie has tried everything to avoid getting up early in the past, there is nothing you can do to- S Ascha!
Velvette cringed at Lucifer's shocked Enochian, dropping her pillow to pout up at the fallen angel, who was staring at her with comically wide eyes.
"I don't have any pajamas, so I had to sleep naked. You were in the Garden of Eden, surely a bit of nudity doesn't shock y-"
"No, no, not at all! Nudity doesn't bother me, I just didn't expect... but it's fine! It's nothing to be embarrassed about and I shouldn't have reacted like that. I was just taken aback, I thought you'd been injured" Lucifer quickly said, squeezing her shoulder.
Velvette frowned, shifting her weight in bed.
She felt the blood drain out of her face as she realised the sheets underneath her were damp.
"Oh... oh no" she breathed "Lucifer, I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine! Really!" Lucifer offered her a comforting smile "I have a daughter, this doesn't shock me in the slightest. Honestly, a lot of it is kind of my fault, but we won't get into that!"
"I haven't wet the bed since I was a child, I swear, I'm not- wait, what the fuck are you talking about?" Velvette sat up, staring at Lucifer in confusion.
Lucifer squeezed her shoulder more.
"You didn't wet the bed. But that would've been fine too! I'm very hard to disgust, honey. Just relax, it's completely natural" Lucifer said.
Velvette turned away from him, finally looking down.
The bed-sheets were covered in blood.
"It's just your period, Velvette" Lucifer said "Would you like me to get one of the girls to help you out? Again, I'm fine with all of this. But I understand if you're more comfortable-"
"No..." Velvette said softly. Oblivious to her turmoil, Lucifer patted her on the back.
"Alright, that’s fine. Don't worry, I can get blood out of anything. Why don't you have a nice, warm shower and I'll clean this up and fetch you some necessities. Do you prefer tampons or-"
"No" Velvette sobbed out "No, no, no... no. It can't be my period. It can't be!"
"...have you... never had one before?" Lucifer sounded confused, but was clearly doing his best to be understanding, fully wrapping his arm around her and sitting on the edge of her bed.
"I'm pregnant! I can't get my period!" Velvette wailed, tearing at her hair with her hands.
Lucifer stilled, and once Velvette calmed down enough to face him again, he was staring blankly at her.
"Velvette... Sinners can't get pregnant" he started to slowly explain.
"No, no, you don't understand..." Velvette grabbed the front of Lucifer's shirt with her hands, yanking him closer "You kissed me- I mean, I kissed you- I was kissed by an Angel! It changes things! It means I can get pregnant!"
Lucifer's expression softened, and he sighed.
"Dolores. I need you to listen to me. Calm down-"
"No! I won't calm down! I can get pregnant! I can! Please, I have to see a doctor, or... or something! It's Vox’s baby! It's Vox's and I can't lose it!" she begged "It's all I have of him!"
Lucifer gently moved her hands from his shirt, before cupping her face in his own blackened hands.
"Dolores. Look at me"
Velvette stared at him, tears running down her face.
"...my name isn't Dolores, it's Velvette!" she sobbed.
Lucifer leaned in, kissing her forehead softly before leaning back.
"You aren't going to lose anything, because there is nothing to lose. Velvette..." he moved one of his hands down, resting it against her stomach "You're not pregnant. You cannot get pregnant. It's impossible. I am so, so sorry that you were led to believe otherwise"
Velvette shook her head, one of Lucifer's hands still pressed against her cheek, her tears dripping against his fingertips.
"No. No. Lucifer, listen to me. I'm pregnant and I'm going to have Vox's baby... I'm pregnant... I'm going to have Vox's baby" she sobbed.
You know that's not true, and you were delusional to ever think it, my dear... a voice not dissimilar to Vox's whispered gently to her, causing Velvette to whimper and close her eyes.
Not again...
"Who told you that, Velvette?" Lucifer asked gently.
Velvette sniffled, keeping her eyes closed.
"...Niffty..." she finally said.
"Oh, darling. Niffty's insane..."
Velvette choked out a sob.
Vox was doomed. Even if he managed to escape Alastor's machinations, there was no point in even trying to escape Lucifer's. If a Sin says they want you dead, you get your affairs in order.
Being pregnant with Vox's baby meant that, if he died while she survived, Velvette would always have a piece of Vox with her.
Yeah, and you'd be Hell's sexiest little MILF, querida... whispered Val's voice.
Velvette shuddered.
"I know that Niffty's... what she is... but it made sense. I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant" she pleaded, finally dissolving into hysterical tears "I'm pregnant!"
Lucifer pulled her into a tight hug, cradling her head against his chest and stroking her hair as she sobbed.
"No... no... no..." Velvette wept.
Velvette stumbled into the bathroom as Lucifer started stripping her bed, flicking on the lights and stifling a moan of despair as she saw Val's crushed, lifeless remains still lying on the countertop.
Fuck.
It was nothing to worry about, regeneration could take it's time. But in Velvette's fragile state of mind, it was more than she could handle.
She stumbled into the shower, watching her blood swirl down the drain as she kept both her hands clasped against her mouth, hyperventilating so badly that she started to see black spots in her vision.
I'm sorry, Vox.
It was ridiculous. She had nothing to apologize for. But guilt gnawed at her all the same, and not just guilt over her phantom pregnancy.
I'm sorry Vox, I'm sorry Val, I'm sorry Charlie, I'm sorry Vaggie, I'm sorry Husk, I'm sorry Melissa, I'm sorry Eelijah, I'm sorry Lucifer...
...and Angel Dust. I am so, so sorry...
Maybe I deserve this.
She sniffled pitifully, the sound drowned out by the pattering of water against the shower floor.
"I know it's a stereotype, but I thought you might like a sweet treat" Lucifer said as Velvette exited her bathroom, wrapped in a fluffy yellow towel with happy pink ducklings all over it.
Velvette looked at her freshly-made bed, where a shiny-new box of tampons took pride of place, along with a box of painkillers and a chocolate bar.
"You're a fucking angel. I mean, you're not. But whatever" she said.
Lucifer laughed, waving his hand dismissively.
"By the way, where's Valentino? I haven't seen the dusty little shit all morning" he asked.
Velvette paused.
She made the decision in a split-second.
"Isn't he in here?" she asked innocently.
She didn't know why she lied. But she lied all the same.
"No. Has he gotten out?" Lucifer looked around himself with a frown.
"Oh, no. He must've! Valentino is such a coward, that would be just like him!" Velvette said, hoping she didn't sound too theatrical.
"Fuck" Lucifer bought it without question "Ah, shit. Okay. I need to find a moth. Don't worry, I'm sure he hasn't gone far. Take care, honey. I'll talk to you later"
With an affectionate ruffle of her hair, Lucifer started to head for the door.
He suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning back around to face her.
"Just one last thing... why were you sleeping naked? Can't you conjure up new clothes with a snap of your fingers?"
Velvette shrugged.
"...you've seen Vox lose control of his powers when he gets too emotional, right? He's been an Overlord since the Fifties, imagine how hard it is for me to control my powers. I can't remember the last time I was able to do this-" she snapped her fingers "-and conjure up anything"
Lucifer smiled sadly.
"I won't pretend to understand how Overlords work. But I do know a little bit about magic. I know it might seem out of reach, but you'll get your spark back before you know it. Magic has a habit of coming back when you least expect it"
Velvette smiled back at him, just as sadly.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find a moth. Take care, honey" he said, turning on his heel.
"I will" Velvette lied, watching as Lucifer walked out of her room, his hat bouncing slightly with every step.
She sighed with worry as the door closed behind him, even if she didn't know why she was so stressed out about Val.
Nothing in Hell stayed dead for very long, after all.
It had been a week, and Valentino was still dead.
Lucifer had practically turned the hotel upside-down looking for the moth, but to no avail. His mood had soured as the days had gone by, but he didn't for a moment suspect that Velvette had anything to do with Valentino's disappearance. Nor did he suspect that Valentino's remains were currently hidden inside an empty tampon box, tucked away in the drawer of Velvette's nightstand.
She'd assumed Lucifer would be too much of a gentleman to ransack something so private, and so far she'd been right in her assumptions.
So she was safe, for now, but her safety lived on thin ice and at the end of a long line of dominoes that could be knocked over from any angle.
If Lucifer finds Val...
If Alastor finds Val...
If... If... If...
"Hey, Lolita! Pass the fucking coffee! How many times do I need to ask?" Cherri Bomb interrupted Velvette's melancholia, leaning over the dining table that the hotel's inhabitants were eating breakfast at and waving her hand in Velvette's face "Hello?"
"Cherri, Velvette's going through a lot right now, maybe tone it down" Angel Dust said softly, squeezing Velvette's knee under the table.
Cherri Bomb shrugged, grabbing the coffee pot for herself and returning to her seat.
"You'll regret wasting all this time and energy on her, Angel. She's not worth it, she'll just turn on you the second she doesn't need you anymore" she warned her friend.
"At least I don't run off on adventures and leave my 'friend' behind to be raped and abused" Velvette said quietly.
The pain of having a pot-full of scalding hot coffee thrown over her was somewhat mitigated by the delightful sight of Cherri Bomb being slammed to the ground and put into a submission hold by a furious-looking Vaggie.
Another week passed, and there were still no signs of life from Valentino. His remains hadn't decayed, which Velvette was taking as a good sign.
Lucifer's manic search for Val had fruitlessly continued. The stress was starting to get to the fallen angel; Velvette could see it in his eyes. His smile grew strained, and he spent most days either holed up in his office or frantically searching the hotel while Alastor trailed behind him. As impossible as it was, Velvette could've sworn Lucifer had gained grey hairs since Valentino had gone missing.
She wondered what he was most afraid of; the other Sins finding out and enacting retribution, or Heaven finding out and punishing him more than he'd already been punished.
Thankfully, despite his mental deterioration, Lucifer still didn't suspect for a moment that Velvette had anything to do with Valentino's disappearance. If anything, he seemed to feel sorry for her.
Every time he called her honey, Velvette wanted to throw up from guilt and stress.
Hell continued to have no idea about The Vees fracturing. From what Velvette had seen online, it seemed to be mutually agreed-upon that Vox had simply put his partners under house arrest while he cleaned up their public image.
As much as she hated having to do it, Velvette had dramatically scaled-back her online presence. The last thing she wanted was for a livestream to accidentally reveal to Hell that she wasn't at the V Tower anymore.
Three weeks had passed and Valentino was still as dead as a door-nail.
Velvette had started to be plagued by nightmares every night, waking up screaming for Vox and Valentino to save her. But her former business associates, obviously, couldn't save her. All her screams did was wake up the entire hotel and leave everyone sleep-deprived and cranky the following day.
Eventually, Angel Dust stepped in.
Velvette was lounging on a sofa in the foyer, carefully editing a selfie to post on Sinstagram, while Vaggie and Charlie dusted cobwebs and sang some nauseating ditty about teamwork.
Vaggie seemed to hate the saccharine song as much as Velvette did, but she loved Charlie more than she could possibly hate anything, so she sang.
Velvette hid her jealousy and loneliness with a sneering expression as she ignored them.
Angel dropped down onto the end of the sofa, patting Velvette's ankles.
"Hiya, Toots!" he greeted cheerfully "What are you up to?"
"...because dust can exacerbate respiratory diseases such as aaasthmaaa..." Charlie sang as she flicked her feather duster over the banisters.
"Considering suicide. You?"
"...and tuberculosis..." Vaggie sang.
"Same! Let's do it together" Angel joked "Look, Velvette, I'm not gonna beat around the bush-"
"-unless Val asks you to"
"Ha! She's a comedian! No, listen. You can't keep having nightmares every night, okay? It's bad for you, and it's bad for us- Husk has bags under his eyes you could pack for a holiday with!"
"He already had those" Velvette shrugged "So, what? Am I supposed to gag myself before I sleep?"
"Actually, I had a better, less sexy idea. How about I sleep in your bed with you, hold you close and keep those nightmares at bay" Angel said.
"I thought you weren't a taco guy?" Velvette pointed out, picking at her chipped nail-polish.
She'd been sharing Angel Dust's wardrobe and beauty supplies for almost a month, and it showed. She was only wearing eyeliner and lip gloss, and her nail polish was of a much cheaper quality and chipped far more easily than the expensive stuff Valentino used to get for her when she was a Vee.
"I'm not. I'm offering above-the-waist cuddling only. But seriously, Toots, you might feel safer at night if you have someone to cuddle up to..." Angel suggested.
Velvette chewed on her lower lip, her face contorting with guilt.
"...Angel. I used to encourage Valentino to rape you. I can't ask you to cuddle up to me every night just because I'm having some bad- what?"
Angel was already shaking his head.
"Velvette. You've done some fucked-up shit in your time, and I'm not gonna defend it or excuse it, but I was a gangster when I was alive. Truth be told, I kinda deserve some of the stuff Val does to me" Angel shrugged "So don't think about whether you deserve it or not. Do you want it?"
Velvette put her phone away, watching as Vaggie used her wings to spin Charlie around the ceiling while singing about the joys of eliminating dust bunnies.
"I want it" she said "...just as badly as Vaggie and Charlie clearly want to dry-hump a vacuum cleaner, what the fuck is going on?"
"Eh, not every sing-a-long down here is gonna be as good as mine" Angel said with a smug grin.
"...you sang something?" Velvette looked back at him.
"Yeah! Didn't Val tell you? It drove him crazy because I kept humming while I was getting my back blown out" Angel said.
Velvette snickered, before flipping her position on the sofa, leaning against Angel and enjoying Vaggie belting out "out to duu~uu~uu~st" with him by her side.
Even if she'd lost the loves of her life, it was nice to have a friend.
It had been a month.
Valentino was still dead.
Charlie and Vaggie were getting concerned about Velvette, she could see it in their eyes every time they looked at her, so it wasn't a surprise when Charlie woke Velvette and Angel up one morning by flinging open the duck-themed curtains of Velvette's room.
Ringed in glowing red light, The Princess of Hell turned to face Velvette, smiling warmly at the sight of Angel Dust cuddling the younger Sinner in his arms.
"Rise and shine!" she said, clapping her hands together "I have got the best idea, and you're going to love it!"
Velvette and Angel Dust both groaned.
"Too early!" Angel whined, covering his eyes with one of the arms not currently holding Velvette against his chest.
Charlie ignored him.
"Vaggie and I are going to take you to an all-expenses-paid trip to Moloch Mall! Isn't that fun?" she gushed, ignoring the near-murderous expression on Velvette's face as she buried her head in Angel Dust's chest fluff to block out the light.
Velvette hadn't left the Hazbin Hotel since the day Lucifer had brought her to it. Her agoraphobia made her twitchy as she walked through Moloch Mall, trailing behind Charlie and Vaggie as they navigated her through the labyrinthine shopping mall, and flinching as she was jostled by the crowds.
Charlie, walking hand-in-hand with Vaggie, turned to smile at her.
"I'm really glad we're doing this, Velvette. Shopping for a new wardrobe is going to be so much fun!" she said.
Velvette just glared, until Vaggie cleared her throat.
"Maybe we should get some lunch first?" she suggested.
"Ooh, that is a great idea, I'm starving!" Charlie said "Velvette?"
“Whatever” Velvette shrugged "Tell me again why Angel isn't with us? This is the sort of thing he loves doing, especially on someone else's dime"
"Don't you remember? He told you he couldn't miss work today. Vox isn't as bad as Valentino, but I doubt he's very merciful about absenteeism" Vaggie said.
"Oh. Right. Of course" said Velvette, rubbing her forehead "I must've forgotten"
I'll buy Angel something nice. He deserves it, after everything he's done for me, after everything I've done to him.
They had lunch at TLI Furfur's (Thank Lucifer It's Furfur's), a chain restaurant located at the top of a tall column of escalators that traversed the many floors of Moloch Mall.
Velvette peered over the edge of the balcony they were seated at, looking down at the abyss of escalators that they teetered on the edge of. A couple of floors down, she could see the distinctive glowing blues of a VoxTek outlet.
She stared at it numbly, watching advertisements flicker across the screen that decorated the storefront. Vox’s grinning blue screen appeared often in the advertisements, his eye spinning as he hypnotically pushed his various products.
“…Velvette?" Charlie asked softly "What would you like to eat?"
Velvette tore her eyes away from the outlet.
A waitress with lamb-like features smiled nervously at the notoriously bitchy Overlord.
"I'm not hungry" Velvette said.
"You need to eat, Velvette, you're barely eating" Charlie pushed, and even Vaggie looked concerned.
Velvette shrugged.
"Oh wow, you're actually sick?" the waitress said, before paling and hiding behind her notepad as Velvette glared up at her.
"I need the bathroom" Velvette finally said, getting to her feet "Order whatever. I'm not going to eat it anyway"
"Oh... okay..." Charlie said "Do you want one of us to come with you?"
"I'M NOT A FUCKING CHILD!" Velvette suddenly screamed, making the entire cafe turn to stare at her and another waitress drop a tray of glasses to the ground with a shattering noise.
"No, honey..." Charlie said, sounding unnervingly like her father for a second "Of course you're not a child-"
"Fuck off, Morningstar. I need to piss" Velvette snapped, turning on her heel and flouncing away.
Velvette passed by a stall selling jewellery and various twinkling trinkets on her way back from the bathroom. She paused, browsing through a display of nameplate necklaces.
She couldn't believe it. One of them actually said Angel in loopy, gold cursive.
"How much is this?" she asked the vendor, who looked up at her in boredom.
"More than you can afford" they said with a roll of their many eyes. Velvette noticed they were a scorpion, complete with a stinger that they were using to scratch their back.
"Excuse me? I could afford this whole stall, you prick!" Velvette said, leaning in and baring her tiny fangs.
"I'm sure your pimp is rich as fuck- especially if you're one of Valentino's girls- but I doubt you're carrying money that belongs to you" they said.
"Do you know who I am?" Velvette snapped.
"...am I supposed to?" the scorpion stared at her, confused.
Velvette stared back in disbelief.
"Velvette?" someone called out from behind her, and the confusion in the scorpion's eyes turned into recognition.
...and then it turned into complete horror.
"No charge! No charge! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" they stammered out, backing away "Take it, take whatever you want!"
Velvette sneered, pocketing the necklace, before grabbing a few twinkling rings for good measure and turning away, facing the voice that had called out her name.
Not-Eelijah was standing in front of the VoxTek outlet, looking surprised and strangely nervous.
"Miss Velvette!" he said "I... I didn't realize you'd be here! I... I would've... I would've changed plans or..."
"I'm here against my own will, I wanted to stay at the hotel" Velvette said, approaching Eelijah "What are you doing here? Aren't you normally glued to Vox's si..."
She couldn't speak for a moment.
Vox was standing underneath the awning of the outlet, staring at her speechlessly. He was wearing his usual blue suit, but the fabric was more creased than usual, and she could see that his shirt was buttoned up the wrong way and his bow-tie was crumpled.
Velvette felt a sob rise up in her throat as she realized he had more lines around her eyes than he had before.
He was right. They are wrinkles. Oh Vox...
Velvette ran towards him without thinking, and Vox caught her without hesitation as she threw herself into his arms. She buried her head in his shoulder, making a noise somewhere between a sob and a laugh.
Vox held her close, rubbing her back. There was a familiar buzz of static against her skin and hair as he kissed the top of her head.
"I love you so much, Velvette, but we can't be seen together. I can't protect you if Lucifer thinks we're still a team" Vox whispered, gently putting her down "I'll leave"
"No! Vox. Please. Please" Velvette begged, wiping her eyes "I need to talk to you. Please. I haven't had anyone to talk to in so long..."
Vox's expression softened, and Velvette slowly realized that he reeked of alcohol and cigarettes.
Oh, Vox...
"Alright. Ten minutes. But then you need to go back"
"Ten minutes" Velvette nodded.
"Jesus, I can't believe you thought you were pregnant, Velvette" Vox said, taking a deep swing from a glass of whiskey.
The two of them were sitting together on a sofa in the VoxTek outlet's break-room.
"I know, I was so fucking stupid" Velvette laughed hollowly "Fucking Niffty"
"You weren't stupid, Velvette. You were scared, and you were alone. Fuck" Vox shook his head, taking another sip "Oh, and fuck Alastor. I should've known he'd be planning on making this shit-show even worse"
He drained the glass and reached for the decanter.
"That was your second glass, Vox. Maybe you should slow down" Velvette rubbed Vox's knee gently.
"You don't know what I'm going through, Velvette" he said darkly "I can't face it sober. Ha, I take over Val's industry and I inherit his drinking problem"
Val.
"So how is the squeaky fucker doing anyway?" Vox asked, pouring himself a third glass.
Velvette didn't say anything.
"Velvette?" Vox faced her, frowning.
There's no point in beating around the bush...
"I think I've killed him" Velvette said softly.
"You... you what?" Vox did a double take "You killed Valentino?! What the fuck, Velvette?!"
"I... I was upset. I panicked! I just... he was in my hands and I..." Velvette mimed squeezing her hands together "Oh my God, Vox, I think I killed him!"
Vox didn't say anything. After a few seconds the glass in his hands shattered, and red blood started dripping onto the sofa and his suit.
"Oh Vox..." Velvette looked around for something to wrap his hand in "I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry!"
"That shouldn't have killed him, you're gorgeous but you're no angel" said Vox, pulling out his own handkerchief and wrapping it around his hand.
"But, that potion was made with angelic blood" Velvette pointed out.
Vox ground his fangs together with a noise like static.
"One thing at a time. Alastor is out for blood, and Lucifer is a very, very dangerous Angel. That Hotel will be the death of you" Vox finally said "Go back, get Val's body, and get your pretty little ass to the nearest television. I'll pull you back to me through the airwaves and we can bunker down at the V Tower while we think of a better plan. You better leave now, we don't have much time"
Velvette nodded, it was a solid plan. She got to her feet and looked back down at Vox with a concerned frown, watching as he finished his third glass of whiskey in however many minutes.
"Don't get too drunk to pull me to safety" she warned.
"Don't slit your wrists before I can save you" Vox said with surprising coldness, making Velvette frown. He put his glass down before smiling humorlessly and getting to his feet, wrapping an arm around Velvette and guiding her over to a mirror that rested over the break-room's sink.
Velvette stared at her reflection. A disheveled and obviously tipsy Vox had his arm wrapped around a miserable-looking young Sinner who stared out at Velvette, lazily-applied and smudged eyeliner ringing her dull eyes, wearing an oversized purple-and-black striped sweater and black boots.
"...is that what I look like?" Velvette finally said.
"Like a walking suicide risk" Vox chuckled darkly, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand "We're probably going to die, sweetheart. But at least we'll die together"
Velvette smiled sadly.
Vox leaned down, kissing the corner of her mouth. Velvette moaned at the static-y sensation that she'd missed so much, turning her head and kissing him back.
Vox's arms wrapped around her, and he easily hoisted her up and perched her on the edge of the sink, kissing her harder. Velvette reached up and curled her hands around the lapels of Vox's jacket, moaning.
She was so lost in the moment that she lost track of time. It was only when she felt Vox's clawed hands start pushing up her (actually Angel Dust's) sweater that she pulled back.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"What do you think I'm doing, Velvette? I haven't had sex in a month, thanks to you" Vox growled, and Velvette could feel his erection pressing against her thigh.
Fuck, she wanted him. She wanted him so badly her body was almost shaking with desire.
But she couldn't.
Not now. Not yet.
"I need to get back to Charlie and Vaggie. They're going to notice I'm gone. I need to get Val's body" she reminded him "Remember? We had a plan"
"Fuck the plan" Vox said, his claws scrabbling against the shorts she was wearing underneath her sweater, finding the waistband and yanking them down to her knees in one swift motion "Huh. Going commando?"
Velvette went as red as Vox's bow-tie "I've been sharing Angel Dust's wardrobe, and I don't really want to wear his knickers"
Vox shrugged, sliding his hand back between her legs "Well, it makes my job easier... uh..."
He pulled his hand back, revealing that his cyan claws were soaked with blood. He stared at his bloodied hand contemplatively before holding up his other, injured, hand to compare with it.
"...didn't I cut the other one?"
Velvette went even redder, clamping her knees together and trying to gently nudge Vox away, struggling in his much stronger grip.
"Oh my God, Vox, I'm so sorry. I wasn't counting the days and... we shouldn't be doing this, I need to get back to the hotel and I need a tampon and-"
Vox pressed his uninjured but bloodied hand against her mouth to shut her up, and Velvette was so disgusted that she stopped struggling.
"A month, Velvette. I'm getting my dick wet, and I don't care if it's with blood or your juices, got it?" he said, and Velvette could smell the whiskey on his breath.
"Vox..." she said, muffled by his hand. He moved it away, allowing her to speak "Vox. No"
"You don't want me anymore?" Vox whispered, clutching her waist with his hands, pulling her forwards so he was standing between her knees. He pulled her shorts off completely and threw them over his shoulder, pulling her even closer.
"...I want you. Of course I want you, but we can't" Velvette begged, even as she wrapped her arms and legs around Vox "Let me go"
"No" Vox whispered, pressing into her and kissing her.
"You're drunk. I'm bleeding. Please don't" Velvette begged against his lips, kissing him back despite herself.
"No?" Vox repeated "Do you really think you get a fucking choice? You made me a fucking eunuch, Velvette, and you might've murdered the man I love. I get to fuck you if I want to fuck you, isn't that fair?"
She wanted Vox, she wanted him so badly.
But not like this.
"That's not fair, Vox, that's rape!" Velvette finally snapped, pushing Vox back "GET OFF ME!"
"I SAID NO!" Vox snarled, pressing into her more, grabbing her by the throat with one hand and starting to undo his trousers with the other.
"No, no, no, no, no, no- Vox, please! Please! Don't do this!" Velvette kicked her legs out uselessly, but as Vox was standing between her thighs it had no effect.
She cried out in pain as she was suddenly shoved backwards onto the sink, the tap digging into her back. She was so focused on the blossoming bruise against her coccyx that it took her a moment to realize that Vox's trousers and briefs were around his ankles and his erection was inside her.
"...no..." Velvette said in a tiny voice, tears running down her face "Vox, no... not you too, no..."
Vox tightened his grip on her throat until she saw stars.
"...Vox... Vox... no... no... Vox... please..."
"Vox... Vox..."
"Velvette. It's okay. Come on, Toots. It's just another nightmare"
"Vox... please, don't... Vox... don't..."
"Velvette... Vel. Come on. Wake-up, it's all just a dream"
"VOX!" Velvette screamed, sitting bolt upright and only narrowly avoiding headbutting Angel Dust as she did so.
She was in her room at the hotel, and Angel Dust was sitting next to her, holding his hands out and looking concerned.
"...just a dream" he said softly "It was just a dream and it's over"
Velvette's expression crumpled, and she started to cry. Angel crawled over to her, pulling her into a hug.
"Just a dream. Velvette. None of it was real. That's it, get it all out" he said softly.
"Vox raped me" Velvette choked out.
Angle Dust pulled back at that, looking down at her with a horrified look on his face.
"What?" he gasped out.
"I was at the mall and h-he was at a VoxTek outlet and he r-raped me..." she sobbed out "...a-and Ch-Charlie was wearing a really ugly shirt and nobody was telling h-her how ugly it w-was..."
Angel Dust relaxed minutely.
"Velvette, you didn't go to the mall with Charlie and Vaggie. Look"
He motioned towards the far wall, where a pile of shopping bags rested on Velvette's floor.
"They went out without you and brought you back some nice new stuff, remember? You didn't feel well enough to leave the hotel"
Velvette stared at the bags, feeling herself start to relax as she took stock of herself and her surroundings.
It was just a dream. She hadn't even left the hotel.
"Fuck off, Morningstar. I'm not leaving the hotel, end of story" Velvette grumbled, nuzzling more against Angel Dust's chest fluff.
"Are you sure-"
"Charlie, you know I love ya, but you're interrupting my beauty sleep. Scram" Angel said, waving Charlie away.
"Vox is a piece of shit but he's really not a rapist, Toots. Trust me" Angel Dust said, sitting next to Velvette and wrapping a friendly arm around her.
Velvette wiped her eyes.
"...it felt so real... I could even feel the blood..."
Angel Dust shuddered.
"Fuck, was he being that rough?"
"No, I had my pe-" Velvette paused "Oh. Fuck. Not a dream"
She pushed back her bed-sheets and grimaced at the state of the nice new pajamas that Charlie had bought for her.
Angel, admirably, wasn't bothered in the slightest.
"Not to worry, Toots. I'll handle it" Angel squeezed her affectionately, before getting to his feet "Vox isn't a rapist. I've known him longer than you have, and I don't like the guy, so please believe me when I tell ya that he's not a creep- not in that way, at least"
"...that doesn't mean he's incapable of rape" Velvette said darkly.
"True. But I don't think he ever would" Angel Dust opened one of Velvette's drawers "Vox is a scumbag but he's not- Valentino"
His tone of voice changed to complete and utter shock, making Velvette look up.
Angel Dust was holding her empty tampon box in his hand, taking in the sight of the dead moth inside with horror written all over his face.
Velvette stared at him, gaping in shock.
"Angel... I can explain..." she started to say.
"Oh. Toots" Angel looked up, appalled "I really don't think you can"
To Be Continued...
Notes:
…why yes, I did just pull a “it was all just a dream” twist. I am Jesse, The Cliche Queen.
1. I wanted to quickly mention that I am NOT going to treat any of the Season 2 leaks as canon. I will not be using them to fill in any world-building gaps in this AU.
2. Enochian is a 16th century conlang created by John Dee- the court astronomer of Queen Elizabeth I- and Edward Kelley- a scryer. They claimed it was the language of angels. I’m not going to debate its authenticity here, but for the purposes of this fic it IS the language of angels and it’s Lucifer’s mother tongue. “S Ascha!” means “Oh God!”.
3. According to The Bible, pain during menstruation is a punishment for Original Sin. Thanks Lucifer!
4. …I’m just not a huge Cherri Bomb fan. Sorry guys.
5. Are the musical numbers in Hazbin Hotel diegetic? For the purposes of this fic, yes.
6. Is it just me, or does Canon!Velvette enjoy a little bit of Scary Dog Privilege thanks to her business partners? That’s just my interpretation, anyway, and it’s what I’m going for with Lepidopterophobia!Velvette.
7. Maybe I’m delulu because he’s my favourite, but when Vox appears during the “Poison” musical number, it does feel like he recoils from Val when he realises what he’s just been doing to Angel.
Chapter 17: I Could Eat You Lot For Breakfast
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Velvette always knew that when she died, she'd go to Hell.
...and it wasn't because she'd murdered some no-talent slut. Velvette's damnation came from something far darker than a pissy little first-degree murder charge.
Velvette knew she was going to Hell, because she was far more than just a murderous and morally bankrupt influencer; Velvette was a full-blown witch, and not the Glinda kind. Velvette was a real witch, and she'd earned her powers the old-fashioned way.
Velvette had discovered witchcraft shortly after her mother's death. Grieving and trapped with her father and her father's temper, she'd retreated into the depths of social media to escape reality.
She’d been dismissive upon discovering the communities of ‘Real Life Witches’ online who promised her untold powers if she stuck the right crystal up her vagina, or drank the right herbal tea under the right moon phase. But within the sea of wide-eyed hippie idealists with bad dye jobs Velvette somehow managed to stumble upon the real deal: witches, honest to Lucifer witches.
Tween-aged Velvette felt powerless in her current situation, and witchcraft promised her power. So she pursued it with the single-minded fervor that only an obsessed teen-aged girl was capable of.
She wasted away hours chasing magical powers; drawing Satanic symbols all over her bedroom and pledging herself to whatever dark power would listen.
(She was thirteen, she didn't realize how cringe her goth phase was until years later).
Either through luck, or perseverance, someone or something was listening. Because by the time she sat her GCSEs, she was doing magic.
...admittedly, her abilities were almost non-existent, except (in an ironic twist of fate for someone who did not want to be compared to Glinda The Fucking Good Witch) in the case of the frivolous and ‘silly’ magic that any serious witch would laugh off.
But Velvette knew how to make the best of a bad lot, and she deftly combined her newfound magical ability with her natural charisma and charm to start clawing her way up the slippery ladder that was Influencer.
By the time she was seventeen, she was The Hot New Thing, and everyone wanted a piece of her. For a time, she was almost happy. She attended culinary school on a whim (mostly because culinary magic also turned out to be surprisingly easy for her), she dropped out on another whim, she traveled the world, she won awards, she attended red carpets and smiled for the cameras.
But all good things must come to an end, and Velvette's story came to an ignoble end in a women's prison on the outskirts of London. As the cold, bleak darkness of death closed in, she chuckled to herself.
Hell, here I come.
In a strange way, being in Hell brought her peace. The worst had happened, and the only way out was up.
Even as a feared and respected Overlord, she kept her witchy nature to herself. She would've loved to have been That #Witch, but her magical ability was as neutered as it was in life. Maybe she could do more flashy shit now, but she wasn't exactly flying around Pentagram City on a broomstick and making it rain frogs.
...maybe she sometimes wore a cute little witch's hat, maybe she made and sold silly little love potions, maybe she filled her bedroom with dolls because she used to know a witch in New Orleans who filled her bedroom with dolls and it seemed like a cool and witchy thing to do...
But she always, first and foremost, presented herself as a doll-themed Sinner and not an actual witch. Something told her to keep her Craft to herself.
Eventually, someone also told her to keep mum on the subject.
Vox could be an idiot, but he was also highly intelligent. Velvette shouldn't have been shocked that he worked it out.
Valentino was out on the town, satiating his blood-lust by slaughtering the staff and patrons of a bar that had 86’d Angel Dust for overdosing in the bathroom. Taking advantage of the relative calm in their penthouse, Vox had spent the evening making gentle love to Velvette.
Velvette lay pinned underneath seven feet and several inches of Media Demon, staring into the glow of his screen with an entranced expression and moaning as he thrust in and out of her. Her manicured talons were clutching his biceps, and her legs were wrapped tightly around his hips, pulling him in even deeper.
Apparently, nobody had ever told Vox that it was rude to have meaningful conversations with your partner after you've made them come multiple times, so Vox choose that moment to start talking candidly with her.
He cupped her face in one clawed hand, while another dug into her shoulder, hurting her in a very pleasurable way.
“So many Sinners can do magic tricks, and most Overlords have fantastical powers… but darling, you have no idea how rare witches are” he whispered, his expression reverent.
Velvette grinned smugly.
"Rare, huh? Does that make me special?" she moaned, arching her back slightly as he hit a very good spot inside her "Fuck, Vox, harder! Fuck me harder!"
Vox complied with a grin, making Velvette moan. She was so aroused that she temporarily forgot that Vox didn't have hair to tangle her hands in, scrabbling her hands uselessly at the sockets on the back of his head. It was certainly a testament to his skills in bed, given that his artificial head glowed brightly enough to light up the whole room.
"Being a witch- a true witch- makes you more precious than diamonds. But it also paints a target on your back. Do you understand what being a witch entails?" Vox suddenly asked.
"Being a bad bitch and dancing naked in the moonlight?" Velvette asked with a grin, giving up on Vox's sockets and moving her hands to his back, running her fingers along his smooth, shark-like skin.
"Ha! I wish there was moonlight down here. I'd pay to watch that... and so would a lot of viewers... no. Look, Velvette, I doubt even Lucifer himself would suspect that you're Hell's latest Wicked Witch of the West. This is a good thing. Promise me you'll never call yourself a witch- not a true witch, anyway. Your little Sabrina cosplays are cute"
Velvette pouted.
"But Vox, I am a true witch! I'm special!" she whined, wriggling away from him slightly. Vox's eyes widened a fraction.
"Do you want me to get off?" he asked.
"If you get off me before I get off again I will tell all of Hell that you wore glasses when you were alive" Velvette threatened "...and really fucking dorky ones, too"
"How the fuck do you know that?" Vox said, looking shocked. Velvette grinned, tapping a finger teasingly against the glass of his screen.
"I didn't. Not until you told me about two seconds ago" she said with a wink.
Vox grimaced before moving his hips to fully re-sheathe himself inside her, and Velvette kissed his screen affectionately, sighing at how good she felt with Vox buried to the hilt inside her.
"I know it must seem like I'm trying to clip your wings, but I swear on my eternal soul that this is for your own good" Vox said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
Velvette sighed again at the sensation of static against her skin, pouting as Vox moved his head back to smile fondly down at her.
"I've met witches before. No matter how strong or weak they are, they all end up the same way; looking like a knife block for Angelic Steel. Even the most powerful ones end up deader than dead, and you are so fantastic at so many other things but you are a very weak witch" he continued.
Velvette shook her head.
"...I'm different-" she started to say.
"You are incredible, Velvette. What you’ve achieved down here is monumental. Fuck, I wish you could call yourself a witch, but you can't. Please listen to me, I'm telling you this because I love you, and I don't want to see you get hurt"
"Vox, I..." Velvette trailed off, staring up at Vox just as red lines appeared across his cheeks and his expression twisted with embarrassment "You love me?"
"A-ha... yes. I do" Vox said, looking sheepish.
Velvette hesitated.
"What about my little Sabrina cosplays, as you put it?" she finally asked, her expression resigned.
"What you do publicly looks like part of your living doll shtick, after all, how many little girls pretend that their Barbies have magical powers?" Vox pointed out "You can be 'a witch', but you can't be A Witch. Does that make sense?"
Velvette nodded, sighing.
"Alright. I'm not A Witch" she said, before a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth "By the way, babes, I love you too"
Vox smiled back at her, red 'drool' running down the corner of his screen as he gently ran his claws along the side of his face, his affectionate smile starting to grow more predatory by the second.
Velvette's smile faltered.
"Uh... Vox... why are you looking at me like- VOX! OH MY GOD! VOX!"
(Velvette regretted having such a loud fifth orgasm of the night, Vox was insufferably smug for days)
Velvette didn’t stop using magic, but she dropped the idea of being a witch, and she was fine with that.
After all, Velvette already felt like a queen. Queen Velvette wanted for nothing, because there was nothing she couldn't have. Queen Velvette feared nothing, because she could eat her opponents for breakfast. Queen Velvette didn’t need to be A Witch, because she was a force of nature and nothing would ever stand in her way...
...But Velvette, the real Velvette, sitting on the edge of her bed with tears running down her face as Angel stared down at her in shock and disbelief, holding tightly onto the tampon box that held Valentino's still-lifeless body...
That was a different story.
For the first time in many years, Velvette wished that she was A Witch.
Mostly so she could drop a house on top of herself and shrivel up in it's wreckage. Anything, anything would be better than to be sitting there, staring at her bloodied lap so she wouldn't have to meet Angel Dust's eyes.
"...I have to tell Lucifer about this" he finally said, and Velvette was helpless to do anything but nod "You should get dressed. There's probably going to be a meeting"
Velvette nodded again, watching as Angel turned and quickly walked out of the room.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered into thin air.
"...well. I think it's safe to say that you have a lot of explaining to do" Lucifer said, staring down at Valentino's corpse.
Valentino was still inside Velvette's empty tampon box, currently perched atop the coffee table that separated the sofa Velvette was sitting on from where Lucifer was standing over her with his arms crossed, right in the middle of the hotel's shiny new foyer. Velvette's eyes flicked periodically down to the dead moth, her body tense and poised to snatch the box and run if she had to.
She had cleaned herself up and changed her clothes, opting for black Daisy Dukes covered in rhinestones and a cropped pink sweater covered in red hearts. She'd forgone any makeup asides from some anxiously-applied lip balm, and her multi-colored hair was half-held back with a pink scrunchie. Her more adolescent styling coupled with her tiny frame made her look even younger than she already did.
It was a deliberate ploy, and one she hoped worked. Surely Lucifer wouldn't smite someone who looked like an innocent teenage girl. But should her ploy fail, she was ready to bolt. She was even wearing sparkly black sneakers to match her shorts, perfect for a quick getaway.
Asides from Val, the only sentimental things she had in the hotel were her earrings and bracelet, and she had never removed them since arriving at the hotel.
If she had to flee, she was well and truly ready to do so.
But she dearly hoped it wouldn't come to that.
She knew Vox would welcome her back home with open arms (and legs), but who knew if she'd make it to the V Tower alive. She was extremely vulnerable, and Hell wasn't kind to vulnerable Sinners.
The rest of the hotel's inhabitants were gathered close by in a rubbernecking semi-circle, whispering to one another as they stared at Velvette and the tampon box. Velvette glanced over at her audience, frowning as she realized that Alastor was missing.
Alastor's absence unsettled Velvette more than his presence would've. She felt as if she'd been carefully keeping her eyes on a poisonous serpent, only to blink and find it missing.
Where are you, you old-timey freak?
"Velvette. Look at me" Lucifer said, staring down at her with a carefully neutral expression on his pretty face "You knew how hard I was looking for Valentino. Why did you hide his body from me?"
"Well. I have no idea how that ended up there" Velvette lied, extremely unconvincingly, meeting Lucifer's eyes and immediately cowering back at the pure fury that burnt within them.
Lucifer grit his fangs, before circling the coffee table, leaning in, and resting his arms either side of Velvette head.
"Velvette. I know I'm The Prince Of Lies, but I'm not in the mood for bullshit right now. You can tell me the truth, or I can drag it out of your mind... and trust me, honey, you won't have much of a mind left when I'm done"
Velvette shrank back more, before she slowly started to smile humorlessly up at him. Lucifer straightened up, taking a step back and raising one of his immaculately arched brows.
"I rate this hotel zero fucking stars. The host's father is a cunt" she snapped at a stricken-looking Charlie "You want the truth? Alright. I killed him. Happy now?"
There was a collective, sharp intake of breath from the gathered onlookers. Even Velvette was surprised that she'd been able to say it, she'd half-expected Vox's deal to render her mute.
Lucifer stared at her, his mouth hanging open from shock. Velvette rolled her eyes.
"What? You've all told me how dangerous Val is, you've all gone on and on and on about how evil he is. Isn't this what you wanted? For me to completely turn on the men I love?" Velvette said, forcing a cocky smile.
"You're lying" Lucifer finally said.
"Oh, now he's a lie detector. Cut the bullshit, babes. You've got no fucking idea what's been going on under your own button nose" Velvette said, playing with her hair idly "You're a fucking joke, you don't deserve to call yourself the King of Hell"
After weeks of feeling so unlike herself, fear was causing Velvette to revert to her usual, bitchy self as a defense mechanism.
"Velvette. I've gotten to know you better over these past weeks, you have been a mess, the sort of mess that cannot be faked. You can play the cool and collected murderess, but we both know it's an act" Lucifer said, leaning in and narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously "There's more to this than meets the eye, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it"
Velvette said nothing, gritting her teeth. Finally, Lucifer shrugged and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.
Velvette gasped, feeling like she'd had a bandage torn off her very soul.
"Whatever deal you were under, it's null and void. You've been prohibited from speaking freely, haven't you?" Lucifer said "Not anymore. It's time to get chatty, kiddo"
Velvette just glared, even as shock flickered across her face at how easily Lucifer could undo a deal.
"I'll get comfortable, I'm sure you have a lot you're just dying to tell us" Lucifer took a seat in an armchair across from Velvette's sofa, crossing his legs. He'd have looked quite regal and imposing, if it weren't for the rubber-duckies all over his pajamas and the bunny-rabbit slippers on his feet "Speak. Tell me everything that's been going on"
Velvette just stared down at her lap, starting to breathe more rapidly as panic gripped at her heart like a vice.
Lucifer was as cute as a button, but he was also extremely dangerous, and she'd just pissed him off.
"...or, I can tell Alastor he's free to go to the V Tower and get the information out of Vox in any way he likes, I'll even give him the tools to make it extra painful" Lucifer threatened, materializing his apple-topped cane out of thin air and tapping it ominously against the palm of his hand.
"Dad! That's horrific!" Charlie protested, finally finding her own voice.
"Charlie, stay out of this. Daddy's handling it" Lucifer said, briefly pointing his cane in her direction "If there's one thing I'm good at, it's getting to the bottom of bullshit"
"You do not get to live under my roof, and tell me how to-" Charlie started to say, before Vaggie and Husk quickly gathered around her, hushing her "-no, no. He can't! He can't!"
"I know he's your Daddy, but take it from me, Charlie; you don't poke a bear that's so much more powerful than you are" Husk said.
Lucifer ignored them, even as he looked briefly remorseful.
"Fine. You want the truth?" Velvette said "I'll give it to you. On one condition"
Lucifer rubbed his forehead, looking like he was starting to get a headache.
"...what do you want?"
"I want to be able to say my piece, uninterrupted. I don't want to tell you this, but I don't have any other choice. So. At least let me say it without being cut off"
"Why would we cut you off? Surely you haven't got anything that shocking to say, Lolita. What? Do Vox and Valentino make you suck on a pacifier and call them Daddy?" Cherri Bomb asked, rolling her eyes.
Velvette shot her a look of pure loathing, before turning back to Lucifer.
"No interruptions. Fine. Char-Char, can you hold everyone to that?" Lucifer asked, and Charlie nodded with a dark look in Lucifer's direction.
"I can do that. But once we're done here, we need to talk, Dad" she said.
You have no idea how much you'll have to talk to Daddy Dearest about once I'm done, Char-Char Velvette thought, darkly.
"Sure thing, sweetie. Now, Velvette. You have the floor" Lucifer gestured towards her with his cane.
Velvette sighed.
"Alright. Get yourselves fucking comfortable, because this is gonna take some time..." she said, leaning back and crossing her legs, mirroring Lucifer "One of the first things I learned in Hell was that the infamous Overlords known as Vox and Valentino were dangerous, and that I'd do well to stay away from them..."
"Angel Dust was holding my empty tampon box in his hand, taking in the sight of the dead moth inside with horror written all over his face..." Velvette finally said, her voice raw from how much she'd been talking.
It was morning, and everyone was gathered closely around Lucifer and Velvette as the young Sinner told her story. She hadn't left anything out. Maybe she'd given too much detail, honestly, but she had nothing left to lose.
Charlie was staring at her father like he'd grown a second head, and Lucifer looked so pale he was sheet white.
"You all know what happened next so... yeah. That's my story. It's up to you whether you believe it or not. Now, I'm finished. You can talk" Velvette finally said, slumping back in her seat "...can I have an egg and bacon sarnie? I'm fucking famished"
"Did you..." Charlie finally spoke "Is this true?"
Velvette had to give Lucifer credit. He hadn't interrupted her, even as Velvette has told the attending group his dirty little secret. Honestly, it was shocking that he hadn't had the foresight to worry she'd spill the beans about his machinations.
Maybe Lucifer was more blonde than he looked.
Lucifer looked up at his daughter, his expression contorting with grief and shame. That was all the confirmation that Charlie needed. She gasped, one of her hands going over her heart as she shook her head in disbelief.
"I know that The Sins aren't angels, especially not you. But... they have never done anything to you. Most of them are your friends. How could you do this to them? How could you do this to Uncle Ozzie? He's family!" she said, running her hands through her hair frantically as Vaggie rubbed her back, making a soothing noise.
"Charlie, I never meant to hurt any of them, and I didn't" Lucifer said, tossing his cane aside so he could hold out his hands beseechingly towards his daughter "It was just a little prick!"
"Yeah, I bet it was a little prick" Vaggie stage-whispered to Angel Dust, who was sitting on the arm of Cherri Bomb’s chair.
When Velvette had described the night Valentino had raped her, Cherri had sat down heavily, barely moving until Angel's beloved pig had trotted up to her and licked her leg curiously. While Velvette had described Vox shooting Valentino in the head she'd scooped the pig up and deposited him on her lap, petting his head with a numb expression on her face as she stared at Velvette.
Velvette met her eye for a second, before quickly looking away and meeting Angel Dust's gaze.
"You do believe me, right?" she asked softly.
"I believe you, Toots. Don't worry" Angel said, offering Velvette a grin before looking over at the Morningstars, who were still staring at each other "We all believe her, don't we guys?"
"I believe that Dad's a liar and a hypocrite, yes" Charlie finally said, crossing her arms with a dirty look in Lucifer's direction. Vaggie rested her hand on her shoulder, looking worried.
"Maybe we should take a walk-" she started to say, but Charlie shook her head as she cut her off.
"-but I don't believe her about Alastor. Velvette, you have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt how much you love Vox. You love him so much that I can believe you'd do anything to protect him, even if he'd done something as dangerous as steal from Dad. I don't believe that Alastor is as evil as you're making him out to be. He can't be. I think my father's been a massive jerk, but I don't think he's capable of loving someone who's that sadistic" Charlie finished, smiling tightly at Vaggie.
Lucifer ran a blackened hand through his golden hair, shaking his head as he looked pityingly at Velvette.
"With all due respect, I know Alastor more intimately than you do, honey. You're not describing the man I love" he said "...I doubt that you had anything to do with the heist. Vox can be extremely callous but he'd never put you in harm's way like that. But I agree with Charlie. I think Vox stole the potion, and you're helping him frame Alastor"
Velvette stared at the two Morningstars in disbelief.
"Fuck me you angels are stupid! Vox didn't steal your potion! He had no idea it even existed until he found it in my handbag after it was given to me- by Alastor. That lying deer fuck stole your potion and took advantage of my trauma to try and frame The Vees for stealing from you" Velvette said "He wants everything Vox loves to be annihilated, and Vox loves The Vees! Get your blonde heads out of your asses!"
Lucifer shook his (blonde) head with a sad smile.
"Velvette, I know how powerful love is. I'm not going to punish you for helping Vox. You love him. I am going to be having a much less friendly talk with you about how you put Valentino in my daughter's room, however" his gaze darkened.
Charlie grimaced, and Vaggie shot Velvette a glare.
"Why are we all acting like Smiles is a saint? Look at her, she's telling the truth!" Angel said, getting up from Cherri's chair and approaching Velvette, sitting next to her "...I can't fucking believe I'm saying this, but I'm Team Vee today. I think those egotistical fucks are innocent"
Velvette smiled at him.
"Thanks, Angel Dust"
"Any time" Angel wrapped his right arms around her, and Velvette leaned into his hug.
For a moment, she felt a glimmer of hope.
...and then a mass of shadows appeared behind Lucifer's chair and Alastor materialized from them with his usual grin, wrapping an arm around the back of his lover's chair.
"Have I missed something?" he asked calmly.
Velvette glared hatefully at The Radio Demon.
"I was just telling Lucifer how you stole the potion that he made" she said "We're all baring our souls now. Anything you want to add?"
Alastor's smile twitched.
"I see you've had another nightmare, poor thing, maybe a cup of cocoa and some weighted blankets will help?" he asked in faux-saccharine tone of voice.
"Stop lying, you obsolete fucker! You manipulated and tricked me to try and turn Lucifer against The Vees. Fuck you!" she spat in Alastor's direction.
"Ha-ha! Oh, poor, sweet thing. Why would I do something like that? I've moved on from your little alphabetized society! Why should I jeopardize my happy ending just because my heart was broken"
Velvette and Angel Dust both stared at Alastor in disbelief, and The Radio Demon's smile twitched again as he realized that the unthinkable had happened.
He'd misspoken, and said far too much.
Lucifer was looking more and more dubious as he craned his neck to look up at Alastor.
"...your heart was broken? That's how you feel? Those aren't the words of a man who's moved on" he said slowly.
Alastor cleared his throat, adjusting his bow-tie as he straightened up to address the room at large.
"Velvette is, like her business associates, a liar. Do you really trust her word over that of your dear friend?" Alastor asked, a hand over his heart.
Velvette shook her head, looking up at Angel Dust pleadingly.
"Look, she's no angel, but neither is Smiles. I know you like him, Short King, but you're dating a psychopath" he said, tightening his hold on her.
Husk looked anxious, his eyes flicking between Angel Dust and Alastor. Niffty, who'd been eerily quiet for the past several hours, stared unblinkingly at Velvette.
Velvette couldn't tell if her expression was pity or disbelief.
Alastor laughed, and it sounded oddly strained.
"Surely you're not going to listen to Velvette and Angel Dust's opinion over mine? I didn't give Velvette your potion. Why would I?-"
"I begged you for help! I begged you for a way to protect Vox and I without hurting Valentino and you tricked me. You knew how scared I was! We had nothing to do with Lucifer's weird fucking blood potion!" Velvette screamed, her nerves too frayed to stay calm for a second longer.
"...Alastor..." Lucifer turned to face the other "She's not lying"
Alastor laughed again, and it sounded more like the cry of a wounded animal who was watching the hunters close in.
"My silly little duckie. I think we're all overtired and not thinking clearly. Perhaps some rest will-"
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! HOW COULD YOU!" Charlie suddenly screamed, her voice taking on a demonic reverberation and her eyes blazing with hellfire, her tail whipping around behind her as she well and truly lost her temper.
Angel let go of Velvette as he jumped to his feet, running over to his friend and getting between her and Lucifer, resting his hands on her shoulders and hushing her.
"Woah, easy there, Toots. You don't want to make a bad situation worse, calm down..." he said.
"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" Charlie screamed, easily pushing Angel away and sending him sprawling into Husk's arms as she advanced on Lucifer.
Lucifer got to his feet, pushing Alastor away and looking helplessly at Charlie.
"Come now, dear, this is nothing to lose control over. Haven't we weathered far worse together?" he said, backing away "I was trying to help you. Char-Char, I swear, I never meant for anything bad to happen to anyone. Not even Valentino"
Velvette watched the father-daughter argument, enjoying the momentary reprieve from being under Lucifer's intense glare.
But her reprieve was short lived, as without warning she suddenly felt clawed hands rest on her shoulders, and she retched as the stench of blood and musk overwhelmed her senses as The Radio Demon leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Naughty girl" he said "I promise you, Velvette, I will deliver your mangled body to Vox's doorstep and I will see to it that his death is slow and painful. After all that? Lucifer will still love me, and he will barely remember that he ever harbored sentiment for you. Do you understand me?"
Without another word, he straightened up before returning to Lucifer’s side in a flurry of shadows.
Velvette shrank back in her chair, feeling like a rat in a trap.
She should've known better than to be honest with Lucifer. Alastor probably had contingency plans upon contingency plans to ensure that whatever she did, this ended with The Vees obliterated and Lucifer still eating out of his hand.
She looked up again at the sound of Charlie screaming, her voice and appearance back to normal, though the expression on her face was completely aghast.
"YOU STOLE BLOOD FROM UNCLE OZZIE! He picked you up when Heaven threw you out! How could you!?" she was screaming, shoving at Lucifer's chest angrily.
Lucifer was trying to grab her hands, looking as guilty as sin.
"Charlie, all of this was to help you-"
"Help me?" Charlie stopped her onslaught and took a step back, looking disgusted "Help me? Your idea of 'helping me' is to drug my guests into redemption! That's not redemption, that's a violation of their free will- the very thing that you gave up everything to give to humanity. How could you?"
Lucifer looked away, looking ashamed of himself. Alastor approached Charlie, touching her shoulder.
"I think tempers have become rather heated, maybe we should discuss this in the morning- I myself would like to have a private word with Velvette" he looked over at Velvette, and Velvette shrank back even more into the sofa.
There's nothing else for it. Time to beg.
"Keep him away from me! He's going to kill me! I told you what he threatened, he's going to kill me" she pleaded with Lucifer, who looked genuinely concerned, before shooting Alastor a dirty look.
"Until I know exactly what your role is in all of this, I'm not letting you out of my sight, Alastor" he said, and Velvette breathed a sigh of relief.
"...and I'm not letting you out of mine, Dad. How could you do this to me? My mission was to prove that anyone could be redeemed, not that my Dad could just drug them into compliance!" Charlie snapped, drawing Lucifer's attention onto her.
Alastor shot Velvette a dangerous look, and she looked away, her eyes meeting Angel Dust's.
Angel Dust was still clutched in Husk's arms. At Velvette's pleading stare he turned his head and leaned down so he could whisper into Husk's ear. Husk frowned, looking carefully at Velvette.
Finally, he pulled away from Angel Dust and walked casually over to Velvette, resting a heavy hand on her shoulder. Velvette looked up at him, creasing her brow in confusion.
"...Angel Dust wanted to know if you should run. Yeah. You should. You really should" he said casually, so casually that Velvette didn't pick up on what he was saying at first.
"Huh?" she asked, intelligently.
"I know that look in Alastor's eyes. You won't live to see the next hour if you stay here. He wants you dead and more than that he needs you dead. Run" Husk patted her back, ushering her to her feet "Velvette, run!"
Alastor was watching them unblinkingly, and Velvette saw his eyes narrow as Husk got her to her feet.
For a terrifying second, it became hard to breathe.
"Run!"
Run.
She didn't need to be told again.
While the Morningstars were distracted with their argument, and Alastor was hobbled by the fact that he couldn't actually harm her while Lucifer was nearby, Velvette took her chance and bolted.
She'd never been much of a sprinter, having preferred yoga and Pilates in life to keep her figure. But with immanent death nipping at her heels Velvette was able to run faster than she'd ever run before.
She made it to the front door, ripping it open before fleeing into the reddened morning light of Pride.
She made it halfway down the front lawn before a mass of shadows rose up before her, blocking her path. Alastor materialized from the gloom with his ever-present smile still on his face, looking more dangerous than ever.
He made a lazy gesture with his hand, and before Velvette could react dozens of tiny dark tendrils wrapped around her neck and squeezed.
Velvette collapsed to the ground, wheezing as her oxygen was cut off.
"I'll admit it, this isn't what I'd planned. But any good host can improvise when things go off-script! Such a shame that your failed attempt to pin all of The Vees' misdeeds on me resulted in your death. I was merely defending myself, you attacked me while fleeing the hotel!" Alastor said.
Velvette could see dark spots in her vision as she clawed uselessly at the tendrils. Alastor adjusted his bow-tie.
"Nobody's coming to save you, Velvette. Just accept your fate. If you stop struggling, I’ll stop making you suffer. Do we have a deal?"
Velvette glared up at Alastor, hating him with every fiber of her being. As she glared, she started to feel a familiar tingle run through her body…
…before it roared through her with a burning fire that mere Overlord powers didn’t possess. When Velvette had snarled “burn it like the witches who wore it” to one of her long-suffering assistants, she hadn’t been thinking of witch trials.
She knew from experience that Witchcraft made you feel like your blood was on fire.
"...nobody... will... believe... that... I... posed... a... threat" she rasped out, pretending that she couldn’t feel powers more dangerous than Alastor’s start clawing their way up inside her like magical bile.
"Oh, don't worry about that, dear girl. I can merely plant this-" with a flourish Alastor produced a very familiar-looking, bedazzled gun from behind his back "-on your body, and no further questions will be asked"
"Money Shot" Valentino's stupid name for his stupid gun "You stole that from the tower!"
"There isn't a crevice in that tower that's off-limits to me, Velvette. Don't you understand that by now? Yes, this is your late partner's favourite gun, now loaded with angelic steel-tipped bullets. It's a threat if I ever saw one" Alastor played with the muzzle idly.
"I'll come back and fucking haunt you, you slimy piece of shit" Velvette rasped "I can't believe Vox ever loved you!"
Alastor cocked the gun, aiming it at Velvette's head.
"...I can't believe you ever thought he loved you. Trust me, sweetheart, that flash-in-the-pan fool saw you as an investment and something fun to play with. He doesn't love you and he never w-"
Alastor was cut off with a horrible, gurgling sound. Money Shot fell harmlessly to the ground as he scrabbled at his bow-tie, now tightened around his throat to the point that it was digging into his skin.
He crumpled to his knees, his eyes wide with shock, even as he continued grinning his usual rictus grin up at Velvette.
With a flick of her fingers, Velvette caused Alastor's tendrils to melt away like snowfall in the July sun. She brought herself to her full, unimpressive, height and held out her hand with a sadistic grin as she used her powers to tighten Alastor's bow-tie even more around his neck.
She laughed hollowly, even as her every instinct told her that gloating was a terrible idea.
"You know, I wasn't surprised when I ended up here, Alastor. I always knew this was where I was heading. I didn't become famous in life through nothing but my talent and looks, I clawed my way to the top, and I used every dirty trick in the book to do it..."
She stepped closer to Alastor, leaning down. Realization flickered in the Radio Demon's eyes, and his grinning expression became even harder to read than it already was.
"All Overlords have a trick up their sleeve, and maybe I'm so young that I haven't mastered mine yet... but I still have a trick, nonetheless"
She reached out, her eyes starting to glow in the gloom. In the reflection of Alastor’s monocle, she could see pink pentagrams shining in her pupils.
"Valentino is sex on legs, Vox is a hypnotist... and I'm a witch" she purred.
Alastor’s grin spread even further across his face, and Velvette's own grin faltered.
“Do you expect a round of applause? Oh, you have no idea what being a witch entails, little girl. I can’t believe Vox never told someone as weak in The Craft as you to keep their mouth shut about it” he said, his voice slightly strangled.
Velvette glared daggers down at him, stepping away.
“What do you know about witchcraft?”
“What do you know about witchcraft? If you knew what I knew, you never would’ve identified yourself as a witch” Alastor laughed “Even I wouldn’t dare do that”
“You’re a witch?!” Velvette didn’t know why she was so shocked.
Alastor just laughed, neither confirming nor denying a thing.
“I can’t believe Vox had the nerve to take your soul, even temporarily. Oh Velvette, why did I even bother with my plans? You’re doomed, my dear”
Velvette grit her teeth.
"...and you're getting on my fucking nerves. Go the fuck to sleep"
She moved instinctively, using magic without overthinking it as she pressed her hand against the side of Alastor's face.
Glowing pentagrams to match her own flashed in his eyes, and pink veins ran across his skin, before he collapsed unconscious onto the elegantly manicured lawns of the hotel.
As swiftly as it had burned through her, Velvette felt her powers evaporate, leaving her as helpless as she’d been when she fled the hotel.
Run.
It's not safe here. Run. Worry about Alastor's cryptic bullshit later.
She stumbled as she hurried away, sprinting down the hill and towards Pentagram City without a second look back.
Velvette slowed from a sprint to a walk once she reached the Entertainment District, wheezing and clutching a stitch in her side.
She really wasn't a sprinter, and it showed.
Pentagram City was still busy, despite the early hour. Velvette shivered as she navigated her way through the streets. Every Sinner she passed seemed more threatening than the last, and Velvette felt smaller by the second as they openly leered at her.
Either her month of hardship had left her unrecognizable, or word had gotten out that The Vees were no longer to be feared.
No matter what, we should be feared. I should be feared. I’m a fucking witch, you leering fuckers!
Vox was not going to be happy. After spending most of her existence as a Sinner laughing off her witchy side as nothing more than part of her doll gimmick, she’d just told Alastor her secret.
"Well. Fuck" Velvette muttered to herself "The black cat's out of the bag now"
The V Tower shone before her like a beacon. All she had to do was make it through those shiny glass doors and she'd be back in Vox's arms...
But she couldn’t do it without taking a breather first. Her lungs were burning and her heart was hammering in her chest as she recovered from her impromptu sprint away from the hotel.
Velvette came to a stop outside a familiar-looking storefront as she caught her breath. It was the same electronics store that she had seen Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench's ill-advised broadcast from.
The array of televisions was currently broadcasting one of Vox's travel shows. Despite being unable to leave The Pride Ring himself, Vox utilized the non-Sinner demons under his employ to run a variety of very successful travel shows that showcased what the Seven Rings of Hell had to offer for those able to traverse them.
Vox was wearing an all-white ship captain's uniform, sipping some sort of cocktail out of a coconut as he listened to an excitable-looking imp talk about what traveling through the Rings was like.
Velvette approached the storefront, pressing her hand against the glass. For a split-second, she could've sworn that Vox's red-and-blue eyes flicked over to look at her.
But she didn't have time to confirm her suspicions, because before she could look any closer a hairy arm suddenly wrapped around her waist and she was pulled away from the glass.
She found herself in the grip of a very tall, lupine Sinner. He was easily eight feet tall, if not taller, with a feral wolf's head that drooled as he leered down at her.
"You're pretty" he slurred, and Velvette realized he was drunk.
She also realized something else.
"You're one of Valentino's" she said, nodding at the gold tooth "You really don't want to do this, don't you know who I am?"
The wolf just stared blankly at her.
Huh. My dream was right. I don't look like myself.
"I'm Velvette, I'm a Vee you moron. If you touch me, you'll regret it for the rest of eternity" she said, trying to pull out of the wolf's grip.
The wolf just laughed.
"Please, A Vee? You? You're just a sad, pathetic little girl with nobody to protect her" the wolf said, leaning in and running his tongue along Velvette's cheek, making her shudder in repulsion "You're all alone, little girl, and I can do whatever the fuck I want with you-"
"No you fucking can't!" Velvette snarled, flexing her hand, intending on breaking the furry creep's neck with his own leather choker.
She was done being helpless. She was a the youngest Overlord in Hell’s history, and more than that she was A Witch and she was done denying it.
…and most importantly of all? She was Velvette. Her name was respected once, and it would be respected again.
She felt her newly re-kindled powers surge through her veins, and she readied herself to smite the furry creep with the power of a thousand suns...
But before she could do anything, a clawed hand sunk itself into the wolf's neck, and he collapsed anticlimactically to the ground in a convulsing heap of fur and sparks. His body smouldered as a pair of shiny dress shoes stepped over him.
Velvette let her eyes run up the long legs that were attached to the dress shoes, and her face split into a smile as she found herself staring into Vox's eyes. He was wearing his usual blue suit, and he looked the same as he ever did, immaculately turned-out and polished.
"...I'm sure you had that under control, but I couldn't resist intervening" Vox said, nudging the twitching mound of fur with his shoe "Are you alright?"
"I am now" she said, before trying to go in for a hug, holding her arms out with a huge grin on her face.
To her shock, Vox stepped back, shaking his head before turning to glare at a small crowd of curious onlookers that had gathered around them.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave" he threatened.
Velvette stared blankly at Vox's screen as the crowd quickly dispersed, slowly lowering her arms before finally turning to look at the array of televisions in the nearby storefront, which still showed a white-suited Vox chattering away to the traveling imp.
"One of my security cameras saw that you were in distress, so I left a hologram in my place and came running" Vox explained, straightening his bow-tie "So how's the hotel? The hotel that you're supposed to be staying at, because we're done. Remember?"
He's keeping up the charade. He's trying to protect me.
Despite knowing why Vox was acting so distant, Velvette felt so fragile that her lower lip wobbled and her eyes filled with tears.
She didn’t want to pretend anymore. She wanted to be in Vox’s arms.
Vox looked concerned, approaching her carefully.
"Has something happened?" he asked "...Velvette?"
"Why the fuck do you look so... fine!" Velvette finally snapped, slapping Vox's arm "It's been a month without me! You've been all alone in that tower and you should be more of a mess"
She slapped his arm several more times, before Vox grabbed her hands, laughing.
"I'm sorry to disappoint, sweetheart. But I'm not, with all due respect, you" he said "Now. What's going on?"
Velvette laughed in disbelief, trying to say something.
Wow. I can't believe I'm in love with such a dick.
But no words would come out.
She couldn't stop laughing, even as she felt Vox gently shake her. She only snapped out of her hysteria at the painful sting of a clawed hand slapping her across the face.
She looked up at Vox, stunned.
"Ow?"
"You were hysterical" he explained apologetically, touching the side of her face with far more affection "...I... whatever has happened, we shouldn't talk about it out here. I'm taking you home"
As if on cue, Vox's limousine pulled up at the curb next to them, looking as shiny and pristine as Vox did. Without another word, Vox wrapped his arm tightly around Velvette and guided her into the car, slamming the door shut behind them.
Velvette sat down next to Vox on one of the leather seats, leaning against him as he kept his arm wrapped tightly around her.
Slowly, he wrapped his other arm around her, and she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“…your back must be fucking killing you. Val and I haven’t been around to give you massages” she said quietly.
“Don’t worry, Eelijah has been a very dutiful assistant. Vel… I'm sorry. That's not the reunion I've been dreaming of" Vox said "I have to keep you at arm's length, so Lucifer doesn't think we're still an item, but I can't just openly push you away in the public eye because that would be catastrophic. I had to do a balancing act, for the sake of our image"
"Our precious fucking image. Perfection" said Velvette hollowly.
"I have missed you so much, Velvette. But admittedly I am slightly pissed off. I have spent a month protecting your image, and you repay me by going dancing around in front of every camera in Hell looking like this?" he motioned towards her interesting choice of attire.
"I didn't have a choice. Something's happened" Velvettte said, looking at Vox "Something bad... something..."
She trailed off as she stared into his eyes.
Vox...
I'm with Vox again.
Without another word she flung her arms around his shoulders and kissed him. Vox groaned as he pulled her closer, dragging her up into his lap, one of his hands moving from around her to cradle her face.
Velvette's dreams couldn't hold a candle to reality, she drank in the buzzing sensation of kissing The TV Demon, moving her hands to run them along the edge of his screen.
For a moment, she forgot all her worries. She was kissing one of the men she loved, safe in his arms like she'd dreamed of being, and she was out of that Lucifer-forsaken fucking hotel and heading back home.
...except...
The other man she loved was potentially dead, she was not safe no matter how tightly Vox held onto her, and Lucifer could obliterate their home in a snap of his fingers.
Velvette pulled back, smiling adoringly at Vox as she ran her fingers along the sides of his screen.
"I have to ruin the mood"
"...fuck" Vox groaned "Can't it wait five minutes?"
"It's urgent" Velvette said, kissing him one last time. She looked at his tense expression before grinning, sliding her hand between his legs.
Vox was painfully hard.
"Ha! My deal's made you a little frustrated, huh?" she teased.
Vox grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away from his crotch with a grimace, blush lines appearing on his screen.
"...you had something urgent to tell me?" he said.
Velvette's smirk vanished, and she nodded, sliding off Vox's knee and sitting besides him again. She rested her hands on his knee, hanging her head.
After so long feeling so very weak and helpless, after so long knowing that Vox viewed her as being so very weak and helpless, she wanted nothing more than to start by telling him about her rekindled connection to The Craft.
But she needed to tell him something more important first.
"I think I killed Val" she finally said, looking up and expecting to see horror and shock written all over Vox's screen.
To her surprise, he just looked slightly amused.
"Vox, what the fuck?! I'm not kidding!" Velvette said.
"I'm sorry my dear, but do you have any idea how many times I've 'killed' Val over the years? The hours I've wasted panicking and wringing my hands because I fought back... I have shot that fucker, I've strangled him, I've fried him, I've thrown him down elevator shafts, I've-"
"Okay, I get the picture, you and Val had a very unhealthy relationship!" Velvette said, trying not to feel too impressed at the thought of someone as spindly as Vox overpowering Valentino.
"Velvette, Val can sometimes take his sweet time regenerating. Has it been a few days and you're starting to panic? Don't. He will be just fine" Vox smiled comfortingly, leaning down and kissing the top of Velvette's head "Let me guess? You had a moment and crushed the dusty little shit?"
"Yeah. Good guess" Velvette looked up at Vox "But it hasn't been a few days, it's been a month"
Vox's screen momentarily glitched, and he looked for a moment like he was about to have a stroke.
"He... he... a month?" Vox finally wheezed out, his voice digitizing and warping on every other word "A month?!"
Velvette nodded.
"...and that's not the worst of it. We're in a lot of danger, Vox"
Vox's screen glitched in concern, and he craned his neck to look out the window. Traffic was as hellish as always, they hadn't moved since pulling away from the curb.
"Well, we have plenty of time. Tell me everything I've missed, darling"
Vox sat in silence, his elbows propped on his knees and his head in his hands as Velvette watched him nervously. He hadn't said a word as she'd spoken to him, he'd just looked more and more crushed.
The only thing Velvette hadn’t told him about was the witchy business. She still wasn’t sure how to bring it up, as it had all happened so suddenly, after years spent denying it.
Finally, Vox straightened up and looked down at her.
"...Velvette, I would never hurt you like that, I just wanted you to know-" he started to say, and Velvette’s jaw dropped in disbelief as she realized Vox was focusing on her stupid nightmare.
Velvette shot him a disbelieving look, snapping her fingers in his face.
"Uh. Hello? That is not the most pressing issue!"
"You're right, we are looking more fucked by the second. As angry as Charlie and her little friends are with Daddy Morningstar, they're all so nauseatingly nice that I'm sure this is being resolved with a song-and-dance number as we speak"
Velvette shuddered at the thought.
"As horrifying as that mental image is, maybe Charlie will restrain Lucifer from doing anything rash?" she suggested.
"Lucifer's in love, my dear, and that makes us do crazy things. I'm sure it won't be hard for Alastor to convince Lucifer that not only are you a liar, but that The Vees constitute a threat to all of Pride- if not all of Hell. The only reason he didn't do that the second he got into bed with Lucifer is because he wanted to split us up and make us suffer, but now? He wants us dead as quickly as possible before we can prove that he is the little thief who swiped the potion"
"I don't see how we can prove shit... and how are you so sure about Alastor's motivations?" Velvette asked.
Vox pulled out his phone, bringing up a text from an unknown number.
Velvette read it with furrowed brows.
"'My old friend, Lucifer is so terribly upset to hear that his potion was stolen by The Vees, and he is even more appalled to learn of the true nature of his daughters new pet. You can't save yourself, but you can save her-' this is the text you got, on the way to the Overlord's Meeting" Velvette realized "Oh, Vox. I thought you were acting weird"
She leaned over, kissing his screen, Vox kissed her back gently.
"He was playing mind games. He only ever wanted us all dead. Old-timey prick" Vox muttered.
"What do we do? Do we even have a hope of protecting ourselves?" Velvette asked.
…I’m a witch, Vox. Let me be a witch. Maybe that’s what we need right now…
"Against Alastor alone? Maybe. But not against The King Of Hell" Vox tapped a claw against his phone, looking thoughtful "...we can't flee. There's nowhere to go in Pride that we won't be easily found in, and the other Rings are inaccessible to us"
"Who can stop an angry Sin in his tracks?" Velvette sighed "...even The First Man couldn't do it"
"Maybe a whole fleet of angels could. Or, I guess, another Sin might be able to slow him down... but how would we turn them against..."
Vox turned to look at Velvette, who stared at him.
"Oh, that would be risky" Velvette said.
"The only alternative is curling up and waiting for the inevitable" Vox said.
"Is there any chance that Lucifer will calm down enough to hear us out? Or that he'll-" Vox was already shaking his head.
"Alastor is going to pour poison in that pretty little ear and we are going to get fucked"
"So. We use the nuclear option" Velvette sighed "Nice knowing you, Vox"
"Nice knowing you too, Velvette" Vox smiled softly down at her "If this is the end... I'm glad I get to spend it with you"
Velvette smiled, climbing back onto Vox's knee and kissing him, her face buzzing from the warm static of his screen.
"If we survive this" she whispered against his lips "You can fuck me three times in every fucking hole"
"Wow, and they say Val was the romantic one!" Vox joked, making her laugh.
Velvette fussed over her hair and makeup as she and Vox hastily dressed themselves to the nines in Vox's dressing room. They had ten minutes until an impromptu broadcast would air across all of Hell.
"You don't need to look perfect, Velvette" Vox reminded her, kissing the top of her head and making her shiver as he grabbed a bottle of cologne.
"...yeah, and Hell's not gonna know what you smell like" Velvette pointed out, smoothing down the front of her dress before continuing to fuss with the casually messy up-do she'd pinned her curls into.
Her dress had a high collar, and she wanted to keep her hair off it. She'd been a mess for so long, and tonight she wanted to look composed and trustworthy.
"Do you think The Sin Of Lust is a tits or leg man?" she asked, examining both assets in Vox's vanity mirror.
"Sweetheart, we're trying to convince The Sins that we can be trusted, not give them erections" Vox reminded her.
"But he's The Sin Of Lust, I'm sure it won't hurt" Velvette fussed with her false eyelashes "...Vox. I know you wanted me to drop it, but... I wanted to talk to you about..."
She trailed off, turning to look at him with a grimace. Vox stared at her, looking suspicious.
"About?" Vox tilted his screen.
"Witchcraft"
"Absolutely not, Velvette. I know I have been a controlling fucker, but this is something I'm not budging on- please. I thought we'd settled this years ago?"
He took her hands, smiling down at her.
"I told Alastor I'm a witch. I don't know what came over me, I haven't even thought of myself as a witch for so long..." Velvette said with an apologetic smile “…and then I zapped him in the head with magic and knocked him out. I... might've forgotten to mention that bit when I told you what you'd missed..."
Her smile faded at the horrified look on Vox’s face.
"Velvette!" Vox looked appalled "Oh fuck, we really need to go live... if Alastor tells Lucifer…”
He hesitated.
"Is there something you're not telling me, Vox?" Velvette asked.
"Velvette, I am so, so proud of you. Please believe me. I will tell you everything you need to know after our broadcast, okay? Right now, we're out of time"
He kissed her, and Velvette sighed against his buzzing embrace, nodding once he let her go.
"Fine. But I'm not putting the black cat back in the bag, Voxxy-" she ignored Vox's confused expression "-I've been through so much, and calling myself a witch and using my powers? It made me feel so powerful. I don't want to feel helpless anymore. I'm not some Barbie Doll with magical fashion doll powers, and I'm not your helpless damsel in distress. I am a fucking Overlord and I am a fucking witch"
Vox looked equal parts proud and apprehensive.
"I suppose I can't argue with that. You're a witch" Vox said, sounding resigned as he turned to straighten his cuffs in the mirror, muttering to himself "...because we needed more danger looming over us..."
Velvette ignored his muttering, leaning against him and holding up her phone for a selfie.
"Say Salem Witch Trials!" she said, giggling at the look on Vox's face as she took the photo, soon becoming so wrapped up in composing the perfect caption that she barely reacted as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the dressing room.
Turn the TV on! That's an order! xx
The studio lights made Velvette's head spin as she followed Vox onto his set, her hand holding tightly onto his.
Vox couldn't sweat, so Velvette got to experience the humiliating sensation of her sweaty palms slipping against his perfectly dry ones as he guided her over to his desk and took a seat.
Without asking, he pulled Velvette onto his knee and wrapped his arm around her, looking lovingly into her eyes.
"Eelijah!" he called out "Lock-down the entire building. Maximum security protocols"
Eelijah, standing to the side and clutching a clipboard, looked startled.
"Y-you mean... Security Protocol: Apollyon?" he stammered out.
"Yes, Eelijah. That's what I said. Get to it" Vox snapped his fingers in Eelijah's direction, causing the long-suffering eel to scurry away. Velvette smiled, leaning against Vox slightly.
"Do I look ridiculous?" she asked "Sitting on your knee like a shy little girl who doesn't want to leave Mommy's side?"
Vox frowned.
"That is... quite the metaphor. But no, darling. You look fine. I'd rather keep you here anyway, in case the worst happens mid-broadcast"
"Good, because I'm not moving" Velvette frowned as she looked over at the cameras "We don't have any evidence. How the fuck are we going to d-"
Vox wordlessly pulled the empty potion bottle, complete with glowing green dregs at the bottom, out from under his desk.
"How the fuck do you have that? It got smashed to pieces!" Velvette said, stunned.
“It’s amazing what you can do in Hell- I met a Sinner with a clock for a face. They couldn't reverse time, but they could un-shatter glass objects” Vox explained.
“That is… suspiciously lucky” Velvette frowned.
“I coerced him into selling his soul to me. Don’t worry. He doesn’t pose a threat to us” Vox said, placing the bottle on the desk.
Velvette raised a brow.
“Clever” she said.
"Going live in ten... nine... eight..." Eelijah started to count down.
Velvette and Vox exchanged a kiss.
"I love you" they said at the same time.
"...five... four..." Eelijah kept counting.
"Velvette. If we somehow don't die a horrifying death in the next few hours... will you marry me?" Vox turned to her with a winning grin.
"LIVE!"
"Good morning Pride!" said Vox with a smarmy grin, turning to the nearest camera and ignoring Velvette as she gaped at him in disbelief and shock.
...do I want to marry him?
The answer was simple.
Yes. Yes I do.
I hope I get the chance to tell him.
“We’re probably going to die soon, so fuck any form of build-up or anticipation. This isn’t a ratings stunt, this is a last ditch attempt to save our lives” Vox tapped the bottle with one claw “Our pretty little king has been a very naughty Angel”
Velvette laughed, shaking off the shock of Vox's proposal.
“That doesn’t even begin to cover it. Once this gets out the Prince of Lies is getting his ass spanked so hard by Heaven that Val will probably sell premium tickets to watch”
“Why don’t you tell our viewers what Lucifer has done, hm?” Vox suggested.
Velvette grinned.
"With pleasure! The Number One most desirable bachelor in Salem has been a very wicked…” Velvette slowly trailed off, her smile becoming more and more frozen.
It was a joke. A tongue-in-cheek reference to the archaic view that witches were the brides of The Devil.
But that was what Velvette used to believe, during her ‘cringe’ goth phase. She thought she had to offer herself to whatever dark power would listen, in exchange for magical abilities.
She got her abilities. But what did she give up?
…and who did she give it up to?
You know who.
Velvette glanced at Vox, who smiled sadly at her. He could see she’d worked it out.
I’ve got so many questions, Vox. I only hope we have the chance to talk about them.
…I’ve only got one shot. Time to make it count.
She picked up the bottle, presenting it to the camera.
“I’ll cut to the chase” she said, tapping the bottle with one of her fingernails “King Lucifer thought he could rig the game for his little princess without any consequences. He couldn’t. He might be The King Of Hell, but I’m that #bitch, and I’m not afraid to eat you lot for breakfast”
Velvette smirked as she felt Vox’s arm tighten around her.
“…so listen carefully, because I doubt I’m gonna get the chance to repeat myself...”
To Be Continued…
Notes:
🎶Oh no, must be the season of the witch
Must be the season of the witch
Must be the season of the witch🎶Now for some author's notes, as a little treat:
1. I am well and truly Making Shit Up. I wouldn't be surprised if Velvette is canonically meant to be a witch, but the nitty-gritty of it all is my own invention.
2. As we all know, sharks are smooth. 🦈
3. 'Sarnie' is British slang for a sandwich.
4. I've decided Vox can perform all bodily functions *except* sweat. I will not be answering any questions on the logic of this.
Chapter 18: Oops! Did I Strike A Nerve?
Notes:
I am so sorry for the delay! I have been ~*extremely*~ busy lately, and more than that I found this chapter very challenging to finish for whatever reason. But! It's finished now, and I'm so happy to finally share it with you all. Enjoy!
Chapter Text
You could say a lot of uncharitable things about Velvette, but you couldn't say she was an airhead. If so much as a button went missing in her studio, she’d know about it before you could say "Melissa, you're fired!"
However, her knowledge of The V Tower as a whole was… lacking.
She knew how to get around it, she knew where The Vees’ penthouses, offices, and studios were, and she knew what buttons to press if she needed to trigger an Extermination Day lock-down.
That, as far as she was concerned, was all she needed to know about Alastor Vox's Ominous Tower Of Over-Compensation.
(Not that Vox was compensating for anything. Even if he paled in comparison to Valentino, he was still an extremely well-endowed man)
Velvette had been vaguely aware of a mysterious security protocol known as Apollyon, but she'd never been curious enough about it to ask more.
However, Apollyon turned out to be such a let-down that Velvette would've been sorely disappointed if she had inquired about it.
It really was impossible to overstate how dull the whole thing was, compared to how exciting and promising a name like Apollyon was. As they did every Extermination Day, sirens blared and red hazard lights flashed all over the V Tower as blast-proof shutters slid down to cover the windows.
The only difference to a regular Extermination Day lock-down was that once the shutters locked into place, a second set of shutters started to deploy from the top of the V Tower, covering the building like extra-shiny cling film.
"Angelic Steel-plated" Vox explained, tapping the screen of Eelijah's VoxPad with his claw as he and Velvette watched the building lock itself down from the comfort of Vox’s still-crowded studio "Nothing comes in, nothing comes out"
Velvette watched with her lips twisted into a grimace of disappointment. She'd been expecting flamethrowers and a small army of robots, if she was being honest.
"Why don't we use this every Extermination Day, isn't it safer?" she finally asked, deciding to spare Vox her blistering criticism of how boring Angelic-Steel-Cling-Film was compared to her Terminator-style imaginings.
"Because the only way to get out of the building now is by blasting our way out, this is a one-shot defense mechanism and not one I wanted to waste on an annual event" Vox explained, turning the VoxPad off "Can we switch off the alarms? I'm getting a fucking headache..."
"Pop a Midol then, pussy" Velvette said with a smirk in Vox's direction, the red hazard lights dyeing him purple until a VoxTek drone loyally switched them and the alarms off.
"...oh ha, ha, ha. You won't be smirking in a second, my dear. My head's killing me because Apollyon also severs all signals coming to and from the tower. Bye-bye Sinstagram" Vox said with a downright wicked grin on his screen as he glanced at Velvette.
Velvette felt her heart skip a beat, checking her phone hurriedly.
Just as Vox had promised, she had no signal whatsoever.
"FUCK!" she screamed, stamping her foot as Vox laughed.
Vox's mirth didn't last very long. The TV Demon constantly had signals broadcasting to and from his brain, and their unexpected interruption was causing him to be an even bigger bitch than usual.
Velvette was sitting in Vox's chair, taking selfies she could upload if- when- things returned to normal. She watched Vox pace out of the corner of her eyes, almost able to see the mounting irritation within her lover.
Lover, or fiancee?
Just tell him yes, Velvette. Why are you dragging your heels on this?
"What the fuck are you all staring at?! Fuck off!" Vox snarled at their audience as he rubbed at his antennae with two fingers, his fangs bared.
...okay. Maybe now isn't the right time.
The group of enslaved souls that Vox had used as an audience were milling around with nothing to do. At Vox's outburst, several VoxTek employees sprang into action, attempting crowd-control to mixed results.
Normally, Vox's tantrums didn't bother Velvette at all.
But a lot of things had changed, lately.
Putting her phone away, she fidgeted with Valentino's bracelet, her heart hammering in her chest as she watched Vox simmer with poorly-concealed rage and frustration.
"...what are you staring at?" Vox turned to snap at her, causing Velvette to jolt and remorse to instantly flicker across his screen "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"
"I'm starving" Velvette said quickly, getting to her feet and forcing a smile as she walked around Vox, shoulder-checking his elbow as she peered into the audience "MELISSA! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
Melissa was a middling chef, but with Kitty dismantled by Vox weeks ago (for obvious reasons), Velvette couldn't think of anyone else to demand her long-desired bacon-and-egg sarnie from.
Despite the mediocre quality of her breakfast-come-lunch, Velvette was so hungry that she moaned as she bit into her sarnie, not even caring about the egg that got all over her hands.
Melissa fidgeted nervously, looking as though she was expecting the sandwich to be thrown at her head at any second.
(Truth be told, it wasn't exactly an irrational fear. Melissa had worn Velvette's coffee more than once)
"It's good?" she finally asked.
"Meh. It's fine" said Velvette with her mouth still full "You're dismissed"
Melissa started to turn, before Velvette swallowed so quickly she nearly choked herself, holding out a hand towards her long-suffering assistant.
"Wait!" she choked out.
Melissa turned back, her eyes wide and terrified.
"Thank-you. For doing this" Velvette said, smiling genuinely "...and thank-you for everything you've done for me. You're a good assistant"
Melissa stared at Velvette in shock, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.
"...you can go now" Velvette said with a dismissive wave of her hand "Find somewhere safe and stay there"
Melissa quickly nodded, walking through the anxiously bustling crowd that filled Vox's studio as she made her way to...
...well, Velvette didn't really care. She was trying to be nicer, but she wasn't aiming for redemption.
Vox was sitting on the edge of his stage, his bow-tie hanging loose around his neck and the top buttons of his shirt undone as he drank directly from a bottle of liquor.
Velvette has always had a very specific kink for how good Vox looked when he let his hair down- metaphorically speaking. The skin he'd exposed when he'd undone his shirt collar made her pulse quicken as she walked towards him.
He'd stopped shouting, and his rage had simmered down to a harmless melancholy, so Velvette felt more at-ease with approaching him.
"Drinking away your feelings?" she asked, dropping down next to him and leaning against his shoulder.
"There's nothing better to do, so why not? Whatever Lucifer decides to do, we're trapped" Vox said, taking a swing.
"What happened to our brand is perfection?" Velvette asked.
"These fuckers?" Vox pointed at the crowd "I own them, or you own them, or Val owns them. So fuck them, and their opinion of me"
He glanced down at Velvette.
"I am so sorry I yelled at you" he said, with a sincerity that his apologies usually lacked.
Then again, I'm sorry I yelled at the woman I love is very different to I'm sorry my self-driving Voxmobiles killed everyone you love in a fiery inferno. At least, it was very different to someone with Vox's lackluster moral compass.
"I'm sorry you did too" said Velvette, before a burst of temporary insanity overtook her "But, I agreed to marry an asshole from the 50's with a nasty temper, not Saint Peter. I love you, even the parts of you that make me want to slap you"
Vox laughed, before his screen glitched.
"You agreed to marry-" he started to say, before Velvette shook her head, going red.
"I want a huge fucking ring" she said.
"Oh, Velvette..." Vox leaned down to briefly kiss her lips, their audience making him too shy to be more amorous "You're going to get the biggest ring in Hell"
Velvette nodded with a smile, before ruining the moment by cramming the rest of her sandwich into her mouth with all the grace of Valentino staggering home after a night on the town.
"...it's like Val never left" said Vox dryly, clearly thinking of the moth as much as Velvette was, wiping away an errant bit of egg from her lips with his thumb as she swallowed.
"I guess we should accept that even if there was any hope of reviving Val, Lucifer probably smote him once he saw our broadcast" said Velvette, wiping her fingers clean with Vox's jacket.
Vox's temper put her on edge.
But she'd always loved playing with fire.
"I'm sure I'll be pretty fucking upset later, but right now I..." Vox shook his head "I don't know. Maybe Val managed to push me too far. I feel numb"
Velvette finished cleaning her hands by brushing them against Vox's trousers. The older Overlord continued not to notice.
"Or maybe we're just in shock" Vox finished with a shrug.
"Well, you certainly are. You haven't said a word about how I just fucked up your suit" said Velvette, smirking as she pulled away from Vox.
Vox jolted, looking down at himself and taking in the eggy damage to his suit, before gritting his teeth furiously.
"VELVETTE!" he snarled, and Velvette gleefully bolted, laughing as Vox chased her around his desk.
She did feel a temporary pang of concern that Vox may actually be angry, but it soon melted away. Vox had much longer legs than Velvette, he could've caught her in seconds, but he didn't. He played along with their obvious game.
Vox was not a fan of PDA.
But Velvette was, and she could tell that Vox was playing along for her benefit.
The thought made her feel warm inside, and she couldn't quite wipe the grin off her face as she kept running, looping around Vox's desk before weaving through the auditorium.
The gathered crowd in the studio stopped and stared as their feared bosses acted like love-struck teenagers before their eyes, before they wordlessly started to file out of the studio.
VoxTek's best and brightest couldn't clear out a room, but Vox and Velvette's libidos sure could.
Velvette 'let' Vox catch her by his desk, pretending to run out of breath as she slumped against it. She shrieked theatrically as Vox pounced on her and pinned her against the desk like a predator seizing it's prey, his hands pressing her shoulders down as she lay on her back, Vox looming over her with a hungry expression on his screen.
"Oh no, what are you going to do to me now, Voxxy?" Velvette pretended to simper.
Vox ran a clawed hand against the front of Velvette's dress, gently enough not to rip it, but firmly enough to make Velvette shudder all the same.
"Mr. Vox! I'm so sorry I've been such a bad girl, are you gonna fuck me in public, in front of all these..." Velvette went to gesture towards the crowd, before staring as she realized the studio was empty "...oh"
"Yes. Oh" Vox said, shrugging off his jacket and letting it hit the floor.
Velvette reached up, covering Vox's hands with her own.
"I love you, Vox" she said softly.
"I love you too, my dear. Now you were saying something about being such a bad girl?"
"Velvette, there really isn't anything to feel embarrassed about" Vox said, lying across the desk so he could keep his arms wrapped tightly around Velvette as she sat on the edge, her hands primly folded in her lap and her head hanging in shame "It's been a while, you do have a history of this happening, you've been through a lot, and not to brag but I'm... very large..."
They had tried. Lucifer they had tried.
Vox had gone down on her for so long that Velvette was still trembling slightly from the over-stimulation, he'd even managed to get three fingers inside her without any issue.
But apparently, actually letting in Vox's penis was beyond the capabilities of Velvette's body right now. Every time they'd tried, no matter what angle they'd tried it from, Velvette had stiffened up and started crying out for him to stop.
Vox had complied without complaint every time, and he was being so nice about Velvette's little problem that it made her feel even worse.
She was an Overlord, she wasn't supposed to be so...
...weak.
"You're not weak" Vox said, making Velvette whip her head around to stare at him.
"Since when were you a mind-reader?"
"I'm not. I just know you very well, and I'm weak was written all over that pretty face" Vox said gently, stroking the side of her face "Velvette, sex is a very personal and complicated thing. Things go wrong, and people can't always perform, and it's completely normal"
"Maybe for men. But this isn't supposed to happen to women. Especially not bad bitches like me" Velvette muttered "...and since when have you been so enlightened about sex? Your boyfriend is a pimp that thinks consent is something you put on a cake"
Vox laughed, sliding across the desk so he could sit with Velvette nestled between his legs as he hung them over the side, kicking his feet slightly as they dangled in the air.
"I loved- love- Valentino. I really do. You know what I gave up to be with him" Vox said softly.
"Val made you hard, Vox. That's lust, not love. You already had a dedicated partner" Velvette said softly.
"Maybe it was just lust, at first. But either way, it's love now. However, no matter how much I love him, I'm not Valentino. There is a lot he does that pisses me off, or outright disgusts me" Vox said gently "I have my own morals"
"You've still condoned what he does for a very long time" Velvette said.
"So have you"
Velvette nodded ruefully, sighing as Vox wrapped his arms around her tightly. She ran her hands along his forearms and closed her eyes as she rested her head against his chest.
"You can point fingers all you want, but Valentino was your boyfriend too, beautiful" Vox said, moving one of his hands so he could start carding his claws through her hair, meticulously pulling out bobby pins so he could stroke her curls more "I remember a beautiful little Sinner telling me that she used to spy on Valentino assaulting her new best friend Angel Dust for her own pleasure..."
Velvette stiffened up, and Vox laughed darkly.
"...I can't believe Angel's been so nice to me..." she said "I don't deserve it"
"Well, it's not like Angel's never gotten a thrill out of watching Val turn his ire towards someone else" Vox said with a dark chuckle "I'm sure you've seen how sweet Val could be to Angel when he was in a good mood, and we've both seen Val be protective of his little starlet"
Velvette didn't miss the note of jealousy in Vox's voice.
"Val could be sweet to you too, and he could be protective..." she soothed him.
"Yeah, I felt really fucking safe with Val when he'd rape me and smash my screen to pieces" Vox said, continuing to pull out bobby pins.
"I didn't mean-"
"I know what you meant, Babydoll, don't worry about it. Valentino was a fucking monster, and now he's..." Vox trailed off, his hand moving away from her hair.
"He's dead" Velvette said for him, her voice echoing slightly in the empty studio.
The arm holding her started to shake, before Vox moved it away, his body trembling against hers. Confused, Velvette slid to her feet and turned around to face Vox.
Vox had his head in his hands, his shoulders convulsing in violent, silent sobs. His silence didn't last long, and he soon began openly crying, digital blue tears dripping down his screen before converting into physical water as they dripped off the edge and onto his shirt's collar.
(Velvette didn't know why Vox's tears became physical once they left his screen, the same way she didn't understand how his mouth worked)
Velvette stared at Vox, completely dumbfounded.
She had never seen Vox cry like this before.
She didn't really know what to do. If their positions were reversed, Vox would've held her and soothed her without hesitation, but she had no idea if he'd appreciate the same treatment.
He was still a very proud man.
The silence stretched on, broken only by the sound of Vox weeping.
I can't take this any more. Fuck it.
Velvette slowly climbed back onto the desk, kneeling up next to Vox before wrapping her arms around his shoulders, resting her cheek against one of his suit's shoulder-pads.
Vox kept sobbing, his wails of despair echoing around the thankfully-empty studio. Velvette held him close, rubbing his arms and making soothing noises as she very gently rocked him in her grip.
"Val, Val, oh fuck me, Val!" Vox wept.
"It's okay, Voxxy. Everything's going to be okay" Velvette lied.
Velvette could've slapped herself. She'd only just accepted Vox's marriage proposal, and only a few hours later she found herself in Valentino's kitchen, wearing an apron and making dinner for them both, feeling disgustingly domestic.
Vox's crying fit had brought down a lot of her walls, apparently.
She'd made pasta puttanesca, dishing it up at Val's little-used dining table as Vox approached her with a smile.
"You're doing the dishes" she said firmly, dropping the pot with a clang as Vox kissed her cheek. He just chuckled, squeezing her backside with one of his clawed hands.
"You look fucking sexy in an apron, Velvette. Maybe you should cook for me more often" he whispered in her ear, earning himself a well-deserved elbow to the crotch and causing him to double over in pain.
Velvette felt no remorse as she sat down, watching Vox limp to his own chair.
"Bon appetite" she said, raising a glass of wine in a mocking toast.
"To our future" Vox said with a pained grimace, downing the glass in one before picking up his fork and twirling some noodles around it, taking one bite of Velvette's cooking before he moaned.
"...you gotta be fucking kidding me. Why have you never cooked for me before?" he asked.
"Because I'm not some simpering little housewife. I don't dress for my man, and I don't cook for my man" Velvette said, twirling her own pasta around her fork before taking a mouthful and swallowing "Fuck me. I'm good"
"Modest, too!" Vox teased “No, you’re right. You’re not a housewife, a good housewife would’ve provided me with an heir by now. All I’ve gotten out of you is a hysterical pregnancy and your uncomfortably obvious Daddy Kink”
Velvette bristled, snarling as she got to her feet and slammed her hands against the table.
Vox laughed at her reaction, before the grin was wiped off his face when Velvette used a burst of witchcraft and sent the leftover pasta hurtling at his face.
(Just the pasta, not the pot. She couldn’t bring herself to crack Vox’s screen)
The pasta made impact with a wet splat, and Vox sat in stunned silence as spaghetti slowly slid off his screen and onto his lap.
“Alright. I deserved that” he finally said.
“You did. It was kinda funny, though, in a sick way” Velvette admitted with a grin, sitting back down again before picking up her glass in another mock-toast "To my hysterical pregnancy, Daddy"
Vox laughed, refilling his glass and toasting her in return.
For a second, everything felt normal, but the impenetrable shutters that darkened the room were impossible to ignore for too long. Soon enough, the smiles slid off their faces and they finished dinner in silence.
Vox and Velvette showered together, and it was under the spray that Vox started to sob again.
Velvette rubbed his back, tears streaming down her own face and slipping away unseen into the shower drain as she did so.
Vox fell asleep with his screen pressed against Velvette's breasts while she rubbed his back in slow, comforting circles, lying back against Valentino’s silk sheets.
Despite the current impossibility of sex, they'd gone to bed naked, just to be as close to one another as possible. Velvette's more cynical side wondered if Vox's sleeping position was just for comfort.
After all, Valentino wasn't the only pervert in the V Tower.
Despite the unusual and slightly unsettling sensation of static buzzing against her breasts, Velvette soon fell asleep, her lack of sleep the previous night catching up with her.
Her sleep was blessedly dreamless, but it was cut short by her worst nightmare.
In contrast to the peaceful way she'd fallen asleep, Velvette woke up with a jolt. She was drenched in a cold sweat, and her body ached from the sheer weight of sleeping underneath Vox's much larger frame.
But that wasn't the worst part of her sudden awakening, the worst part was the sight of a pair of glowing red eyes with sickly yellow irises, staring unblinkingly down at her.
A unusually-warm, blackened hand with bloody red fingers was pressed against her lips in a hushing gesture, and as Velvette's eyes widened in horror, Lucifer slowly smirked down at her.
He was in his true form, complete with a hellish flame flickering between his red horns and serpentine halo.
It had never been clearer to Velvette that he was The Devil.
She felt her head start to throb as she tried to look directly at him, looking away with a whimper as Lucifer grabbed her by the shoulders, dragging her out from underneath Vox and out of bed.
It was a miracle he didn't wake Vox, but then again, Lucifer was a fallen angel. It made sense that he could be miraculous.
Velvette kept whimpering as Lucifer held her before him, his fingers painfully digging into her skin. Velvette slowly became aware that his wings were extended out behind him, the feathers ruffling as though he were impatient.
"Hello, honey. Haven't you been busy?" Lucifer said, his voice reverberating like a hellish symphony.
Velvette's proximity to Lucifer became too much, and she gagged. Lucifer rolled his eyes before quickly spinning her around so that she could be sick onto the floor.
He gave her a few second's grace before he grabbed her by the hair and started dragging her out of the room.
"If he tries to intervene, he dies, so don't get any smart ideas about waking him up" he warned, and Velvette stayed as quiet as a church mouse, watching as Valentino's bedroom door was swung shut by magic.
Vox...
Lucifer didn't say a word to Velvette as he dragged her into the elevator and hit the button for the rooftop.
"How did you get in?" Velvette finally asked, her voice raw as she carefully averted her eyes from Lucifer and his painfully angelic true form as much as she could.
"Did you really think your Apollyon bullshit would keep me out?" Lucifer asked with a scoff.
"We had faith. You should get some. Or maybe it's hard for God's least favorite fucking angel to do that" Velvette snarled, wondering how Lucifer knew what Vox's security protocol was called.
Maybe Angel Dust told him.
"Oh! I see, you think pissing me off more is a good idea? You really are a moron, you know that, right?" Lucifer turned to face her and Velvette squeezed her eyes shut, whimpering as she felt Lucifer’s too-warm hand brush against her cheek “Tell me, do you think I’m harmless? Do you think I’m some sort of cute fucking novelty?”
Velvette shook her head, tears running down her face out of sheer terror, before she flinched as she heard the ding of the elevator doors opening.
“I am the King Of Hell, I am your king, and you are going to learn to fear me” Lucifer said darkly.
Velvette felt his hands curl around her arms before there was a whoosh as she was moved at unnatural speeds. The next thing she knew her legs were dangling in the air and one of Lucifer's hands were wrapped around her throat, choking her, but not enough to allow her to slip into unconsciousness.
Velvette opened her eyes and immediately started screaming with what little air she had access to.
Lucifer was dangling her over the edge of the V Tower, high up in the air.
"NO! No! Please! Please, don't do this! Please!" she screamed, her voice rasping and desperate, kicking her legs and grasping at Lucifer's wrist "PLEASE!'
"Aw, are you scared, Velvette? You should've thought of that before you endangered my daughter!" Lucifer snarled.
"We didn't do anything to Charlie! We were trying to protect ourselves- from you!" Velvette pleaded, tears dripping down her face.
"...and how were you trying to do that? Oh yeah, by using the other Sins and fucking Heaven to do your dirty work. Well fucking done! Heaven has summoned me to a hearing and the other Sins want to call an emergency meeting" Lucifer snarled, pulling her in closer “Do you have any idea what either of those parties is capable of doing to Char-Char?”
Velvette retched, and Lucifer rolled his eyes again and held her at arm's length as bile came up, burning her throat as it did so.
“What does that have to do with Charlie?" she rasped “If Heaven wants to spank you, it’s not going to hurt anything but her treasured memories of you”
"Heaven can't kill me. They can certainly hurt me a lot, and I'm sure they will, but I'm the King of fucking Hell. I don't think anyone wants to think about the potential fallout from my death- if I'm even able to die. You could be looking at literal Hell on Earth"
Velvette sniffled, tears running down her face.
"It's the same reason my fellow Sins won't touch me. Oh, but Char-Char, my daughter, my little princess? Heaven will kill her slowly and painfully to teach me a lesson, trust me, I know they've wanted to do it for a while. As for The Sins, some of them would never hurt her in a million years… but I can think of one or two who don’t like that their poor, depressed little angel of a King holds power over them. They’d hurt her just to make me cry”
Velvette took a wheezing breath.
"...I'm sorry, we didn't know-" was all she managed to say before Lucifer dropped her, and then all she could do was scream.
It all happened so fast that she didn't even have time to contemplate her impending demise. She didn't even know if the fall would kill her. Yes, she was technically immortal, but if it was an angel dropping her...
...well. Who knows what the rules are. All Velvette knew in that moment was sheer terror.
The wind whipped at her hair as she plummeted, screaming bloody murder until she was caught by a pair of surprisingly strong arms.
"There, there" Lucifer said with a mocking grin "I've got you"
Velvette whimpered, and it was at that point she finally woke up enough to realize she was still naked. She was naked and hovering hundreds of feet in the air above Pride for all to see.
"Oh... oh my God..." she gasped out, covering herself with her hands and feeling her cheeks go even redder than Lucifer's.
"Please don't bring him up around me" Lucifer said "...and don't be so dramatic. Nudity doesn't mean anything to me"
"Fuck you! I'm naked in front of all of Pride!" Velvette snarled.
Lucifer fluttered back upwards, bringing them back to the rooftop and alighting on the ground, reverting to his 'normal' appearance and mercifully stopping Velvette's headache.
As he folded his wings away into nothingness, Velvette let herself sob, covering her face with her hands and curling up in fear as Lucifer held onto her tightly.
"I'm damned, Velvette. I can take whatever punishment Heaven and the Sins mete out to me... but I won't let Charlie get hurt" Lucifer said with surprisingly softness.
"How is killing me going to fix that?" Velvette asked with a sniffle, lowering her hands and looking back up at Lucifer, before immediately regretting it.
Lucifer's soft tone had been deceptive. His pretty face was twisted with a very ugly sort of rage.
“I don’t let a lot of people in, but I let you in, honey. You repaid me by trying to get me smote by heaven” Lucifer said as he approached the edge of the rooftop again "...and for what? Did you really think I was going to hurt you? After everything I did for you?"
"You've got Alastor in your ear, Lucifer. He's poisoned your mind-" she started to say.
"Oh, Velvette. I love Alastor, but he's not that persuasive. I wasn't going to hurt a hair on your pretty little head... but then you endangered Charlie" Lucifer reached the edge of the roof, holding Velvette over the edge once more.
She started to scream, kicking and flailing, but it was to no avail. Lucifer was too strong.
Seeing oblivion hurtling towards her, she gave up on being polite. She'd said it herself, she was respectless.
"YOU WERE GOING TO USE ME AS A TEST SUBJECT! YOU'RE A TWO-FACED FUCKING BITCH! YOU 'LET ME IN' BECAUSE YOU FELT GUILTY! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU FOREVER! I HOPE THAT CHARLIE GETS VIVISECTED BY HEAVEN AND THAT THE SINS PISS ON THE FUCKING PIECES!" Velvette screamed, trying and failing to claw at Lucifer's face "ALL YOU'RE DOING IS PROVING TO ALL OF HELL THAT VOX AND I STRUCK A FUCKING NERVE!"
Lucifer paused, laughing. It wasn't a very healthy-sounding laugh.
"Just one more thing, little witch. You're not exactly my bride, but I do own your body and soul by default. So! I’m going to throw you off this rooftop, take your pulverized body, and reshape it into a facsimile of Char-Char, and then you can face whatever punishment Charlie would’ve received because of my indiscretions. Don’t let it be said I’m not pragmatic. Oh, and don't think you'll have any say in the matter. I own your fucking soul"
Velvette's heart skipped a beat, and shook her head desperately.
“Please. Please, Lucifer. Please don’t-”
“…and if there’s anything left of your sanity when Heaven and the Sins are done with you, I’ll obliterate your physical form and force you to live on as a spirit- and you will spend eternity watching Vox die an agonizing and slow death, over, and over, and over again… now. Have a nice trip down, dear" he said, before tossing her.
Velvette screamed more loudly than she had the first time, clawing at nothingness as the ground approached her at dizzying speeds...
...and then she was caught.
"You angelic fuck" she snarled, before very quickly realizing that it wasn't Lucifer who had caught her. For a start, the wings she could hear flapping were far larger than Lucifer's were.
...and for another thing, as she was quickly flown back up to the rooftop, she could see Lucifer standing on the edge and staring at her in dumbfounded shock.
"That's... interesting" the fallen angel finally said.
Velvette turned to look at her savior, only to startle so much she nearly fell out of his grip.
“Val?!”
Several Hours Earlier
Angel Dust loved music. He loved listening to it, and he loved making it. As a gangster, one of his many nicknames had been songbird.
But even the most whimsically musical of people have limits, and as much as Angel loved Charlie and Lucifer...
...holy shit those two could be sappy.
Charlie and Lucifer's reconciliation was so saccharine that Angel could practically taste sugar as he watched them twirl, singing promises of trust and love to each other in a never-ending shower of sparkles.
Their duet ended with Charlie weeping and Lucifer tripping over himself to apologize. It was disgustingly sappy, but Angel smiled to himself nonetheless as he watched Lucifer pull Charlie into his arms.
What could he say? He was fond of the idealistic little fool, and he knew how much she loved her Daddy. As sappy as it was watching Charlie and Lucifer sing their way to reconciliation, Angel couldn't deny that the moment was adorable.
...so of course, Alastor had to ruin it.
"She's a witch" Alastor announced as he strode back into the hotel, his grin looking as sharp as the edges of his fuckass bob.
Angel Dust shot Alastor a nervous look. He hadn't even noticed The Radio Demon leave the room. He'd assumed that Velvette had had a clear getaway.
Please let her have gotten away. Please.
Lucifer didn’t seem to have heard Alastor, continuing to hold Charlie in his arms and stroke her hair as he whispered "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry"
"...yeah, everyone in Hell knows that" Angel Dust finally said "She has that whole love witch potion gimmick thing going on”
"No, Angel. She's not some gimmicky Sinner. She is a full-blown witch" Alastor said, pointing his microphone at Lucifer "You know what that means, Duckie"
Angel Dust sneered.
"Could you have waited five minutes!" Lucifer finally looked up from Charlie to complain.
(It was rare that Lucifer got to look up from his daughter, but Charlie had contorted herself awkwardly in order to sob into Lucifer’s shoulder)
“I’ve never given a damn about witches, and I don’t give a damn about whether or not Velvette is one. Drop it, Al” Lucifer continued, making Alastor grit his teeth in annoyance.
Angel Dust frowned.
"Okay, I'm curious, what does Velvette being a witch have to do with anything? We're in Hell, everyone down here is a bit freaky" he pointed out.
"Witches all belong to me by default" Lucifer explained "Not that I want them. But Velvette being a true witch means that her soul is mine. It's a genuinely unbreakable contract that supersedes all other allegiances. I'm surprised Vox didn't get any warnings when he borrowed her soul"
Angel Dust blanched.
"She's- you know what, that can wait. Where is she? What did you do to her, Alastor?" he demanded.
Aw shit. Toots. Please tell me you got away...
He couldn't believe how fond he'd gotten of Velvette. She was a Vee, and she was a fucking bitch if he was being honest. Yet somehow, she'd wormed her way into his heart and now he was terrified at the thought of her being hurt.
Maybe he shouldn't have been so shocked. He and Velvette had a lot in common, it made sense that they'd get along once they got past the whole "My boyfriend owns your soul, assaults you on camera, and exploits you for money" thing.
"Calm down, Angel Dust. I didn't do a thing, Velvette attempted to kill me before fleeing the property" Alastor said, producing a familiar-looking handgun from behind his back.
Thank fuck! Angel Dust breathed a sigh of relief, before he realized why the handgun was so familiar.
"Hey, that's Val's!" he said. Valentino had threatened him with it enough times, he'd recognize Money Shot anywhere.
"She smuggled it in with her" Alastor said, holding the gun out for Lucifer's inspection as he approached his boyfriend.
Lucifer wordlessly grabbed the gun, disarming, disassembling, and re-assembling it in the flash of an eye. He held the unused bullets in the palm of his hand once he was done, before handing Money Shot back to Alastor as he examined them.
"Angelic steel-tipped bullets, nasty" he said "But... how did she get it in? There was nowhere in her outfit that day for this to have been concealed"
"Well, as I have just told you, she is a witch. Who knows what she's capable of" Alastor said.
"No... no, that's impossible" Charlie spoke up, wiping her eyes “Dad, Velvette wasn’t expecting to come to the hotel. She was attending an Overlord Meeting. Bringing in a concealed Angelic weapon would’ve been risky, especially given that she and Vox already had to attend that meeting under a cloud and under duress”
Lucifer looked proud of Charlie’s detective skills, smiling at her.
“Velvette and Vox were already under a microscope, they wouldn’t have risked it. I think it’s more likely that the V Tower’s former owner stole the gun, and is now using it to try and frame his Ex’s new girlfriend” she finished, smiling back at Lucifer.
Alastor’s eye twitched, and Angel Dust smirked slightly.
You can hate your ex-boyfriend all you like, Smiles, you’re not gonna get away with using your scary new boyfriend to hurt Velvette.
“Lucifer, darling. Charlie is a very clever young lady, but she’s being a bit too imaginative. I know Vox better than you, and I know the sort of untrustworthy villains he likes to surround himself with” Alastor started to say patiently.
Lucifer was already shaking his head.
“Velvette is a terrified victim who was trying to survive, and to be honest, I think Vox is too. Neither of them are angels, but neither am I. I’ll let them enjoy their reunion, and tomorrow Charlie and I will go to the V Tower to make peace”
Alastor looked like he’d been forced to eat a lemon.
“You can’t seriously believe-”
“-that you would manipulate and trick a terrified rape victim to get revenge on your ex? Al, I really, really do believe that” Lucifer said darkly, approaching Alastor “What really happened outside?”
Alastor looked down at him, his smile becoming more of a sneer.
"You don't believe me?" he said disbelievingly "Me? The man you love?"
Lucifer shook his head and materialized his cane back into his hand, holding the apple-topped side against Alastor’s chin and pushing his head up.
“Really? The man I love? That's a two-way street, Alastor. Was it real? Was any of it real?” Lucifer asked, his voice and expression cold.
Alastor’s eyes widened, his sneer vanishing and his smile starting to look- for lack of a better word- concerned.
“…I love you” he said with shocking sincerity "Lucifer, I know I'm no angel myself but I love you"
“I don’t believe you” said Lucifer with a shrug, stepping away “All that matters now is that neither Heaven nor my fellow Sins find out about the potion. We’ll make peace with The Vees, I’ll fix what’s happened to Valentino- if I can- and we’ll pretend none of this ever happened”
Charlie cleared her throat pointedly.
“...and you’re going to help Niffty with housekeeping for the rest of the year. Oh, and you’re on dish-washing duty until I say so” she said.
Lucifer smiled ruefully, nodding.
“I always knew the day would come when you were giving me chores, Char-Char. Of course, Sweetie. Anything I can do to make amends”
A sudden burst of radio static and old-timey music caused Angel Dust to look away from the Morningstars and back at Alastor. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say that The Radio Demon looked…
…scared?
“Lucifer…” Alastor said, approaching Lucifer and placing his clawed hand on the smaller man's shoulder “I love you. I swear I love you"
Angel Dust tilted his head. Surely not. Surely he wasn't watching Alastor beg...
“You endangered me, Charlie, and the hotel that Charlie loves so much. Because Vox cheated on you and even though we're allegedly happy together, you won't get over it. It happened decades ago, you've both moved on. Grow up” Lucifer said icily, holding up his hand as Alastor started to speak again “I don’t want to hear it. The crux of all of this is the stalest tea in Hell. Valentino’s a home-wrecking slut. Get over it”
“Lucifer, please-” Alastor pleaded.
“I wanted to spend eternity with you, now I never want to look at you again” Lucifer said “Get out of my sight. Or I might do something I’ll regret. I'm not going to hurt Velvette, and nothing you can do will change my mind. So fuck off, Alastor"
Alastor took a step back, his smile looking faker by the second, compared to the genuine remorse and heartbreak in his eyes.
For a second, Angel Dust actually felt bad for him
...and then everything went to Hell (metaphorically speaking).
“Holy shit” Cherri Bomb was looking down at her phone “Hey, King Twink. I don’t know if this is good or bad, but Vox is making a mandatory broadcast in about five minutes”
“How can you have a mandatory broadcast…?” Lucifer asked.
“He puts a hypnotic signal through every available screen. It forces anyone looking at a screen to watch whatever bullshit he's planning on broadcasting. It's fucking annoying” Cherri was already getting to her feet, walking over to the television with jerky motions before switching it on.
Oh no...
"Well, that can't be good" said Alastor, even as his grin regained some of it's usual vicious glee "I did try to warn you, Lucifer, you can't trust The Vees"
Don't be an idiot, Toots. Everything is going to be just fine, just don't do anything rash...
Vaggie wrapped her arms around Charlie, looking worried.
“How far-reaching is the signal? Does it say?” she asked, smiling softly as Charlie pressed an anxious kiss against her cheek.
Angel pulled out his own phone to read the announcement, cursing under his breath as Vox's hypnosis forced him to take a seat and settle in to watch the broadcast.
“…it’s going out across all of Hell. He’s even amped it up to penetrate Heaven’s embassy” he said “The announcement’s bragging about it”
Lucifer went so pale he looked sheet white, clutching the nearest chair for support as Alastor hurried to his side and wrapped his arm around his waist.
Lucifer was so horrified he didn't push his (ex?)-boyfriend away, actually leaning against him for support.
Angel slowly took a seat, reaching out and picking up Velvette's tampon box almost subconsciously.
Valentino was a fucking monster, who had done monstrous things to him… but Angel Dust had lost track of how many times he’d clung to Val in times of stress.
This was the closest thing to clinging to Val that he had left.
“Maybe… maybe it won’t be that bad. Maybe they’re just… getting married or something?” Charlie suggested as the station ident appeared on-screen.
Angel Dust couldn't believe what fucking idiots Vox and Velvette could be. They were extremely intelligent people, and they went and did something as monumentally dumb as essentially declaring war on Lucifer Morningstar and dragging Heaven and the other Sins into it.
Lucifer had made it through half the broadcast before he'd shook his head and bolted, gagging and covering his mouth with his hand.
Alastor had trailed closely behind him, his smile growing more and more dangerously gleeful by the second.
Alastor had been standing on rapidly-thinning ice, only for Vox and Velvette to shove him out of the way and stand on the cracks themselves. If Angel Dust didn't know any better, he'd have said that Alastor must've been a saint in a past life, because that deer had ridiculously good luck.
Angel Dust stayed in his seat after the broadcast ended, holding onto the tampon box with trembling fingers.
“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck…” Charlie was whispering, sitting on the sofa with Vaggie cuddling up to her and trying to comfort her “We’re going to be obliterated for this…”
“We’re gonna be torn apart! Whee!” Niffty said with far too much gleeful enthusiasm.
Angel held onto the tampon box a little tighter.
He had to hand it to Velvette and Vox, they had ensured that their allegations against Lucifer were credible, and painted him, the hotel, and everyone in the hotel in the worst light possible.
Angel tried to feel betrayed, but couldn't. He couldn’t say that he wouldn’t do something as selfish to his own friends if he thought Lucifer himself was out for his blood.
“I’m sorry, Charlie. I gotta… I need a minute” he finally said, getting to his feet and walking away.
Charlie didn't respond, she just stared into space, whispering oh fuck, oh fuck in a fearful mantra.
Husk, sitting at the foot of the stairs, nodded grimly at Angel Dust as he passed by.
“Enjoy your last hours, kid. Because we’re sure as fuck getting Exorcised before tomorrow”
Angel just nodded, hugging the tampon box to himself as he ascended the stairs.
He passed by the bathrooms as he made his way to his suite, pausing at the sound of Alastor’s distinctive, static-y voice.
“They’re going to kill her, you know that. You have to protect her, Lucifer”
“…I opened myself up. I cared! I cared about a sinner!” Lucifer was moaning, his voice raw.
“I know your initial intentions towards Velvette weren’t pure- even if I think they were justified- but you let her into your heart, and this is how she repaid you” Alastor cooed.
“This can’t be all her. Vox is so ruthless…” Lucifer said.
“…and you think she isn’t? You haven’t seen her at her worst, my beautiful angel” Alastor said “I know you’re angry with me, my Duckie, let me make it up to you. I have so many ideas, we can fix this mess together”
There was the ping of a received text message, followed by Lucifer moaning in even more despair.
"Fucking Satan!" he wailed "That dick's been waiting for something like this to happen!"
“We can handle those inferior Sins, too. Don’t you worry a hair on your beautiful little head…” Alastor said.
Angel hesitated. He could practically see Alastor’s machinations at play, expertly manipulating Lucifer and Lucifer’s love for Charlie to his own ends.
For The King Of Hell, Lucifer could be a fool.
He was also extremely dangerous when he thought Charlie was in danger. Lucifer- metaphorically and literally- only knew the sort of Angelic wrath Alastor was going to unleash on The Vees.
Angel Dust shook his head, reaching out to grab the door handle.
A shadowy hand wrapped around his wrist before he could, and Alastor’s grinning shadow materialized in front of him, wagging his finger in Angel Dust’s face.
Angel sneered.
“Fine. Fuck you” he spat “But you hurt her, and I swear…”
The shadow’s shoulders shook, as though he was snickering.
Sneering, Angel Dust walked away, feeling helpless. He tried to console himself with the fact that Velvette (and Vox) had metaphorically fed the entire hotel to sharks to save their own skin…
…but being angry at a Vee for self-destructive duplicity was like being angry with a bumblebee for stinging you. Sure, it hurts, but you know that poor little thing is about to die a horrible death and there's nothing you can do to save it.
With a sigh and a slump of his shoulders, Angel Dust kept on walking.
“I wish you weren’t dead, Val” Angel said aloud to himself as he wandered into his room, wrinkling his nose at the messy state of it "Aw, come on, Cherri!"
Cherri Bomb had been sleeping in his room for the past few weeks, looking after Fat Nuggets in his absence.
Angel had become undeniably fond of Velvette, but after all the times she’d threatened his beloved pet, he hadn’t wanted to let her spend too much time with the helpless little pig.
He dropped down onto his unmade bed, holding the tampon box on his knee and looking down at the dead moth inside.
Valentino ruined his life.
But Angel Dust loved him.
Valentino’s death would give Angel Dust back his freedom.
But there were tears running down his face, dripping into the box and dampening Val’s wings.
“Fuck, Val… I miss you so fucking much” Angel Dust rasped out “Isn’t that fucking sick?”
He put the box down on his nightstand, before flopping back onto his bed, closing his eyes.
“You fucked up everything good in my life, but… you fixed things. You were always the guy I’d go to if I got in over my head. Now you’re dead, and I’m in a situation that can’t be fixed”
He sniffled.
“…I guess you wouldn’t have been able to help even if you were alive. But it’s nice to dream…”
With that, he curled up on his side and started to sob, crying and crying and crying until his lack of sleep the night before caught up with him and he slipped into unconscious.
Angel Dust was trembling. He’d gone too far, he’d gone way too far…
Sure, telling Val where to stick it had been fun, when he’d been out at a club surrounded by his friends and not beholden to his contract with the psychopath. Even the backhanded smack he'd received hadn't bothered him that much, all things considered.
(Besides, Valentino could hit much harder than that. It had practically been a love tap, compared to what Angel usually endured)
But now he was in Valentino’s studio, his friends were nowhere to be seen, and he was very much beholden to his contract.
Val was gonna kill him, wait for him to regenerate, kill him again, and sell the footage for a profit.
Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh Lucifer help me...
The irony made Angel smile weakly. Lucifer probably would help him, if he knew what was going on. But the same sick impulse that gave Angel Dust wet dreams about Valentino also prevented him from reaching out to the one man in Hell who could break contracts with a snap of his fingers.
A sick impulse also known as love.
Angel's dressing room door looked completely innocuous, but Angel shook more and more the closer he got to it, shuddering as he curled his hand around the handle and swung the door open. He sought solace in the knowledge that he could spend a few minutes composing himself before-
“Angelito, amorcito! You’re early!” Valentino purred, causing Angel to jolt so badly he nearly cracked his head against the door-frame.
All ten feet (in heels) of Valentino was sprawled out on the sofa in Angel's dressing room, his expensive-looking shoes dangling off the end as he took a luxurious drag of his cigarette, blowing out a heart-shaped smoke ring that floated languidly towards Angel.
Angel batted it away, keeping his eyes averted.
“Good morning, Valentino” Angel said levelly, trying not to look as scared as he felt. When Valentino smelt fear it was like a shark smelling blood in the water.
“You look scared” Val said, tilting his head and sliding down his glasses to get a better look “…oh, I see. You’re scared that I’m going to beat the shit out of you because of what an ungrateful, rude little cunt you were last night!”
He chuckled, taking another drag as Angel blanched fearfully.
“Shut the door, cariño. We need to talk” Valentino got to his feet, drawing himself to his full, terrifying height.
The heels he was wearing made him tower even more over Angel, who whimpered as he shut the door. It was almost impressive that a man wearing outdated white slacks could be so pants-wettingly terrifying.
Valentino started walking towards him and Angel screwed his eyes shut, unable to face whatever horror was coming.
When Valentino’s four hands grabbed him, he sobbed out loud, tears running down his face.
…and then Val pulled him into a tight hug, locking his arms around him.
“Um…” Angel Dust opened his eyes, finding himself staring at Valentino’s gold chains, his cheek mushed against Val's pink silk shirt “What the fuck?”
Valentino leaned back, using one of his hands to tilt Angel Dust’s chin up and smile down at him.
“You know how sad it makes me when you and I aren’t friends, mi amor…” he purred, rubbing Angel's back with his free hands.
“You’re… you’re not gonna hurt me?” Angel stammered out, unsure.
“I already hurt you last night, amorcito. No. Today, we’re going to take a break from work, and we’re going to work on something far more important” he said, leaning down to kiss the top of Angel's head affectionately.
“What’s that?” Angel Dust asked, feeling like the rug was going to be pulled out from underneath him at any second.
“Our relationship, tonto” Val said “Come on, I’m going to take you out to brunch. It’ll be fun!”
Angel Dust smiled weakly, before letting Val take his hand and pull him out of the dressing room.
He never told Charlie what, exactly, happened between him and Val that day. Everyone was worried when he got home, but he just shrugged and said Valentino was too hungover to be an asshole and it was a normal day at work.
He never told them about brunch, about how Val had fork-fed him pancakes and kissed his cheek after every bite.
He never told them about going to the cinema with the moth and leaning against him as they watched some cheesy romcom together.
…and he never told them about desperately and hungrily crawling into Val’s lap as they drove back to the V Tower in his limo, kissing him like a man gasping for air and begging his pimp to fuck him.
He certainly never told them all the filthy things he’s moaned as he straddled the Overlord, bouncing on his cock as Valentino held tightly onto him and kissed him like his life depended on it.
(Angel Dust was one of the very few people in Hell that Valentino could comfortably bottom out in, even if it did make him unable to sit comfortably for a good few days afterwards).
And he sure as fuck didn’t tell anyone, not even Val, that he’d jerked off that night while moaning Valentino’s name into his pillow.
He was well and truly fucked.
“Hola?”
Somebody was shaking Angel gently, and he groaned, curling up a little tighter.
"...just five more minutes" he murmured, not knowing or caring who was shaking him. All he knew was that he was tired, and the shaker was interrupting his much-needed sleep.
To his annoyance, the shaking became more insistent. With a groan, he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes.
“What the fuck is-” he started to say, before the words died on his tongue.
Valentino was leaning over him, as naked as the day he was born, and smiling shyly.
Angel Dust didn’t know what to do at first.
Finally, he let his impulses take over and he sat up, winding his hand back before slapping Valentino across the face.
“You have got a lot of fucking grovelling to do, Val. Or I’m calling Lucifer” he threatened, emboldened by the disorientation of only just having woken up.
Valentino just smiled, looking slightly confused, before he spoke again.
"No entiendo ¿quién eres? ¿Quién soy yo?" he asked politely.
Angel's Spanish was pretty decent, but Spanish happened to be one of the fastest-spoken languages on Earth. He only caught half of Val's question.
But it was enough to make his blood run cold.
"¿Quién soy yo?"
"Who am I?"
"...Val?" Angel asked nervously "Val, come on. This isn't funny"
"¿Qué es una Val?" Valentino asked, tilting his head curiously.
Angel didn't need to translate to understand what that meant.
Oh fuck. As if this shit-show couldn’t get any worse…
"Eres tan bonita. ¿Podemos ser amigos?" Valentino asked shyly, reaching out for Angel Dust, who scrambled to his feet and backed away, his feet taking him to his balcony as he shook his head.
“If this is a game, you better knock it off” he threatened.
Valentino followed him out, still smiling in amiable curiosity.
Angel Dust had never seen Valentino smile so sweetly. Ever.
"Ugh. This is just what we fucking need..." he groaned.
"¿Hice algo mal?" Val asked, frowning.
It was then that Angel Dust heard it. An ear-splitting, terrified scream, echoing out across Pentagram City.
It wasn’t hard to find the source; the Vee Tower, where a tiny figure with pink hair was plummeting from the top like a discarded doll.
Angel Dust’s heart skipped a beat.
Velvette...
But before he could do anything, there was a whoosh of displaced air and Valentino was gone from his side, winging his way towards his old home at speeds that Angel Dust wasn’t even aware he was capable of.
As Angel Dust watched in shock and awe, Val caught Velvette, scooping her out of free-fall like an action star before returning to the rooftop with her safely cradled in his upper arms.
Angel Dust swallowed dryly when he saw the reason that Velvette had been falling standing at the edge of the roof, his white suit highlighted by the neon lights that polluted the city.
For a crazy second, Angel Dust could’ve sworn that Lucifer’s eyes met his, his angelic glare piercing across Pentagram City and all the way over to the hotel just to glare at him.
Angel Dust waved meekly, just in case.
Fuck me. Why can’t anything be easy around here?
To Be Continued…
Chapter 19: 'Cause When I Brought Out The Angel's Head
Notes:
Oh hey guys! Guess who's not dead?
A million apologies for my loooooong absence. A lot has been going on IRL, and my ongoing writer's block has been especially nasty. But Chapter Nineteen is done, and here for your enjoyment, enjoy!
-Jesse xx
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Lucifer Morningstar, The King Of Hell, was such a reclusive figure that the true facts known about him were few and far between. There was even an ongoing debate as to whether or not his blonde hair came out of a bottle.
But no matter how reclusive Lucifer preferred to be, one thing you couldn’t deny about him was that he was The King Of Hell, and couldn’t spend all his time hiding behind the walls of his castle. He had royal duties and responsibilities to attend to, such as the routine duty of sitting for a royal portrait, something he'd recently deigned to leave the walls of his castle for.
Lucifer already had hundreds of official royal portraits, so Velvette didn’t really understand why he needed another one. When she was alive, she could somewhat understand Earth’s monarchs having multiple royal portraits. After all, time marches on and people change. It was logical to have different portraits to show different periods in a regent’s life.
But Lucifer didn’t age, or change. Having multiple portraits was a sheer act of vanity, or Pride-
“Exactly, that’s why he’s The Sin of it” Vox had said with a chuckle as the velvet cloth was removed from Lucifer's shiny new portrait, Velvette's platform heels giving her enough height to stand on tip-toes and whisper into his 'ear'-
-but whatever Lucifer's reasoning for having it made, the unveiling of his latest portrait was quite the event, held in one of Pride’s most cultured galleries- which also happened to be the least-visited locale in all of Hell- a haunt known as The As-MoMA-deus.
Lucifer himself hadn't attended the opening, as actually mingling with his subjects was below the fallen angel, but the event was still quite a who's-who of Hell, with dignitaries visiting from the other Rings.
(Not that there was much dignity in Hell)
Ever the opportunistic schmoozer, and desperate to appear more cultured than he was, Vox had attended with Velvette (involuntarily) in tow.
As little as Velvette wanted to attend Hell's equivalent of a Modern Art gallery, she didn't mind the glitz and glamor of the event. Everyone, including herself, was dressed to the nines. Even Vox was wearing an expensive-looking black tuxedo in lieu of his usual blue suit.
It suited him, it really suited him.
After whispering her catty comment as Lucifer's portrait was unveiled, Vox had leaned in to whisper back to her, static buzzing against her ear as he did so.
"...how about we shake a few hands and head home early, I can't wait to get you out of that tiny little thing" he said, running his claw along the corset-like fastenings of the striped pink-and-black dress Velvette had worn to the event.
But Velvette wasn't listening, she couldn't take her eyes off the newly-unveiled portrait.
"He's beautiful" she whispered, not noticing irritation flash across Vox's screen.
Velvette knew that Lucifer was gorgeous, everyone knew that, but the artist had captured something really special about the fallen angel.
...or, to be more specific, the trousers that Lucifer had been wearing when he sat for the portrait had highlighted his dick so well that Velvette could practically tell what religion he was.
(Not that Lucifer really had a religion. If you look up Maltheist in the dictionary you'd get a picture of Lucifer staring back at you)
"Uh... yeah, he is. I suppose it comes with being a fallen angel" Vox said, looking annoyed and snatching a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.
There was something else, too, something that lured Velvette in even closer to the portrait.
Lucifer looked... kind. His smile was mischievous and fanged, and his eyes were a hellish red, but Velvette could feel a soft and almost paternal warmth emanating from the portrait that she hadn't felt since...
...since...
Well. It was a warmth she'd never felt before, to be honest. She found herself smiling softly.
While Vox had seethed with jealousy and drunk himself half-blind with frustration, Velvette had stood before the portrait with a dreamy expression on her face.
For a moment, she felt normal. She didn't feel like a witch or an Overlord of Hell, she felt like a normal girl with a normal crush on a pretty boy.
After a lifetime of abuse, pain, and darkness... it was refreshing.
But she wasn't a normal girl, and her thoughts didn't remain pure for very long. Her soft smile soon gained a wicked edge of it's own as her mind ran wild with fantasies.
Vox's eyes stayed on her throughout the night, even as he drank so much free champagne that he nearly threw up over the shoes of a visiting dignitary from Sloth.
Velvette continued to fantasize as she sat in the VoxTek limo, en route back to The V Tower, staring out the window as Vox brought up the consequences of his over-indulgence into a carsickness bag.
She loved Vox, but he wasn't exactly being alluring at that moment, unless you thought that anthropomorphic televisions throwing up faintly glowing radioactive goop were sexy.
(Vox didn't puke that often, but on the rare occasions that he did, Velvette had been shocked to see that everything he brought up looked like radioactive sludge)
So, in lieu of her usual Vee-related fantasies, her thoughts wandered to greener and more regal pastures...
"...Velvette. I'm sorry" Vox said thickly, looking sheepishly up at her "I've embarrassed you"
"You embarrassed yourself, Vox" she said coldly "I hope Val's in a good mood tonight, because I'm not looking after you. My penthouse is off-limits until morning"
Vox nodded, before lowering his screen again and retching. Velvette pulled a face and quickly looked away.
Vox had told Valentino to stay home, so he wouldn't embarrass The Vees at such a swanky event. Needless to say, Valentino couldn't stop laughing when he met them in The V Tower's garage.
"Come now, mocosa, let Papi get you settled down" he'd purred, wrapping his arm around Vox while Velvette leaned against the limo with her arms crossed, glaring.
"...mocosa is for a woman..." Vox said weakly, leaning against his partner.
"Exactly, and you're being a little bitch" Val laughed as he guided Vox towards the elevator, grinning over his shoulder at Velvette "Well? Are you coming?"
"I'll take the next one up, I don't want that flat-faced fuck getting puke all over my nice dress" she said.
Val laughed even more at that, shoving Vox into the elevator with little tenderness before sashaying in after him.
As the elevator doors closed, Velvette caught a glimpse of the hurt, sickly look on Vox's face and felt a rare twinge of regret nag at her conscious.
But you don't become an Overlord by being empathetic, so she easily swept the complicated emotion aside, focusing only on her red-hot lust for a certain Prince of Lies...
Velvette had barely shut her bedroom door before she was tearing off her clothes and scrambling around in her nightstand drawer for her vibrator.
It wasn't long until she was lost to a haze of bliss, lying naked on her unmade bed in the middle of her cluttered bedroom, whining and squirming as she rubbed her glittery pink vibrator against her clitoris.
"Oh fuck.." Velvette breathed, arching her back against her pink bed-sheets "Fuck, fuck, fuck..."
She was deep in fantasy, imagining Lucifer in all his pretty-boy glory, sitting on the ornate throne he'd been painted on and smirking down at her with his legs crossed.
Velvette, wearing an apple-red lingerie set that would've made Valentino blush at it's provocativeness, knelt at his feet and kissed the shiny leather of his boots.
"Lucifer" Velvette whined, turning her head to try and muffle her gasps with her pillow.
In her imaginings, Lucifer pulled her up off the ground and onto his lap. She wasn't sure how tall The King Of Hell was, but she imagined he must tower over her in the same way Vox did.
She imagined Lucifer using his blackened hands to spread her legs, leaving her facing him with her legs dangling over the sides of his thighs and allowing him to lasciviously run his eyes over her, licking his fangs like a hungry cat.
"Mm... Lucifer... Lu-Lucifer..." she whined, finding a spot that was just right and rubbing the vibrator vigorously against it.
Her legs were shaking; she knew she was close. With a bite of her lips she readied herself to-
“Are Voxxy and I not doing it for you anymore?” purred a very familiar voice.
Velvette looked up, finding herself locking eyes with an amused-looking Valentino, currently leaning against her door-frame with both sets of arms crossed.
Despite the shock of discovery dyeing her cheeks a faint pink, Velvette climaxed practically on the spot, shaking from head to toe as her hips trembled and she cried out so loudly she actually feared it would echo across all of Pentagram City.
Valentino leered, before straightening up and prowling into the room. He was wearing his ‘coat’ over a pair of fishnet tights and heels, visible in tantalizing flashes as he approached Velvette’s bed.
Velvette lay sprawled out on her bed, coated in a thin sheen of sweat and brushing off her sticky fingers against the other pillow with a lazy grin.
“What can I say? He’s a very pretty angel” she said breathlessly, internally thanking Lucifer that Valentino hadn’t happened to catch her masturbating while moaning his name.
Val’s name, that is. The moth's ego was swollen enough.
“Mm, yes, everyone down here knows about the ángel bonito that wears the crown. Vox is very jealous, muñequita” Val sat down on the edge of her bed, reaching out and rubbing her knee with one hand as two others busied themselves with pulling out his cigarette holder and a packet of cigarettes from him ruff. He offered Velvette the box.
“Vox can take his jealousy and shove it up his socket. Also, I don’t smoke” Velvette said calmly.
“Why not?” Val asked with a laugh, letting go of Velvette's knee and pulling out a lighter.
"Because cigarettes can kill y- oh" Velvette snickered "Good point"
She accepted a cigarette and stuck it in her mouth, smiling at Val as he lit it for her. It tasted sweet and sultry, like Valentino’s saliva.
She blew out a puff of pink smoke, and Valentino's gold tooth glinted as he grinned, before he used his remaining free hand to pick up one of her dolls from the other side of the bed.
He turned it over in his hand, examining it critically.
It was a Raggedy Astaroth, nothing special. But Velvette felt an uneasy twist in her stomach as Valentino fondled the childish little toy.
"It's a hobby" said Velvette, snatching the doll off him and tossing it aside before Valentino could do anything weird with it. Valentino just shrugged, taking a drag of his own cigarette.
"So, is Voxxy right to be jealous? Has Lucifer has stolen your heart?" Valentino asked, crawling over Velvette's bed until he was lying next to her, his head resting against the pillow she'd just wiped her fingers against.
"Of course he hasn't. I just think he's hot" Velvette said.
"He is" said Valentino, taking a drag. Velvette mirrored him, taking a drag of her own cigarette before leaning her head back and blowing out another plume of smoke, watching it float to the ceiling.
She wasn’t really a smoker. But she was enjoying sharing something with Valentino.
"Nobody could ever compare to you and Vox, don't be an idiot" she reassured her lover, reaching out and running her fingers along Val's ruff "I was just horny, and you were too busy with Vox to help"
"I have four hands, querida"
"Four hands and zero co-ordination" Velvette sniped back "I don't feel like getting a broken pelvis because you're too busy holding Vox's wires back while he pukes"
Valentino laughed, nodding in acknowledgement.
Valentino had a surprisingly pleasant laugh when he wasn't being sadistic. Velvette let it wash over her like comfortingly warm, melodic bathwater.
"How's Vox feeling?" she asked, trying and failing to blow a smoke ring “I thought about staying with him tonight, but then I remembered I’m a selfish bitch”
"He finished puking up The Elephant's Foot, swallowed some old-timey housewife pill, and took himself to bed" said Valentino with a snort of laughter.
Velvette laughed too.
"...and he wanted me to tell you that he's sorry, and that he had no right to get jealous over a painting" Valentino added, unexpectedly. He reached out, chucking her under the chin "He loves you, just like I love you, cariño"
Velvette was too shocked to speak for a moment.
"Well... tell him..." she trailed off, before clearing her throat.
No weakness. No sentiment. She was a fucking Overlord.
"Tell him once he regrows his balls that that's not how an Overlord does an apology" she finally said.
Valentino laughed.
"Oh? how does an Overlord apologize, then?"
"Why don't you show me how you'd do it?" Velvette said, running one of her hands up her torso, gently squeezing her breast.
Valentino kept his eyes on her as he took another drag, before holding his cigarette in one hand as slung a leg over his fellow Overlord and got on top of Velvette, his much larger frame pressing her into the mattress so hard that she practically sunk into a Velvette-shaped hole in the soft fabric.
Velvette breathed out, staring up at Valentino as he stubbed out his cigarette on her nightstand, plucking her cigarette from her fingers and doing the same.
"We wouldn't want to set your bed on fire, would we?" he said with a grin, before leaning down and pressing his lips against hers.
Velvette wrapped her arms around Valentino, groaning at the sickly-sweet (but hardly unpleasant) sensation of his saliva running down her throat as she started stroking his ruff with her fingertips.
They broke away, breathing heavily as they stared into one-another's eyes. Valentino's monochromatic eyes boring into Velvette's hellish own. Pink saliva still dripped from between their lips.
“Mm, imagine if that fuckable little sex doll of a king was here, watching his loyal subject be debased by the big bag Valentino… would you like that, picardias?” Valentino purred.
Velvette nodded with a whimper, feeling a familiar warmth start to spread across her body.
"Love you... love you... love you so much..." she breathed, letting herself slip away into blissful pink nirvana.
"Aw, how cute, you love us" Valentino's voice whispered to her through the pink fog, before kissing Velvette's lips briefly again "I love you too..."
Everything was glowing pink, and Velvette couldn't have felt happier.
Everything was glowing pink, and Velvette had never felt more scared.
She trembled as Valentino safely alighted back onto the rooftop of The V Tower, swallowing dryly and feeling sweat droplets cool on her forehead as she locked eyes with Lucifer. The adrenaline rush of being thrown to her death had left her sweating like a Sinner in church, and under the simmering glare of The King of Hell she felt even hotter, an inescapable warmth blooming under her skin and making her strangely relieved that she was naked.
Valentino held her safely in his arms, smiling uncertainly down at her. They were both bathed in the pink aura of the giant glowing 'V' that represented Valentino. The blue glow of Vox's V and the purple of her own clashed over the white of Lucifer’s clothes as he stood between them.
The nigh-iridescent glow made Lucifer look ethereal as he approached Velvette and Val, his pretty head tilted in curiosity. Velvette glared, imagining Lucifer’s head on a platter with the stupid tip of his apple cane shoved in his mouth, and bared her teeth in a combative snarl.
Sweat beaded on the back of her neck, and she wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"...I thought you were dead" Lucifer finally said, poking Valentino's chest with a blackened finger "If you can even call it death down here. Double-dead, maybe?"
Valentino mimicked Lucifer as he tilted his own head.
Lucifer switched tact, asking something in Spanish. Valentino responded in kind and Velvette huffed in frustration. Her Spanish was half-way decent, but Lucifer and Val were both speaking it at a fluent level, and she didn't have a hope of following along.
Blocked from the conversation by a language barrier, Velvette finally had time to let her shock wear off, allowing reality to set in.
She was in Valentino’s arms.
Valentino’s.
He’s alive.
"Val..." she murmured, reaching up and running her fingers along his ruff.
Val looked down at her, ignoring Lucifer as he said something to her in Spanish. He paused, repeating it more slowly as he saw the confusion on Velvette's face.
“Who are you?… Who am I?… Where am I?” was all Velvette got.
Velvette kept rubbing his ruff, smiling back up at him.
“You’re at the V Tower, baby” she said.
Valentino just stared, before saying something else in rapid-fire Spanish that she didn't pick up a word of.
"I don't... I don't understand what you're saying, Val. I'm sorry" she said.
To her confusion (and concern), she heard Lucifer start to chuckle darkly, his heels clicking against the rooftop as he moved so close to them that Velvette could feel his breath against her cheek. It felt strangely cold, but maybe she was just unusually warm.
"What's so funny?" Velvette asked, turning her head and flinching as she found herself almost nose-to-nose with Lucifer.
Lucifer rested his cane on the ground, lacing his hands atop it and grinning up at them both with a shark-like grin that even Vox would be unnerved by.
"Isn't it obvious, sweet girl? Valentino's alive and well, it's a miracle! He's just missing once tiny thing..." Lucifer tapped Velvette's nose patronizingly with his cane.
Velvette sneered.
"What?"
"His memories" Lucifer said "That is interesting. I can't tell if this is just how the potion works, or if Valentino was so vile that the potion had to wipe everything and start again to give him a shot at redemption. Either way, it's pretty cool!"
He peered up at Val like he was a particularly interesting exhibit in a museum.
Velvette felt a spike of fury run through her…
…fury, and the familiar burn of witchcraft.
She was coming into her own again, and she was done with being pushed around and belittled. It was time to remind all of Hell who she really was, starting with Lucifer.
She raised one of her hands, her eyes flashing like bright pink Danger! signs, before Lucifer lazily snapped his fingers with barely a look in her direction.
Velvette shuddered. A peculiar warmth, disconnected from her magic, continued to buzz inside her. But as far as her witchcraft was concerned, she'd just had cold water thrown over her magical powers.
Lucifer shot her an icy look, an unfriendly smile gracing his face.
"Did you seriously think you could use witchcraft against me? Whether you or I like it, I control you, and I control your powers" he said.
“I still have my Overlord abilities” Velvette said, crossing her arms self-consciously over her chest and frowning as her fingertips touched something dusty on her arms.
“I’m the King of Hell, honey. No you don’t” Lucifer said with a malicious smirk “What were you going to do? Choke me with my own bow-tie?”
Velvette seethed, not wanting to admit that yes- that had been exactly what she’d been planning on doing. She had a favorite move to use against anachronistically dressed men, what could she say?
Valentino's grip tightened on Velvette. Despite his apparent amnesia, some innate urge to protect her was still there, and Lucifer was a very obvious threat.
Innate urge to protect me? What sort of a lovesick idiot are you, Vel? This overgrown dusty fucker has been a danger to you time, and time, and time again.
...dusty...
She ran her fingertips along her arms again.
Is this... moth dust?
But she didn't have time to ponder it for too long.
"But I digress" said Lucifer, standing so close to Velvette that she could practically see every speck of glitter in his eye-shadow, shifting and glimmering in the bi-lighting "This changes things. Maybe my potion does work... you and Vox have fucked me with your little broadcast, but this... this is a glimmer of hope..."
Lucifer tapped his cane against his lips thoughtfully.
"Yes... it's a glimmer of hope..."
"Ugh, stop plotting, you little bitch! What are you going to do now, Lucifer? Are you still going to drop me? Are you going to kill Val, again?" Velvette snapped.
Lucifer slowly lowered his cane, his smirk widening until his fangs were visible, and Velvette dreaded what he was going to say next.
Valentino's grip tightened on her, and she sought solace that she'd die in the arms of a man she-
BANG!
Velvette, Valentino, and Lucifer all jolted as the piercing sound of a gunshot echoed across Pentagram City. Lucifer dropped his cane with a clatter and stumbled backwards, wide-eyed and somehow managing to go even paler than he already was.
Before Velvette or Valentino could move, Lucifer suddenly spat up a mouthful of his own bi-colored blood. Hellishly dark red and angelic gold mixing as it stained the front of his pristine suit.
Without another word, Lucifer collapsed to the ground, revealing a bullet-hole in his back that bled profusely over the back of his jacket before pooling onto the ground. He lay prone on the ground with his head turned to the side, choking up another few mouthfuls of blood before he finally lay still with his eyes closed.
The blood continued to pool around him, swirling and mixing like some awful parody of an ice cream swirl, reflecting the neon lights until it started to resemble an oil slick.
Velvette was so shocked that she could only stare at Lucifer for a good few seconds, before slowly looking up in the direction of the gunshot.
The heat blooming inside Velvette intensified as she saw her hero; Vox, illuminated by the glow of the interior lights as he stood in the elevator's doorway, holding his own gun (rarely used but meticulously maintained) in his hand, and wearing a fluffy blue bathrobe and novelty shark slippers.
It was the second time he'd been her knight in shining armor, and the knowledge of that made her feel...
...well. There was no polite way to say it.
She was fucking soaked.
Moth dust.
Oh, shit...
But Velvette's panic evaporated as she realized... she was still in control. She was unbelievably aroused, yes. But she was in control of herself.
"My hero" she finally said, smiling adoringly at Vox, offering him the sort of sappy devotion that would normally make her want to gouge her own eyes out. The TV Demon slowly started to approach them both, and she fought a snicker as she watched his adorable little shark slippers pad across the roof "I thought I'd never see you again. I thought for sure that Lucifer would... uh... Vox? Hello? Over here?"
Vox stepped over Lucifer's body, staring blankly at something over Velvette's head. He reached out, resting a clawed hand over her shoulder, but he didn't pull his eyes away from-
"Valentino?" Vox whispered, looking up at the other Overlord, who grinned and said something in rapid-fire Spanish.
Vox tilted his head.
"Val, it's me, Vox. You're at The V Tower. What are you talking about?"
Val said something else, and Vox frowned.
"Vox. It's Vox!" he said, sighing "Valentino, stop being so ridiculous-"
"Mi nombre es Victorino Valiente, pueden ayudarme? No sé dónde estoy" Val said, starting to sound frustrated.
Vox's expression went blank, several error messages blinking over his eyes, before he swallowed with an audible gulp.
“Fuck” he breathed.
Velvette, embarrassingly, could only focus on how good Vox's cologne made him smell. She tried to get a grip, looking nervously down at Lucifer and the puddle of blood that continued to pool around him.
"Is he dead?" she asked, and Vox finally looked at her.
"Nope. I shot him with my anti-Angel gun" Vox said casually, twirling the handgun on his finger with an alarming lack of regard for firearm safety "If he was a normal angel, he'd be toast... but, well. He won't be getting up for a while, though, so no need to worry that pretty little head”
Lucifer had lost about a gallon of blood, but Velvette couldn't have cared less. She glanced up at Val, who was staring dreamily down at Vox.
He'd barely reacted to Lucifer being shot, and Velvette wondered if Valentino had been desensitized to death before his own demise, or if the potion had numbed him too much to care.
"You can speak Spanish, what's going on with Val?" Velvette asked, resting her hand over Vox's and resisting the urge to crawl into his arms and lick his screen.
“Valentino’s completely lost his memories. Or at least his memories of Hell. We’re in deep, deep shit” Vox said.
Velvette blinked several times.
"...don't be an idiot, Vox. That's not possible. It's just an act, Valentino likes fucking around with us” she said with a forced laugh, even as her every instinct told her that Vox was telling the truth.
"Velvette. Valentino just told me his name-"
"So? Everyone knows he's Val!" Velvette said.
"-his real name" said Vox, and Velvette quickly shut up.
She slowly rubbed circles into the back of Vox's hand, before letting go.
"There's something else" she said.
"Fuck, what is it now?" Vox groaned, rubbing his screen with his free hand.
In lieu of answering, Velvette scrambled out of Valentino's arms, tossing herself into Vox's grip with no warning. Vox dropped his gun and caught her easily, holding her in a now-familiar bridal carry.
"Uh. Hi?" Vox said, looking puzzled. He breathed in, and his expression soon cleared, his pupils temporarily flickering into the shape of hearts before flickering back to normal.
Velvette wasn’t quite sure how Vox’s sense of smell worked, but he did have one.
“You smell like Valentino’s cigarettes” he said, glancing at Val, who looked genuinely innocent and completely lost.
“I don’t see how, there’s no way he had time to smoke one” Velvette pointed out.
“Val’s a walking aphrodisiac, it’s not just his saliva. The dust on his wings is what he puts into those cigarettes of his” Vox explained, a touch breathlessly.
Velvette stared, at him, the enjoyable warmth of her arousal tempered by indignation.
“I’m sorry, why the fuck was I never told about this!?”
“You never asked” one of the hands cradling Velvette moved closer to her backside “You must’ve gotten coated in it when he caught you… I feel..."
"You feel how I feel? Because how I feel is the something else" Velvette simpered, trailing a finger along the side of Vox's screen.
He cleared his throat.
"Velvette" he said "We can't. Not here. Not now"
"I wasn't suggesting anything, big guy" Velvette said, her voice a breathless parody of itself "It's not like Val's saliva. It's not uncontrollable"
Vox chuckled.
"No? That's funny, because I think I'm still going to ravish you..." he trailed off "If you want me to"
"God, yes" Velvette moaned.
Valentino looked very, very confused.
It was the worst possible idea. It was wrong. It was disgusting. It was dangerous.
But Vox and Velvette had been through literal Hell, and they’d been separated for so long without properly consummating their reunion...
So Velvette thought nothing of it when Vox got on the ground, laying her down in the pool of Lucifer’s blood and kissing her like his life depended on it.
Blood seeped into the back of Velvette’s hair, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She was soon doing more than merely not caring as she reached out and swiped her finger through the mess, holding it up to Vox’s mouth and laughing as he licked it off like a cat.
“How are you so sure you’re even in control, Velvette? We could be about to make a terrible mistake” Vox panted “A few hours ago you couldn’t even have sex”
“A few hours is a long time, and making love to you could never, ever be a mistake” Velvette said, kissing Vox’s screen with reverence.
Vox kissed her back, and Velvette moaned as she felt his erection press against her bare leg.
“Well, in that case, I think I’d like to fuck you here and now” said Vox, making Velvette moan again.
“I’m feeling so, so much better…” she gasped out, and Vox leered as he slid a finger between her legs, his dangerously sharp claw running along her innermost folds and making her whimper.
“My oh my, you’re fucking soaked, my dear” Vox started to undo his robe “Are you ready to help end my dry spell, Velvette?”
“Fuck. Yes. Vox. Hurry up!” Velvette whined, before gasping out as Vox’s hard and faintly glowing erection slid into her with little resistance.
Vox had undone his robe but he hadn’t taken it off. The fabric draped over them both, trailing in the blood as it protected their modesty. Velvette held tightly onto Vox, gasping and moaning as he fucked her.
Some tiny, rational piece of her mind was horrified. It wasn’t that she and Vox wouldn’t have ever considered having rough sex in a puddle of blood. But Vox hated exhibitionism, and as he’d reminded her, she hadn’t even been able to have sex mere hours earlier. There was still the risk that both of their free wills had been overturned by Valentino’s peculiar biology, again.
“We’re going to have fucking breakdowns once this wears off, aren’t we? Whether we’re doing this of our own accord or not” Velvette whispered with a burst of clarity.
“I’m probably going to try and shoot myself with that gun” Vox gasped out, nodding at where his gun lay on the ground, before glancing up at Valentino "Hey, big guy, you want to join in? Given that we have you to thank for this”
Valentino was fidgeting with his wings as he stood a safe distance away from the duo's bloody lovemaking. At Vox's question, he shook his head with a grimace.
Velvette laughed, she had never seen Valentino look disgusted by anything sexual before.
“This is so sick, and wrong, and… and…” Velvette groaned.
“Are you going to come, sweetheart?”
“Mm-hmm…” Velvette whined, before gasping as Vox used a clawed hand to push her head to the side, making her stare at the unconscious Lucifer.
“That’s it, come for your king, darling…” Vox whispered, running his claws down her body until he was at the right angle to gently rub his finger against her clitoris.
Velvette gave a gasped and garbled response in the affirmative, before she did indeed climax, clinging to Vox's bathrobe and squirming against the bloody puddle as she stared with wide eyes at the unconscious and rapidly bleeding-out king.
“¿Estoy en el cielo o en el infierno?” Val whispered, staring at the duo with his insect-like red eyes.
Under normal circumstances, Angel Dust’s first instinct upon watching Valentino swoop off towards the plummeting Velvette would've been to run straight to The V Tower, and to overthink things later.
Trailing after Valentino into near-certain doom was a habit of his, after all.
But he hadn't made it any further than halfway across his room when he'd come to a screeching halt, staring at his bed in shock. It was covered in a very familiar, lightly aromatic dust.
Valentino’s ‘dandruff’ (as the Overlord himself had sometimes jokingly called it) was actually harmless. It didn’t override free will the way that his saliva did, it just made you very, very horny.
It was Val’s habit of mixing the dust, sometimes in the form of cigarette smoke, with his saliva that made it so dangerous. Angel Dust was actually slightly immune to it thanks to over-exposure, but under the current circumstances he’d prefer to keep a completely clear head.
So he'd spent the following half-hour using a handheld vacuum to meticulously suck up every last bit of moth-dust from his room. The chore had given him time to stop and think about what he was planning to do next, which led to his current situation;
“Okay. Okay. Nothing to worry about. Val’s back, but he’s lost his memory” Angel Dust was wearing a grove into his carpet, pacing frantically as he ran his many hands through his hair “Val’s back, but he’s harmless… right? Shit. Shit. Shit. What happens when he gets his memories back? What happens to me? How much did I say around that fucking moth?”
Finally, he stopped, sitting on the edge of his bed and hyperventilating.
“...but what happens if he doesn’t get his memory back? He’ll be so fucked…”
Angel Dust had said he wanted Val dead many times, sometimes to Val’s own face. But in reality, and as much as Angel hated to admit it, Valentino’s death was one of his greatest fears.
Angel Dust shuddered, glancing fearfully towards his balcony, where he could just make out the three glowing V's atop his former home.
He hadn't even started to worry about the other elephant in the room, the fact that Lucifer- sweet, doll-like, dorky, seemingly-harmless, Dad-Of-The-Year Lucifer- had thrown Velvette off the top of The V Tower.
Angel Dust had seen Valentino catch Velvette, in that heroic swoop straight out of a Bond film, but he had no idea what was happening now.
"What's the worst that could happen?" he asked thin air, rhetorically.
But he already knew the answer, or at the very least had a very good idea about what the answer might be. In life, he hadn't been a good person. He'd seen the worst that could happen when a dangerous and proud man was angered. He'd also seen the worst that could happen when a man like Valentino became weak and vulnerable.
"Fuck me" Angel Dust groaned, running his hands through his hair again before getting to his feet "Fuck, fuck, fuck"
He imagined Valentino floating motionlessly at the bottom of a dirty lake, wearing cement shoes, and felt nausea rise up inside him.
He thought about Velvette, lying motionlessly on the ground with Lucifer's apple-topped cane impaled through her heart, and he gagged.
For whatever reason, it was the thought of Vox finding Velvette's body that had Angel scrambling from his room and pelting for the front door.
I can't just stand back and let something terrible happen to them.
I only hope I'm not too late...
For whatever reason, Angel Dust had found himself invested in Vox and Velvette's crazy, fucked-up love story.
It was nearly as insane as the fact that he was genuinely scared for Valentino's safety.
He'd only made it a few steps out the front door before his arm was grabbed and he was stopped in his tracks. Cursing, he turned on his heel to find himself staring into Cherri Bomb's wide, concerned eye.
"Where are you going?"
"...out" said Angel, forcing a smile "For a jog. To clear my head"
Cherri's eye critically scanned Angel Dust's outfit, before she rolled it disbelievingly. The skintight skirt and the fitted blazer didn't exactly say going for a jog.
“Bullshit” said Cherri bluntly “You’re going to help her, aren’t you? Little Miss Lolita?”
“I don’t know what you’re-”
“Do me a fucking favor, and stop lying to my face" Cherri Bomb yanked him closer “Look at me. She is a selfish fucking bitch, who got off on what that dusty psychopath did to you up until the day he hurt her too”
"Maybe she is. But I still can’t stand by and let her get hurt” said Angel Dust quietly, avoiding Cherri’s gaze.
“You also can’t get in Lucifer Morningstar's way, Angel. I like Lucifer, but he’s dangerous” Cherri reached out, touching the side of Angel Dust’s face affectionately "I have been dreaming of the day that fucker dies, Angel. I couldn't be happier that he's rotting in Lolita's tampon box"
Angel Dust stayed quiet.
“Don’t ruin my vibe by immediately finding a new danger to throw yourself at. Don't sacrifice yourself for that bitch”
Angel Dust smiled apologetically at her, before shrugging.
“Well, it’s been a great fucking ride. Tell my legend!” he said, before breaking out of her grip and sprinting off towards Pentagram City.
Angel Dust raised an eyebrow as he took in The V Tower, now covered in a shiny exoskeleton of Angelic Steel. His first impulse was to call the new-and-improved defense system overkill, but he would've been wrong. Horribly wrong. If anything, it was actually underkill.
There was an angel-sized hole ripped into the metallic shield, as though it were nothing more than extra-shiny cardboard, allowing Angel Dust to step through the formally-impenetrable shield with little more than a duck of his head.
Fuck. Lucifer really is strong...
Angel Dust had his favorite Tommy Gun in his arms as he cautiously made his way through the hole-
Heh, the only hole I've ever been cautious about!
-finding himself in an eerily quiet foyer. Angel Dust was as familiar with The V Tower as he was with his own dick. He'd never seen the foyer empty before. It was creepy, standing alone in the barren, shiny room, illuminated by nothing but flashing hazard lights and the flickering glow of a dozen television screens that were left to go to screensaver mode.
Even the innocent little VoxTek logo that bounced around the screens made Angel Dust shudder in unease, quickly making his way towards the- thankfully- still-operational elevators.
The elevator glowed an unsettling and bloody red thanks to the hazard lights, and Angel Dust fidgeted uneasily with the safety of his gun as he made his way up.
His first stop was Vox's penthouse. Angel rarely spent time there, but he had full access to it. When Vox had granted Angel Dust security clearance, so that Valentino could summon him to his bed at any hour, he'd also inadvertently given Angel access to his own private quarters.
Not that Angel had ever broken into Vox's penthouse before. He didn't have a death wish.
(Velvette's security system was added later, so ironically Angel was barred from entering the penthouse of the only Vee he called a friend)
He felt like a child sneaking into their father’s office as he made his way inside, looking around with the same eye for detail that had made Anthony so good at crime scene clean-ups.
Nothing seemed amiss, it didn't even look like anyone had been in the room recently, so Angel Dust returned to the elevator and hit the button for Velvette's floor.
He couldn't go inside, but he could listen at her front door. He stayed, his ear pressed against the door, for a good few minutes before pulling away and returning to the elevator.
He'd been in graveyards that felt less lifeless than Velvette's penthouse currently did.
Finally, he made his way to Valentino's floor, feeling a sick lurch as he crossed the threshold. Valentino's floor held nothing but bad memories for him.
Clearly, Vox and Velvette didn't feel the same way. Angel Dust knew the second he stepped inside that this was the floor they'd been staying on. The room felt warmer and more lived-in, there were dirty dishes in the sink, and Valentino's bedroom door was ajar.
But the room was still currently abandoned, which meant...
"Everyone's on the roof" Angel Dust sighed, his eyes flicking skywards "Fuck"
It wasn't that he was afraid of Lucifer, he'd just been hoping that whatever confrontation had taken place up there would be over, and Lucifer would be serving The Vees pancakes in one of their penthouses.
But optimism was foolish in Hell.
Bracing himself, Angel Dust returned to the elevator and hit the button for the roof, taking the safety off his Tommy Gun and readying himself for a fight as he was whisked upwards.
But nothing could've prepared him for what he saw when the doors opened.
Lucifer posed no threat, rather, he was lying in a pool of blood so large that all Angel could think was that he was lucky he was an angel. His eyes were closed and his head was turned towards...
"I can't fucking believe we did that" Velvette said, lying on her back in the pool of two-toned angel blood, as naked as the day she was born and soaked in heavenly viscera.
Lying on top of her, wearing only an open dressing gown that shielded both his and Velvette's modesty, was Vox. He was no less soiled with angel blood, but he didn't seem to care. He grinned devilishly down at Velvette as he stroked her face with a bloodied claw.
"You know, maybe it's just because I'm a terrible person, but I don't feel guilty at all. That wasn't anything like the... other time..."
Blush lines decorated his screen and Velvette giggled. Angel Dust could only roll his eyes. Trust his favorite freak to giggle over the memory of one of her lovers forcing her other lover to sexually assault her on a dance-floor.
"You're not a terrible person, I wanted every inch of that. The shit I've been through was just making it hard to get..." Velvette trailed a bloody finger along Vox's screen "...and I don't think Val's dust has completely worn off yet"
"Oh, what a pity" Vox said.
They kissed tenderly, as though they were in bed, and not lying in a pool of The King of Hell's blood while...
...while...
Angel Dust's jaw dropped as he realized that Valentino was staring speechlessly at the while mess. Not that Val being a voyeur was new, but what was new was the appalled, disgusted look on the moth's face.
It was like Valentino had morals.
"When Val looks horrified, you know you've fucked up" he finally said, putting the safety back on his Tommy Gun and lowering it.
Velvette shrieked in shock, and Vox's screen glitched multiple times as the two Overlords scrabbled messily in the bloody puddle. They ended up awkwardly facing Angel Dust with Vox kneeling up as he hastily retied his dressing gown while an embarrassed-looking Velvette peeked at Angel Dust over his shoulder.
Angel Dust dropped the gun into the same void he'd fetched it from before crossing his arms.
All three pairs.
"Is he dead?" he asked, nodding at Lucifer. He already knew the answer, it was just the only thing he could think of to say.
"No. He's just knocked out" said Vox, a calculating expression on his screen as he looked Angel up and down "Angel Dust, I know this must all be a shock-"
"So, what's going on with Val?" Angel interjected, not wanting to hear Vox use his snake oil salesman's charisma to excuse what he'd just witnessed.
"He's lost his memories, at least, all his memories of Hell" Vox said. Val waved awkwardly at Angel with a shy smile.
Angel felt a twist of fear and pity as he glanced at Val, before glaring at Velvette.
"You should feel fucking ashamed of yourself, Toots" he said.
Velvette lowered her gaze briefly, before shrugging with feigned nonchalance.
"We're Overlords of Hell, Angel Dust. We're not angels" she said blithely.
"Charlie's never done anything to you, and you do this to Morningstar blood?" Angel Dust gestured vaguely at the mess that covered Velvette and Vox "I dunno. I know Lucifer's been a dick lately, but this feels so disrespectful to... everyone"
"Disrespectful is my middle name, babes" Velvette said.
Angel's lips twitched as Vox cleared his throat, brushing down the lapels of his robe.
"Angel, I have a business proposition for you" he said, and Angel laughed in disbelief.
"Holy shit, you are in no position to bargain, Voxxy" he pointed out.
"Ah, ah, ah. Hear me out. As you can see, Valentino is... indisposed... but his empire is still very intact. You've done a good job keeping it afloat in his absence, so why not take the keys to the kingdom? I'll arrange for you to take Valentino's place as The Overlord of porn and filth and all the other nasty shit he rules, and in return you convince The Hazbin Hotel and all it's irritating little inhabitants to leave us alone"
Velvette stared at Vox like he'd grown a second screen.
"What are you doing? You can't just give Val's power away!"
"Why not? He constantly took mine away" said Vox coldly, his gaze softening as he glanced at the lost and frightened-looking Val "...we keep him. We care for him. Maybe he recovers some day, maybe he doesn't. Either way, he's nowhere near as much of a danger to us if we're Overlords and he's not"
Angel Dust was speechless with shock.
Is Vox seriously offering to give me Val's... everything? Commanding the power and respect that an Overlord does... it's everything I've ever wanted in Hell...
"You're insane..." Angel Dust finally laughed again, shaking his head.
Vox just held out his hand, continuing to grin.
"What do you say, allies?" he asked.
Velvette stared from Vox's hand, to Val, and then to Angel Dust.
Conflict was clear on her pretty face, and Angel Dust smiled sympathetically, before he took a step towards Vox and said-
To Be Continued…
Notes:
ATUHOR'S NOSE:
1. Lepidopterophobia now has ART! Check out the "Art Of My Fic" tag on my blog to marvel at it. I can't thank all those beautiful artists enough. Seeing that gorgeous artwork gave me the creative energy to finish this chapter when I was really struggling.
2. I'm sure anyone fluent in Spanish has worked this out by now, but I do not speak Spanish and I've been relying on good ol' Google Translate to help me. If I've made any egregious errors, please let me know.
3. I wasn't a Hazbin Hotel fan before the series was released, but it does amuse me when I go back far enough on AO3 and find fics that describe King Lucy as tall. Which is why I have Velvette showing such inadvertent disrespect to our Short King Of Hell.
4. "The Elephant's Foot" is an extremely radioactive mass of corium (the lava-like material created by a nuclear meltdown) found at the base of one of Chernobyl's reactors. It's one of the most dangerous objects on Earth. "But Jesse!" you say "Valentino would've died before the Chernobyl disaster!" and that would be an excellent point! But if modern technology can make it's way down to Hell, so can modern news. (Also, Vox didn't literally spew The Elephant's Foot, Val was being hyperbolic. Just to make that clear)
5. My various descriptions of The V Tower probably contradict not only canon, but the fanon of this AU. Just ignore any egregious continuity errors, I suck at architecture and interior design.
6. I am once again Making Stuff Up, this time in regards to Valentino's biology (Sorry Viv)
7. Where does Angel Dust keep all his guns? I don't know, and I can't think of an explanation that's not a bit... silly. So vaguely specified 'void' it is!
Chapter 20: Couldn't Help But Observe
Notes:
Content Warning: This chapter contains age-play... sort-of.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Despite his sadistic nature, Valentino could be very charismatic. When he was able to conceal his psychopathic traits for long enough, he possessed a charm that could convince anyone to do anything.
Even so, the ease with which Valentino had ensnared Angel Dust was humiliating. Older Sinners don't submit to younger ones, it was an unspoken rule throughout all of Pride. But it had taken Valentino less than a month to trap Angel Dust like a fly in a spider's web.
Ironic, really.
Valentino's charm was the bait for his trap, his sultry and melodic voice luring Angel Dust in with a siren song of praise and adoration.
"Angel Dust, what a beautiful name for a beautiful boy" Valentino had purred, wrapping an arm around Angel Dust and holding him close as they cuddled up together in a secluded booth in one of Valentino's new nightclub/brothel hybrids.
Vox's kept whore. That's all that Angel Dust thought he was. But under the pulsing red-and-pink lights, with too much alcohol in his system and too much of his namesake up his nose, Valentino didn't seem like a kept whore anymore. He seemed powerful, and more than that he seemed like someone who could make Angel powerful too. Angel Dust had never held much sway in Hell, but here Val was, whispering such sweet nothings and making so many enticing promises in that beautiful, beautiful voice.
"Amorcito, stick with Papi, and I'll make you a star..."
Technically, Val didn't lie, he did make Angel Dust a star. Almost everyone in Hell had seen Angel's films, and almost everyone knew his face (and his body). But Angel Dust didn't just want fame, he wanted power. You don't get power by letting yourself be waterboarded on camera. You got power by being ruthless, manipulative, and cruel. Valentino had known that. But despite his misdeeds in life, Angel had never really had the stomach for the sort of cruelty that was expected of an Overlord. So he'd been the fly, and not the spider he resembled.
But things change. Decades of degradation and humiliation at the hands of a sadist like Valentino had pushed him to his breaking point, and Angel Dust had taken his (very few) remaining morals and shelved them next to his childhood memories of wetting the bed at Johnny Lyman's house and that one time he called Vox Daddy.
Angel Dust had to remind himself that he was a former gangster, and no self-respecting gangster got squeamish about shelving their morals in order to seize power. Sure, self-respect was something Angel hadn't indulged in for a while, but it was never too late to treat yourself.
No matter how much his conscious screamed at him don't do it!
With purpose, Angel Dust walked up the drive of The Hazbin Hotel. His home and his safe haven ever since Charlie had invited him to stay there. He owed Charlie Morningstar more than he could ever repay her, a fact that made him grimace as his gut churned with unease and guilt. The magnificent facade of the hotel beamed down at him, and he stared glumly at the dazzling lights that he’d hung up with his friends.
Alastor's distinctive silhouette was visible in his radio tower, and as Angel Dust watched, it melted away into shadow before slinking off.
Angel didn't know where Alastor's morals lay. But he knew for a fact that The Radio Demon was extremely self-serving. He also knew that Alastor, despite the rocky start their relationship had gotten off to, genuinely loved Lucifer.
Under normal circumstances, he would've found Alastor's love for Lucifer cute. But these were hardly normal circumstances. With a shiver, Angel came to a stop in front of the hotel's front doors, reaching for the door-handle.
But before he could turn the handle, Charlie Morningstar swung the doors inwards, staring up at Angel with watery eyes as Vaggie hovered anxiously behind her. The Princess of Hell gasped in relief as she saw that Angel was unharmed, before throwing herself into his arms and hugging him so tightly that Angel could feel his ribs ache in protest.
"Angel! We were so worried! Are you okay? Where's Dad? What happened?" she asked frantically, loosening her grip on him so she could drag him inside.
Angel looked around the atrium with a small gulp. Everyone (sans Alastor) was gathered around, and Angel Dust felt his stomach twist when he saw Cherri Bomb sitting at the bar, looking like she'd been crying. Husk was standing next to her, smiling in relief at Angel Dust.
"So?" Charlie asked, her expression so painfully sweet and concerned "What's going on?"
Angel cleared his throat, smiling awkwardly at the gathered crowd. His friends. His family. The only decent people in Hell.
"Charlie..." he started to say "Things went... kinda sideways at The V Tower"
Lucifer lying in a pool of blood. Velvette shivering as she hid herself behind Vox. Valentino blankly staring at the blood-soaked tableau before him.
...and Vox. Grinning at him like the Cheshire Cat, his hand outstretched towards Angel Dust.
'Sideways' was one word for it.
"What do you say, allies?" he asked.
Velvette stared from Vox's hand, to Val, and then to Angel Dust.
Conflict was clear on her pretty face, and Angel Dust smiled sympathetically, before he took a step towards Vox and said-
"You jut shot my friend in the back, and now you want me to leave my family?!"
"Trust me, Angel, they're not your family" Vox said with a scornful laugh. Angel glared daggers at him, while Velvette continued to stare at The TV Demon in shock, still reeling from Vox's unexpected offer to Angel.
"You've never had a family! What do you know about family?" Angel Dust snarled. The smile vanished from Vox's screen.
"I have a family more loving and loyal than your saccharine little friends could ever be" he snapped, Velvette looked confused, as though wondering if Vox had a secret family he'd never told her about "You. Velvette. You're my family"
Velvette smirked.
"Aw, thanks Daddy" she taunted, making Vox roll his eyes, his expression softening as he looked back at Angel.
"Okay, okay. I take it back. That comment was uncalled for, I was being a jerk. They're your family, your annoyingly moral family. But sometimes you need to use your head, and not your heart" Vox said with a shrug.
Velvette laughed, her tone half-disbelieving and half-hysterical. She shook her head as she glared up at Vox.
"You know, I’d love it if you used your head, Vox. Have you got your wires crossed?! We have the hotel right where we want them! We put them in the crosshairs of both Heaven and The Sins' scrutiny, and the threat of Lucifer is... well" she motioned towards the bleeding angel "We won!"
Vox shook his head, shooting Velvette a look.
"Don't be a fool" he said, as Angel stared at Lucifer's prone body. The King Of Hell somehow looked even smaller and more doll-like in his vulnerable and blood-soaked position.
"Is he going to be okay?" Angel asked.
Vox glanced dismissively at Lucifer.
“He’ll live” he said, waving his hand airily “We have more important things to worry about”
"He’s my friend" Angel said through gritted teeth.
"Your friend was willing to take away your free will, and the free will of all of Pride, just to help out his precious Char-Char!" Vox said with a sneer in Lucifer’s direction "Look, I’m not blaming Princess Sunshine for this. I think she’s a fool, and she gives me a headache… but she’s a sweet girl. Which is why, as glad as I am that Lucifer will be out of our hair soon, I don’t wish any harm towards her”
"Alastor's going to be pissing in her ear. She's not going to be very sweet towards us for much longer. We should step back and let Heaven and the other Sins deal with her and the hotel" said Velvette, making Angel snarl.
"Over my dead body!"
"Velvette, my dear. For starters, there is no guarantee that Heaven and the Sins will 'deal with' the hotel. Also, while Lucifer is a lost cause, the hotel could prove to be valuable allies. If you two would stop whining and just listen to me, I could lay out my plan” Vox said “All I need from you is an answer, Angel”
"Why the hell would I betray everyone I care about, just to join up with the assholes who made my afterlife hell?" he snapped.
"I thought you cared about Velvette, Angel?" Vox said “She certainly cares about you, and lucky for you I love her so much that her care for you has rubbed off on me. Do you know what becoming an Overlord would mean for you? Nobody could ever hurt you again..."
Valentino was still standing to the side, looking uncertain as he stared at Angel. Velvette started anxiously biting on one of her knuckles. As her eyes met Angel's, she allowed herself a small smile. Angel returned it. Vox was right, he did care about her, even if she was the biggest bitch in Hell.
There was a small, rustling noise as Valentino fidgeted with one of his wings, his long fingers dancing over the gossamer-like appendages. Angel glanced over at him, and for a brief, heart-stopping moment he saw a glimmer of the Val he had known, lurking within those pink-red eyes. A blink of Angel's own eyes and the flash was gone, but it was enough to remind him of how dangerous Valentino had once been.
...and now Angel had the chance to not only de-fang Val, but to take his power for himself. Nobody could ever hurt him again, least of all his former pimp.
Angel took a deep breath, before taking a step closer.
"...if you two fuck me over..." he said, not sure what he could threaten Vox and Velvette with in his current state.
"How could either of us ever fuck you over more than Valentino already has?" Vox said with a cold laugh "Just shake my fucking hand, Angel. Don't be an idiot"
Angel only hesitated for a brief moment before he took a step closer and took Vox's hand. The TV Demon's grip was cold, and as sharp as the smile he offered Angel.
"Deal" they said in unison.
It wasn't a binding deal, but Angel still felt a jolt run up his arm.
There was a slightly awkward pause, made even more awkward by the mutinous way Velvette was glaring at them both.
"So, when do I become an Overlord?" Angel finally asked as Vox got to his feet, dripping angelic blood onto the rooftop. He laughed.
"Very soon, my handsome little friend. But in the meantime, I'd advice you pack up your most treasured possessions and make yourself comfortable here. I doubt you'll be welcome at the hotel until tempers have cooled"
Angel glanced out at Pentagram City, feeling a knot form in his stomach at the distant sight of The Hazbin Hotel.
Oh God... Charlie...
Vox cleared his throat, adjusting his bloodied robe self-consciously.
"Angel, there's just one little thing I need you to do, before you return to the hotel..."
"Everything is fine now, don't worry. But there's going to be some changes in Hell" Angel finally said, avoiding meeting Charlie's eyes.
"Changes?" Charlie looked confused "What's going on, where's Dad?"
"He's at Heaven's Embassy" Angel said, ignoring the shocked gasps that rippled around the room.
A mass of shadows rose up between Angel Dust and Charlie, before they melted away to reveal Alastor's grinning visage. The Radio Demon looked unusually tense, even as he smiled up at Angel Dust. He clearly knew that something had happened, but he didn’t know what.
"How, pray tell, did that gauche new-money attention whore manage to survive The King Of Hell's wrath?" he asked, his voice even more warped by distortion than usual.
Angel did his best to hold his head high. He was taller than Alastor, but that didn't make The Radio Demon any less terrifying.
"...Vox shot him in the heart with an Angelic Steel bullet, and I dumped him at the embassy to await Heaven's judgement" he said, earning himself another chorus of gasps. Angel glanced over at the bar again, regretting it when he saw the horrified look on Husk's face, and the betrayed look on Cherri Bomb's.
Finally, Charlie spoke.
"Why?" was all she said, and that single word somehow conveyed her pain and betrayal better than a thousand words could've.
Angel Dust lowered his eyes again.
"I'm sorry, Charlie. But it's for the best. Trust me" he hesitated, before imitating Vox with a sardonic grin "Trust us"
“Us?” Vaggie said disbelievingly.
“Yeah. Us. Vox and Velvette are done with Valentino being the third wheel on their tricycle. Vox offered me Val’s power and status, and I accepted” Angel said, leaving out Velvette’s obvious skepticism about Vox’s plan.
The Vees had to be a united front, after all. He’d seen Vox rant to Valentino about it enough times.
“You’re a Vee?!” Cherri Bomb said, stunned.
“Bad move, kid” said Husk.
How right he was.
"What have you DONE?!" Alastor snarled, and Angel yelped as his wrist was suddenly grabbed by one red-tipped hand, while his chin was grabbed by another. His head was forced up, and he found himself staring helplessly into The Radio Demon's eyes as radio dials spun endlessly within them.
Before Angel could scream, there was a flash of blinding white light and a bugling cry of pain. He managed to break out of Alastor's grip and ran blindly across the atrium, only stopping when he felt Cherri Bomb and Husk grab him.
"Are you okay, kid?" Husk asked, and Angel Dust could only nod, turning and blinking the stars out of his eyes until he could make out the scene he'd fled.
Alastor lay sprawled on the floor, whining in pain, while Charlie stood over her prone hotelier. She held her trident aloft while her tail swished behind her, her normally-pretty visage replaced by her horned and demonic one.
"Stay down" she said, her voice reverberating slightly.
"...Charlie, thank-you" said Angel, still slightly dazed.
Charlie looked over her shoulder, and her expression was nearly as frightening as Alastor's had been.
"I think you should leave" she finally said, her voice not losing an iota of it’s demonic echo.
Husk and Cherri Bomb let go of Angel, and he turned to look at them. Their expressions were no less furious and betrayed than Charlie's, even if they didn’t have Angelic fury backing up their glares.
(...and even if Husk's expression was far less furious than it should've been, all things considered)
"...you don’t get it" Angel said "I'd have power, respect, and that son of a bitch could never hurt me again"
"How is a moth supposed to hurt you?" Cherri Bomb snapped.
"...he regained his true form a few hours ago. Not his memory, though. He's got amnesia" Angel Dust admitted.
Charlie’s expression reverted to normal, and the look on her face was one of such raw hurt and betrayal that it was still just as difficult to look directly at her.
"It doesn't matter why, Angel Dust. You've chosen what side you want to be on and..." Charlie trailed off "...can't you change your mind again? Everyone deserves a second chance"
"Or a third... or a fourth" Vaggie muttered, glaring venomously at Angel.
Angel shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Toots. I can't pass this up"
Charlie nodded, looking away as tears brimmed in her eyes.
"Fine" she said "...go get your things, and get out. You and your partners are no longer welcome in The Hazbin Hotel"
"Charlie, uh... Vox wanted me to extend an olive branch to you guys so that-"
"I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT!" Charlie snarled, tears dripping down her face.
Vox had been right. Tempers needed to cool.
Angel Dust scrambled to move away from her, before hurrying up the stairs as quickly as he could.
He did his best not to listen to Charlie's heartbroken sobbing as he ran, feeling as though his heart was breaking just as much.
Once Angel Dust had departed from The V Tower's rooftop with the diminutive King Of Hell in his arms, Vox had turned to Velvette with a smile that could launch a thousand sales campaigns.
Before he could speak, Velvette raised one of her fingers threateningly, holding it against his 'lips'.
"Don't. Just don't" she said.
"All I was going to say is that we should clean up, you're filthy" Vox reached out, brushing the back of his hand affectionately against Velvette's cheek.
Velvette turned away from him, looking instead at Val, who stared blankly back at her.
"Fine. I'll meet you on Val's floor" she said, her tone so icy that you could ski on it. Without another word, she flounced away, shoulder-checking Vox.
Or, more accurately, elbow-checking the much taller Sinner.
Velvette showered on her own floor, redressing herself in a pair of purple-and-black striped sleep shorts and a neon pink camisole with 'My Tits Are Down Here' emblazoned over her chest.
As she dried her hair, Velvette stared glumly at herself in her mirror. She used to be able to change her clothes with a snap of her fingers, but even with her rediscovered affinity to witchcraft, the Overlord's power she'd once held felt like it was miles away. Something had permanently changed inside her on the night that Valentino had raped her, and Velvette felt like she'd never be the same again.
Velvette returned to Valentino's floor with her hair twisted into a pink microfiber towel that matched her camisole, her bare feet padding against the floor as she approached Vox. She feigned nonchalance, tapping away at her phone as she dropped down next to him.
Truth be told, no matter how annoyed she was with the flat-faced prick, she didn't think she'd be able to leave his side for longer than an hour in her current state.
The Media Overlord was sparkling clean once more, wearing a new bathrobe and lounging on the sofa Val had assaulted him on, sipping from a martini glass as he kept a close eye on his former lover.
Valentino was wearing a pair of black silk pajamas that obviously belonged to Vox. Several inches of leg and arm were visible as Val wandered around the room and took in his 'unfamiliar' surroundings.
"So, Val's first language wasn't English? I thought he was born in America" Velvette commented, looking up from her phone.
"I'm not completely sure. All I know is that he couldn't speak English when I met him, I had to teach him" said Vox, wrapping his arm around Velvette and making her stiffen up at the contact.
She was in a needy frame of mind, but she was still very annoyed.
"You're a good English teacher" Velvette finally said, her tone slightly clipped.
"No I'm not, he's just extremely clever. The smartest idiot I've ever met" said Vox "He was speaking it fluently within a month"
Velvette nodded, watching as Valentino curiously picked up a glass ornament shaped like a penis. She shifted in Vox's grip, slipping her phone away and crossing her arms discontentedly.
Vox put his martini glass down, turning his screen to look down at Velvette. He sighed heavily.
"Velvette, I'm starting to get the impression that you're angry with me" he said.
"We're supposed to be a team, Vox! But without so much as consulting me first, you've decided to strip our partner and lover of his powers and give them to an occupant of the Hazbin fucking Hotel!" Velvette snapped "Oh, and before you try to pull an UNO reverse card on me; I know I've befriended Angel, I know I was technically an occupant of that hotel too, and I know I've done shit behind your back. But I had good fucking reason to! So if you even think of throwing any of that in my face, I'll shatter your screen!"
Vox looked slightly guilty.
"It was a spur of the moment decision-"
"Vox, we're a team, we're business partners, we're lovers- you said you wanted to marry me!" Velvette wrenched herself out of Vox's grip and got to her feet, her hands on her hips "You don't get to make decisions like that without discussing it with me first!"
Vox had the grace to look ashamed of himself, lowering his eyes as Valentino looked at them curiously.
"Maybe I wasn't thinking clearly" he said.
"No fucking shit" Velvette took a few steps away, crossing her arms and looking out the window with a sigh.
In all honesty, she didn't hate the idea. It was Vox's disrespect and disregard for her opinion that was pissing her off.
"I'm sorry, Vox. But I can't marry you. Not now" she said.
Velvette heard something like a television set short-circuiting, followed by the rapid padding of Vox's own bare feet against the floor as he hurried to her side.
"Velvette, my dear, dear Velvette, please-"
"Fuck off" Velvette snapped.
"Velvette" Vox said, his clawed hands cupping her face and gently maneuvering her to face him. She closed her eyes, not wanting to look at him "Velvette, please look at me"
His voice warped on the look at me, and Velvette didn't need to open her eyes to know his eye was spinning.
"Are you seriously trying to hypnotize me right now?" she snarled.
"I'm sorry! I can't help it!" Vox said quickly, sounding genuinely contrite "Please, please look at me!"
Velvette sighed.
"I said, fuck off" she snapped with slightly less venom, finally opening her eyes. She stared blankly at Vox's screen once she did, but it wasn't because his eye was spiraling.
In lieu of his usual digital expression, a 3D image of a glittering ring was spinning on Vox's screen. Velvette stared at it, dumbfounded. It was a platinum solitaire ring, with a pink diamond that couldn't have been any less than two carats cut into the shape of a glittering heart. It was the perfect complimentary piece to Valentino's bracelet, the bracelet that still sparkled on Velvette's wrist.
"Vox. What the fuck am I looking at?" Velvette asked as Vox's expression flickered back to normal.
"When Val told me about the bracelet he was having made for you, I thought... I thought maybe it was time. I went to the same jeweler and had the ring commissioned. They finished work on it the day before Valentino..." Vox cleared his throat "The day before Valentino raped you. I never found the right time to go collect it, let alone to propose to you with it. So I rushed things, and yes, I was impulsive. I fucked up proposing to the woman I love, like I fucked up everything else for you... I am so sorry"
Velvette felt tears sting at her eyes, smiling weakly up at him.
Vox touched her face gently.
"...I had a ring made for Val too. I was going to propose to you both, but when Val assaulted you, I had his ring destroyed. But yours is still there, waiting for you. Valentino made me love him less, but I love you so, so much and all the hell we've been through has only made me love you more"
Velvette choked out a laugh.
"Holy shit, Vox" she said "You fucking sap"
"Marry me, Velvette" Vox said, getting down on one knee, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it "Marry me, please marry me..."
"Oh my God, stop embarrassing yourself. I already said yes, I was just being a bitch" Velvette laughed, helping Vox get to his feet again before kissing him passionately.
They broke away from one another at the sound of glass breaking. Valentino smiled sheepishly, holding the splintered remains of the phallic ornament in his hand.
"Easy with the grip, big guy" Vox said with an exasperated sigh.
"...not the first time you've had to say that, I'm sure" Velvette deadpanned, making Vox have to look away and muffle his screen with his sleeve as he laughed.
Valentino kept fiddling around with his ornaments, while Velvette smiled at Vox, tapping his shoulder so he'd turn back around.
"But I want that ring, Vox. I'm not marrying you for love alone"
"Naturally" Vox said, wrapping an arm around Velvette's shoulders and guiding her back to the sofa. They sat down together, with Vox holding tightly onto Velvette while she nestled against his side.
Velvette yawned, blinking slowly.
"We should get some more sleep" Vox said, rubbing his hand up and down her shoulder.
Velvette yawned again, nodding.
"So how do you transfer an Overlord's power, anyway?" she asked.
"Luckily for me, it's not too dissimilar to a business deal. You sign some paperwork and do a handshake. With the state Val's in, I might need to puppeteer him a little... but Val never respected my bodily autonomy, so why should I respect his?"
Velvette laughed nastily, watching as Valentino gently stroked a ceramic pair of breasts with a leering smile. As Velvette looked at him, Valentino smirked briefly at her. For a split-second, Velvette saw something dangerous and calculating flit across his expression.
But as quickly as it appeared, it vanished without a trace, leaving Val innocently and guilelessly playing with his smutty pottery.
Velvette shivered, but said nothing.
Despite their machinations relying on Val staying in his amnesiac state, Vox and Velvette still loved him, and they had hoped that seeing his old bedroom would jog Valentino's memory. But they had no such luck.
Velvette watched Val closely as she fiddled around with her hair, putting it into a silk bonnet for bed. Just as he had in the living room, the overgrown moth was looking at his personal space like he'd never seen it before in his life, his wide eyes reflecting the red fairy lights with a sense of awe.
Vox, now wearing monogrammed silk pajamas, followed Val around to make sure he didn't hurt himself. While he wasn't quite as much of a pack rat as Velvette was, Val wasn't exactly a neat freak either. His rooms tended to be full of dangerous things; loaded guns left lying around, blades, needles...
It was better to be safe than sorry.
"I can't believe I used to be scared of you" Vox sighed as he grabbed a straight razor out of Valentino's hand before he could hurt himself with it "That's a razor, idiot. You must've seen one when you were alive"
Valentino just smiled innocently, and Vox repeated his comment in Spanish, making Val laugh and respond with something that made Vox laugh too.
"No, razor blades aren't any different down here" he said fondly.
Valentino shrugged, before yawning. Vox took his arm, guiding him over to the bed.
"Sleep" he ordered, pulling back the covers of Val's duvet and maneuvering his former boyfriend under the sheets. Val complied, climbing in and smiling amiably up at Vox as he was practically tucked into one side of his bed like a child.
"You'd be a good Dad" said Velvette, rubbing lotion over her arms. She didn't need it, she had perfect skin no matter what she did or didn't do, but she liked the routine.
"I would. What a shame your uterus doesn't fucking work" Vox joked.
"Neither do your balls" Velvette sniped back.
"Aren't we a perfect pair" Vox winked as he got into bed, making himself comfortable next to Valentino.
The two of them spoke together in quiet Spanish as Velvette finished her unnecessary evening routine. After about twenty minutes of Velvette fussing with her skin, Vox grew impatient.
"Velvette, I'm not getting any younger!" Vox snapped.
Velvette slammed a bottle of Valentino's nail oil on the boudoir, turning to glare at him.
"You're not getting any with that attitude" she said, standing up and storming over to the bed, dropping herself down next to Vox. Despite her annoyance at his impatience, she still snuggled up to Vox, her head resting against his chest.
She slipped one of her hands up Vox's pajama shirt, running her fingertips lightly along the shark-like gills on Vox's side. She rarely thought about them, Vox's appliance-head was so distracting that the fact he had gills was almost quaint by comparison.
"...did you like sharks when you were alive?" she asked, her voice muffled by Vox's luxurious sleepwear.
"No. I was terrified of dying at sea" Vox said sleepily, leaning down to press cold, flat lips against her bonnet "Sleep well"
"Sleep well, shark-boy" Velvette murmured, nuzzling up more against Vox.
Her position meant that she was inches away from Valentino's face as the moth-themed demon lay on Vox's other side, staring unblinkingly at her.
Even though Valentino was as harmless as he'd ever be, the effect was still unnerving.
"...good-night, Val" she finally said "Buenas noches"
Val smiled, his sharp teeth glimmering in the red fairy lights.
"Buenas noches"
Velvette was dreaming, but she knew she was dreaming. She hummed happily to herself as she skipped down a garden path, lost in the strange unreality of dreamland, but knowing that she controlled the world she found herself in.
She was wearing nothing but a fluttering sundress, covered in cartoon-like images of sharks and moths. The wind tugged at her hair as she made her way past towering hedges that were clipped into the shapes of apples. Her bare feet kicked up tiny pebbles from the gravel path she was skipping on, but there was no pain or discomfort. She continued to hum, feeling completely at-ease.
The apple-hedge-lined path led her to an idyllic duck pond, the sort of thing that only existed in dreams and post-war British children's books. The water was perfectly blue, the ducks perfectly cute and fluffy, and there wasn't a piece of litter or pollution to be seen. Velvette dropped down onto the soft grass that surrounded the pond, leaning over and trailing her fingers along the water.
She felt confused. Normally her dreams weren't so whimsical and happy, especially not her lucid dreams. But she wasn't complaining, she could use some whimsy in her life right now.
She smirked to herself, a blush touching her cheeks. This was her dream, she could do whatever she wanted.
"I'm lonely" she said aloud with a lovelorn sigh.
She wasn't surprised when a hand slipped over her own, the sleeve of the owner's shirt trailing in the water as he took her hand, bringing it to human lips and kissing the back of it.
It was Vox, because that was who Velvette had wanted. He looked human, and exceptionally handsome. He had dark blue hair streaked with red, and cyan eyes with red sclera. He was also sporting the same infuriatingly cocky smirk he so often sported in his afterlife.
Velvette smiled dreamily at him as he stood up, pulling her to his feet as he did so.
"Papi and I were looking for you, Princess, where were you?" Vox asked softly. Velvette's blush intensified. She knew that what she was doing was sick and wrong, but this was a dream. Nobody would ever know how perverted her fantasies about Vox and Valentino could be.
Consequence-free perversion, here I come!
Velvette gave Vox her most simpering look, pouting slightly before avoiding eye contact with him as she took one of his hands with both of hers.
"I wanted to look at the ducks, Daddy. They're so pretty" she said.
Vox chuckled, covering her hands with his other one. He was wearing a dark blue suit, something far more modern than what he wore in Hell, but no less tailored.
"You're pretty too" Vox said, and Velvette's blush deepened even more, for different reasons.
Velvette had no idea what Vox looked like when he was alive, but goddamn Dream!Vox was handsome. He looked older, yes, but in the dashing and distinguished way that had always made her feel weak in the knees.
"Come on, Papi must miss us" Vox continued, pulling at Velvette's hands, walking backwards and dragging Velvette with him as he led her around the pond. Just like in reality, Vox was much stronger than Velvette.
Velvette looked behind Vox, and her eyes widened as she saw Valentino, lounging on a picnic blanket by the pond. She'd always had a hunch that Valentino had been very good-looking when he was alive, and her dream didn't disappoint. Valentino in human guise was tall, taller than Vox, with the sort of physique that Ancient Greek sculptors would weep over. He had purple streaks dyed into his wavy brown hair, unnaturally red-pink eyes hidden behind heart-shaped glasses, and a gold tooth that glinted in the sunshine as he smiled at her.
"Picardias, don't you look cute" Val purred, holding out a hand towards her. His fingernails were painted gold, and he wore as many rings and bracelets as the real Val did. It suited him.
Vox let go of Velvette, ushering her over to Val. She didn't need much encouragement, practically skipping over to her 'Papi' and climbing into his lap without any shame.
Val was wearing white trousers and a half-open purple shirt. Velvette ran her eyes along the exposed musculature of his chest as Val ran his hands along her legs, gently hitching up her skirt.
"Aren't you wearing any panties, muñequita?" he asked with an amused chuckle. Velvette felt Vox kneel down behind her, his own hands running over her shoulders, gently squeezing her biceps.
"Nope. Do you like it, Papi?" she purred, running one of her hands down Val's chest, stopping at his belt buckle.
"I do like it, mi angelito. But not as much as Voxxy likes it" Val said, leaning in and kissing Velvette's cheek. Velvette hadn't felt stubble against her cheek for years, and she stiffened up at the sensation.
"You're projecting, Val" said Vox, even as his hands trailed up her skirt from behind, cupping her buttocks.
"Really? Why don't you stand up and show us all how soft you are, hm?" Val purred, his breath warm against Velvette's cheek. She shifted herself closer, so that she was practically rocking herself against Val's belt-buckle.
"Ha. Alright, you got me. I think hot chicks in slutty little dresses are sexy. I'm a pervert" Vox said.
"Keep up, Vox. She's having us pretend to be her fathers in this dream" said Val, snapping his fingers in Vox's face.
Velvette froze up, staring at Valentino in unease. She'd had lucid dreams before, but she'd never had her dreams become self-aware.
"...Val, what the fuck?"
"I could say the same to you, honey. What the fuck" Lucifer's voice cut across Velvette's fantasies, and Vox and Val vanished into smoke as Velvette collapsed onto the ground. She found herself sprawled out on the perfect grass, staring at Lucifer's shiny boots as the King of Hell approached her.
"Get out of my dream" she said, glaring up at Lucifer "Shouldn't you be getting a cavity search in Heaven by now?"
Lucifer looked completely relaxed, wearing his usual white suit, complete with ridiculously floppy hat. He laughed, twirling his apple-topped cane in one hand before dropping down onto the grass next to Velvette, sitting with his legs crossed.
Velvette mirrored him, sitting up and crossing her own legs, leaning in until they were almost nose-to-nose.
"I'll be dragged up to Heaven soon enough, little doll. But I have some time to spend twiddling my thumbs. Or breaking into your dreams. I had wondered why your mind was so deliciously open for me... your subconscious is practically an open door to me, my pretty little witch" he said, poking the center of Velvette's forehead with one of his fingers.
"Fuck you, I'm not your pretty little anything, let alone your witch" Velvette snapped, slapping his finger away.
"Ha. That's funny, honey. Because I'm pretty sure the way witchcraft works is that you pledge your soul to me and get dark powers in return" Lucifer said "You have no idea how lucky you are that I'm nice. Imagine if Satan had your soul, or Mammon!"
"What the fuck do you mean, you're nice? You're a selfish, petty, cruel sack of angelic shit masquerading as a fluffy little duckling. You threw me off my own building!" Velvette snapped.
"You had it coming, Velvette. You endangered my daughter. You can do whatever you like to me, I don't care, but if you put Charlie in danger the gloves come off" he said.
"...or in other words, you messed with my daughter, and now I'm going to fuck you?" Velvette taunted, causing Lucifer's mouth to twitch with amusement.
"You wish" he said, winking.
"Oh, so you worked out what I'm going to fuck you sounds like? Clever boy!" Velvette continued to taunt.
"I assume you saw my slip of the tongue through one of Vox's voyeuristic little cameras. They've always made my skin crawl. A man with so little regard for privacy... don't you ever wonder what he was really like when he was alive?"
Velvette shrugged.
"It's irrelevant now" she said, and Lucifer smirked.
"It's never irrelevant. Your actions in life bleed into your afterlife. Look at Alastor, a cannibal in life who now eats rotting deer's heads in Hell. Vox was a terrible person, Velvette, worse than Valentino could've dreamed of being"
Velvette stared at him, feeling her heart skip a beat.
Vox? Worse than Valentino? That's impossible...
"You know who he was?" she said, leaning in closer, her nose brushing against Lucifer's.
Lucifer's smirk only grew.
"Of course I do, I'm the fucking Devil"
"Tell me. Tell me!" Velvette begged, reaching out and grabbing the lapels of Lucifer's suit. He just laughed, prying her fingers off him as he shook his head.
"I'd love to tell you, really I would" he lied "But I haven't got much time, and there's far more important things you need to know about. While I was lying there, watching you and Vox fuck each other in a pool of my own blood-"
"You saw that?" Velvette said, feeling blood rush to her face as she cringed in shame, leaning away from Lucifer just as quickly as she'd leaned in.
"-I was stunned, I wasn't unconscious. That's not important, what's important is what I just couldn't help but observe. You see, while you and Vox were doing unspeakable things in my bodily fluids, my eyes drifted over to your dusty friend"
Velvette frowned.
"Val? Yeah, I saw what he was doing too. He was just standing around, staring. Even with amnesia he's a creep" she said.
"Let me tell you a little tidbit about Valentino's life. He did have a very nasty end, but before everything went to shit, do you know what he did for a living?" Lucifer asked, reaching out and tapping the tip of Velvette's nose teasingly.
Velvette shook her head.
"He was an actor, honey, a very talented one. Good enough to fool The Devil himself" Lucifer said with a sardonic smile "Valentino's back to normal in more ways than you realize. He's been faking the amnesia"
Velvette's heart skipped several beats.
"What? No! No, that's impossible!" she said, jumping to her feet "Val's in our bed! If he understood half the stuff we talked about around him, he'd-"
Velvette felt the blood drain from her face.
"He'd kill us in our sleep. Oh fuck"
Lucifer chuckled to himself, grabbing Velvette's arm and yanking her back down to eye-level.
"That's not all" he said, his voice annoyingly sing-song "I gotta find out more about Niffty some day, because that lunatic was onto something. Sinners can't get pregnant, and just kissing me isn't going to change that, but fucking in a pool of my blood? Ooh, you are in so much trouble"
Velvette stared blankly at him.
"What are you talking about?"
Lucifer reached out, resting one of his blackened hands against her stomach.
"As disturbing as your fantasies are, you were right to call Vox 'Daddy'. You're pregnant, Velvette"
"What?"
Velvette woke up with a gasp, hyperventilating.
Vox was sleeping soundly next to her, a VoxTek charging logo illuminating his screen. Everything surrounding him was bathed in a luminescent blue, including the muzzle of Vox's own gun- the one loaded with bullets that could take down Lucifer- which was currently pressed against his head.
Velvette's eyes trailed along the muzzle of the gun, running up a familiar arm before her gaze finally rested on Valentino's face, currently grinning without any humor at her.
"Good-morning, hermosa. Did you miss me?" he purred, raising one of his hands to his mouth and taking a drag of his cigarette, blowing out red smoke "Oh, I know it's been so hard without me, but don't worry..."
He reached out with another hand, grabbing Velvette around the neck and yanking her closer. Subconsciously, Velvette rested a hand protectively over her stomach.
"...don't worry your pretty little head over a thing, Daddy's home"
Illuminated in the red glow of Pride, Valentino's smile couldn't have looked any more demonic if he tried.
To Be Continued...
Notes:
🎶He's been gone for such a long time
(Hey-la-day-la my boyfriend's back)
Now he's back and things'll be fine
(Hey-la-day-la my boyfriend's back)
You're gonna be sorry you were ever born
(Hey-la-day-la my boyfriend's back)
'Cause he's kinda big and he's awful strong
(Hey-la-day-la my boyfriend's back)🎶1. I'm not even going to bother apologizing for my long absences between chapters, because I'm starting to sound like a broken record. (But I do feel bad that I'm not writing as quickly as I used to).
2. I've decided to add the 'Not Canon Compliant' tag to this. Because A) It sure as fuck won't be compliant with canon when S2 comes out, and B) It makes me feel slightly better about diluting the Hellaverse with my silly little headcanons and ideas.
3. I'll probably go into this in the next chapter, but as it takes me approximately seven years to finish a chapter I'll make it clear now; in this AU, Valentino was a polyglot long before he met Vox, he was just fucking with his flat-faced prince.
4. Velvette has... issues...
5. 🎶Hey-la-day-la my boyfriend's back🎶😈
Chapter 21: That Your Wrinkled Face Was Turning Red
Notes:
*Gasp* I’m alive!
So, let’s get the Sunset Flag-waving elephant in the room out of the way. Canon!Velvette is a lesbian, which means that there is now no way I can ever tie this fic back to canon.
I'm excited for whatever delightfully chaotic sapphic ship Velvette ends up in, and I'm thrilled for all the fans who've been headcanoning her as a Lesbian and are now #Vindicated. I'd also like to remind my dear readers that this is an AU, and that Lepidopterophobia!Velvette is not her canon counterpart. I am not trying to erase Canon!Velvette's sexuality.
I'm also happy to announce that I have a lot of thoughts and ideas about The Lepidopterophobia AU that I've been ruminating on during my hiatus. Before we get into the chapter, please sit tight, and enjoy my ramblings:- Remember: This AU is 60% Canon and 40% Jesse’s bullshit. I'll always try and let you guys know when I deliberately deviate from canon, or speculate wildly about things that haven't been explored yet. As new canon comes out (or if I unearth some deep lore I wasn't aware of) I will either integrate it into the story, ignore it, or do some sneaky editing so I can retcon it in.
- On that note, I haven’t seen Helluva Boss and I haven’t seen each and every post that Vivziepop has ever made. So if you see anything egregiously ‘wrong’ and I haven’t made a note explaining it, please, don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know I messed up.
- I will, at some point in the near-future, be creating 'The Lepidopterophobia AU' as a series on AO3. The series will consist of 'core' works (like this one), that push the main narrative forwards, as well as one-shots that fill in the gaps. This means that when I run out of 'Respectless' lyrics, it'll just be the end of the fic, not the story.
- On the subject on one-shots, I have a slightly wild idea. Now, I can't draw. It's just not a skill I've ever possessed. I adore all the art I've seen for Lepidopterophobia, and I'd love to see more to give my silly little AU a visual element that I can't provide for it myself. So! If you happen to be a fan-artist, I would love to do a fic-for-art trade. Slide on over to jessequinnfirstofhername.tumblr.com and reach out, and if we both like one another's ideas I will write you a Lepidopterophobia AU one-shot in return for some Lepidopterophobia AU fan-art. This is still a rough idea right now, so please give me your brutally honest opinions on it. I know how much effort goes into fan-art, so I get it if this is a ridiculous thing to ask for.
- ...and obviously, if you already have any Lepidopterophobia art you're unsure about sharing with me, don't be! I would love to see it! I don't care if it's crayon scribbles on a napkin, I will cherish it until the day I die (the same goes for any art for my other fics)....and now... the long-awaited Chapter Twenty-One...
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
In a vacuum, it was a perfect afternoon. There was an uncensored true crime documentary on the telly, a warm cup of tea was on the coffee table, and Dolores had no school for the rest of the week.
However the circumstances were... less than ideal.
In the middle of lunch (and, naturally, in front of the whole school) Dolores had suddenly dropped her jacket potato and her perfectly-chilled can of Irn-Bru, collapsing to the floor in violent convulsions.
After taking longer than was strictly necessary to make sure she wasn't faking it for attention-
Fucking seriously, who would willingly thrash around on that filthy fucking floor for a few seconds of infamy?
-the school staff had rushed to Dolores's side, and she'd been summarily whisked off to hospital where they had found... nothing. As far as her results were concerned, Dolores was the healthiest fourteen-year-old girl in England.
Give or take a healing black eye.
"Poor girl. She walked right into a cupboard door on picture day" Dolores's father had laughed sympathetically as he chatted with a nurse, easily allaying any suspicions with his charm and charisma.
However, despite her clean bill of health, Dolores's school had seen her collapse and still deemed it a serious enough incident that she was sent home for the rest of the week with no instructions other than to rest.
Which led to Dolores's current situation: telly, tea, and a hottie clutched to her chest as she watched old-timey crime scene photos flit across the screen.
Periodically she twitched in a small but noticeable full-body spasm, her eyes flickering. She'd been looked at by every specialist the hospital could throw at her, but nobody had offered a good explanation for her twitches.
...other than a short but sweet "She's faking it".
On the television screen, a black-and-white photograph of a bespectacled man in a nice suit was being displayed while a presenter who sounded like he'd taken tranquilizers before heading into the recording booth talked over it.
Dolores tuned out the narration for a moment as she ran her eyes over the image of the man. He was the sort of man you'd pass in the street without thinking twice about. Asides from his eyes, that is, staring out at her from behind dorky-looking glasses with the sort of intensity that pierced into your very soul.
From that intense gaze alone, Dolores could maybe be coerced to admit that the man was somewhat handsome. In a creepy way.
She tuned back into the narration, holding her hottie a little closer.
"Due to the electrifying effect his crime scenes had on the general public, search efforts for Vickers doubled with every body left in his wake. However, thanks in no small part to the fanatical devotion of his followers, he was never caught. It wasn't until after his death that the location of his Alaskan compound was discovered"
Dolores reached out, taking a sip of her tea.
"Vickers' MO of electrocuting his 'enemies and dissenters' earned him his now-infamous moniker; 'The Electric Demon'. But to those trapped in his compound, he was a devil in more ways than one"
The image changed, Velvette was now staring at old footage- maybe from the Seventies or early Eighties- showing a woman speaking to an off-screen interviewer. Her demeanor was timid, and her eyes kept dancing around the room.
"It was the Fifties, and he was so clean-cut. He could've been a banker, or a lawyer. He was normal. At least, that was the impression you got of him at first. Then he'd start talking and... oh, he was so charismatic. I can't even begin to describe it. He could've told us to jump off a cliff, and we'd have done it with smiles on our faces"
The off-camera interviewer spoke, his tone dry and clinical.
"When did the relationship between yourself and Vickers become sexual?"
"Oh. Uh. I think I was sixteen? It was Christmas, and it was so cold on The Farm. He was the sort of guy who ran hot, and I asked if I could sleep in his bed with the other favorites. You know. The boys and girls he thought were extra special"
The woman paused, swallowing.
"It wasn't... he didn't make me do anything. He asked before anything happened. But... I was so young and he was my world and... there were so many people in the room"
She started to cry, and the documentary quickly cut away to another woman, this one more jaded-looking.
"If the men acted out he'd have them whipped. But us? The women? If we were bad we'd be made to get naked in front of the whole flock and swim in icy water until he was satisfied. Then later on, behind closed doors, we'd do something else for him if you catch my meaning"
She made a gesture with her hands and her mouth that Dolores didn't understand, before the channel was quickly changed and she found herself staring at Doctor Who.
"I was watching that" she said weakly.
Her father, standing over her, shrugged.
"Those shows are ghoulish, and exploitative" he said, walking away to adjust his tie in the hallway mirror.
"I was learning stuff" Dolores complained, her eye twitching.
"You'll learn more valuable stuff from this crap" he gestured at the television, where The Doctor was wearing some sort of space-suit on some sort of alien planet. Dolores tried to remember if she'd seen this one before.
There was a tense silence. Most silences between Dolores and her father were tense, ever since her mother...
Dolores's father cleared his throat before speaking again.
"If you're faking this, Doll, I'll make you regret that you were ever born" he glowered at his reflection through the red-tinted glasses he wore for his dyspraxia.
"W-w-why would I fake this?" Dolores stammered out, her body twitching.
Dolores's father walked back over to the couch, ignoring the bombastic music that was drowning out the dialogue on-screen as he leaned over her, his eyes tinted red from his glasses.
"You were about to be suspended, for what you did to the O'Neill girl, and then you have a stroke? It's very convenient"
"I tripped. I didn't mean to stab her with my nail file, it was an accident!" Dolores protested, twitching again.
What she didn't say was:
"My witch friends told me I needed to make a sacrifice, that I needed to draw another's blood..."
It was an... unnerving coincidence.
She outright stabbed a perfectly kind and innocent classmate for the sake of perfecting her Black Mass, and not a few days later she collapses with some sort of horrifying seizure that modern medicine can't diagnose.
Had she really sold her soul to The Devil?
"An accident?" Dolores father smirked disbelievingly.
On the screen, a giant alien resembling The Devil was roaring at The Doctor. Dolores watched it, twitching periodically.
Her father leaned in more.
"I know what you really are, Doll"
"...and I know what you really are, Dad. You want to talk about accidents, what about Mum's accident?" Dolores turned to look at her father, curling her lips in disgust "Just go to work"
Dolores's father frowned deeply, slipping a cigarette between his teeth and lighting it. He was a chain-smoker, a habit her mother had detested.
"The stroke addled your brains"
Something ran through her veins, both icy hot and burning cold all at once. Dolores quickly sat up, fixing her father with a death glare so venomous it could've melted a bouquet of flowers.
"Fuck you" Dolores snarled, her voice deeper and raspier than it had ever been before "You killed her! You killed her and you'll burn for it!"
Hellfire was licking the screen behind her, illuminating the devilish creature that The Doctor was yelling at.
Her father took several steps back, his eyes wide in alarm behind his glasses as a plume of smoke poured from his mouth, the cigarette still held between his now-clenched teeth.
Finally, he spoke.
"Dolores, what have you done?"
"Velvette, what have you done?" Valentino cooed, his red eyes glinting at her from behind his heart-shaped glasses. His glasses were custom-made, and he had a thousand spares that he kept scattered across Pride, to make up for both his weak eyesight and his habit of accidentally breaking his own glasses while raging.
Velvette stared into Valentino's eyes, her heart hammering in her chest from shock and fear... and shame. It wasn't like Valentino knew what she'd been dreaming about, but it would seem that Lucifer knew, and Hell only knew what a pissed-off angel with nothing to lose would do with that information.
Valentino's fingers, still curled around her throat, flexed. Velvette quickly focused on the more immediate and life-threatening danger before her.
All her powers, both those born of Hell and those born of Lucifer, were flaky at best after her recent trials and tribulations; she was defenseless.
Vox shifted in his sleep, but he didn't make any motion to wake up. Velvette was alone with one of the most dangerous bastards in Hell.
(...she assumed, honestly. Her knowledge of Hell was limited to Pride and whatever information trickled up through social media and Hellborn visitors and residents. Even so, Valentino seemed pretty fucking dangerous when he was inches away from her with a gun aimed at her fiancee's head and a hand around her throat)
"Val, you're back..." Velvette finally said, forcing a smile. Her hand was still splayed protectively over her stomach, just as Valentino's hand was still wrapped around her neck "I'm so happy, I've missed you so m-"
Valentino tightened his grip so much that Velvette's words died with a sickening gurgle, her eyes widening as she tried and failed to suck in air, letting go of her stomach to claw desperately at Val. As her fingers scrabbled desperately at his ruff, Val laughed nastily in her face.
"Oh, picardias, don't give me that I missed you bullshit. I heard everything you and Vox talked about. I know how you really felt, I know what you were plotting together. You were going to give Angelito my power?" he snarled, spittle flying as he raged.
Velvette had forgotten just how strong Valentino was. It put Vox's own ability to overpower her to shame. She gave up on trying to get Valentino off her and changed her tactics, swiping her hands desperately in Vox's direction, batting at every part of The TV Demon that she could read.
Vox stirred, the charging logo that filled his screen minimizing itself to the corner as his usual expression flickered into existence. As Velvette's vision darkened, she saw Vox look briefly confused, before he took in the scene before him and his expression turned to abject horror.
To his credit, he didn't hesitate to act, no matter how shocked he must've been.
"Val!" he said, somewhere between horror and surprise, sitting up and lunging at the taller Sinner in a fluid and surprisingly acrobatic motion. He managed to wrap his arms around Val, his voice muffled by the fur of Val's ruff as he tried to drag him off Velvette "Val! Let her go!"
Valentino had every chance to pull the trigger, but he didn't take it. He actually moved the gun away from Vox and loosened his grip on Velvette, allowing her to pull away from him and scramble gracelessly off the bed. She collapsed to the floor in a tangle of limbs that would've broken the spine of a less flexible Sinner, pulling herself together with a groan before running for the corner of the room.
She cowered, hating herself for her weakness, and hating that she couldn't think of anything better to do than to sink down into a protective crouching position with her arms wrapped around herself.
There was a single, almost certainly stress-induced moment where she felt like something squirmed inside her, and she thought about Lucifer's observation from her dream.
You're pregnant.
Oh God. Please. Don't make me go through this again. Please.
It wasn't the unlikely pregnancy that made her heart clench, it was the thought of once more boarding the emotional roller-coaster of thinking she was carrying an impossible child. She couldn't do it again, she just couldn't. It had to have been a bad dream, or if it wasn't a dream, maybe it was an especially cruel prank from Lucifer.
She still didn't know how to feel about the possibility of having a child. Did she even want to be a mother? She'd never even considered it in life- having a baby never felt brand-appropriate to her- and then she died and she'd assumed the option was forever closed to her.
But if she could have children postmortem, did she want to have Vox's child? What about Valentino, how would he fit into the equation? Nobody in their right mind would trust him with a baby, but he was still a part of her life.
...and as her recent dream was proof of, on some subconscious level she wanted to be Vox and Valentino's little princess, not whatever crotch-goblin she pushed out after nine months of emotional and physical turmoil.
None of those questions were even getting into how the Hell she'd been through recently had changed everything about The Vees' dynamics.
Shuddering, she stared at Vox and Val as they tussled on Valentino's bed. It had to be the first time in her afterlife that she hadn't enjoyed watching Vox and Val in bed.
Velvette knew that Vox and Alastor had had a huge fight once, one that Alastor had nearly won. She’d always imagined it being some sort of huge, dramatic, sparky confrontation. Now she couldn’t help but wonder if it had been like this; an intimate, desperate struggle between two men who had once loved each other more than anything else in Hell.
Finally, Vox got the upper hand by virtue of remembering he had ten knives strapped to his fingers. While still clinging to his back, he dug his claws into Valentino's shoulders, yanking him back with a snarl as blood ran down Val's upper set of arms. After a few moments of fruitless struggle, Valentino let himself be yanked, tilting his head back so he could smirk without any joy up at Vox.
"Isn't this typical, mi amor? Velvette's hero, come to save her from big bad Valentino" Valentino said, before he raised his lower right hand, aiming Vox's gun directly at it's owner's screen again "Bad move, Voxxy. It's no fun, is it, having your own gun pointed at you?"
Even if Val hadn't shot Vox before, that was no guarantee that he wouldn't do it now. Vox went cross-eyed as he stared down the barrel of the gun, slowly loosening his grip on Val and leaning back, holding his hands up defensively as he glowered. Valentino grinned maliciously, looking around the room until his red-hot eyes landed on the trembling Velvette.
"Over here, puta. Come on, don't get shy on me now" Val said, motioning towards Vox with the gun.
Velvette quickly stood up, holding out her hands pleadingly.
"Please. Please don't hurt him" she begged.
"I thought you were an all-powerful witch, Velvette? Surely you can do better than simpering and begging" Val taunted, shaking his gun at Vox again.
Velvette just glared, even as her hands shook.
Valentino took another drag from a cigarette that had miraculously stayed both lit and in his hand all throughout his scuffle with Vox.
"You are an opportunistic, gold-digging slut, Velvette. You tore my happy little life with Voxxy to shreds, and you turned him against me" he said darkly, blowing out a plume of smoke "I should've taken you for myself the second Vox brought you into my studio"
Vox flexed his fingers, his claws glinting in Pride's red light. Velvette could read his thoughts as clearly as if he'd spoken them out-loud.
I could tear your smug fucking face off, you piece of shit.
"We never had a happy life, you dusty piece of shit" he said "I love you, Valentino. But we have never been a happy couple, you should know that as well as I do"
"Like you and muñequita are any better, I give it two years before one of you attacks the other, with your tempers" Val said "Velvette, I'm not going to ask so nicely again. Come. Here"
Vox glared at Valentino, before glancing at Velvette with a softer expression. He beckoned her over, his eyes constantly flicking back towards the gun pointed at his screen.
"It's going to be okay, Velvette. Come to me" he said, holding his arms out in her direction.
Velvette nodded, reminiscing fondly of a time when Vox couldn't have gotten away with ordering her around like that.
She made her way back to the bed on colt-like legs before practically collapsing into Vox's arms, resting her head against his chest as he held her close.
Valentino twirled Vox's gun on one finger, and if he weren't such a good marksman Velvette would've feared that she was seconds away from having a hole unintentionally blown through her skull.
However, as things were, the risk of her ending up a victim of bullet-assisted trepanation was still very high. Valentino was as impulsive as he was tall.
"Dios mío, where do I even fucking start with you two? You two-faced, backstabbing, disloyal, treacherous, manipulative, tiny little sluts!" Valentino snarled, pointing a finger- trembling with rage- at Velvette and Vox.
Velvette felt Vox's grip on her tighten, and she pressed her head more against his chest.
Valentino was still wearing Vox's pajamas, and Velvette couldn't make up her mind whether the several inches of exposed wrist and ankle made his fury more or less terrifying.
Valentino gritted his fangs, waving the gun around like Hell's most fatalistic conductor as he continued speaking.
"I have given you the best years of my fucking life-"
"You're dead!" Vox said disbelievingly.
Valentino made a half-hissing, half-spitting noise like an angry cat, before continuing to wave the gun around.
"-I have given you the best years of my fucking life, I have given you my devotion and adoration, my undivided love-"
"You have fucked every Sinner in Pride that you could get your claws on!" Velvette said.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Val screamed "I gave you my love, I grew The Vees' Empire, I saved you- Vox- from a life of monotony and dull sex with Alastor-"
Vox had the grace to look ashamed of himself.
"-and Velvette, we were partners, we were lovers, I thought we were friends! You got me!" Val said, sounding so whiny Velvette had to fight the urge to smirk.
"Do you rape your friends to death often, Val?" Vox asked, rubbing Velvette's back comfortingly.
"Please, it's probably Val's equivalent of a coffee meet-up" said Velvette, in a tone of voice too hollow for a joke.
Val ground his teeth again.
"Fuck you, fuck both of you! Especially you, Vox. We have been partners for decades, and you were plotting to strip me of my Overlord status! What the fuck?!"
"You're dangerous, Val! You left us with no choice!"
"Dangerous?! Look out the fucking window!" Val screamed, gesturing at Pride's red skyline "We're in fucking Hell, and you're whining about me being dangerous? Grow some fucking balls!"
He waved Vox's gun around some more as he spoke, before aiming it at Vox's screen, curling his lip.
"By the way, I spoke English fluently before I died"
Vox stared at Valentino, his screen registering a completely blank expression before he exchanged a look with Velvette.
"What the fuck? Why would you lie about that?!" he finally said.
"Because you loved being my savior, my white knight come to help the helpless little newcomer who couldn't speak a word of English"
"I do not like what you're implying there, Val" Vox said, looking affronted.
"Tough. It's the truth" Val shrugged, before taking the safety off Vox's gun with an ominous click "I'm angry with you both. But Velvette, I think I can blame all of this on the day you wormed your way into our partnership and our hearts-"
"Aw, I knew you still loved me" Velvette spat venomously.
Valentino just grinned, his gold tooth glinting at her.
"Oh, niña. We're going to have a lot of fun tonight. I'm going to show the world how many ways there are to break a doll apart, and you're going to film it and stream it, Voxxy"
Valentino leered at Velvette as he spoke. Doing her best not to tremble, Velvette raised one of her hands, flipping him off.
Valentino’s expression flickered.
“You’re still wearing my bracelet” he said, his tone becoming surprisingly soft.
Velvette stared at the glittering diamonds that still encircled her wrist, before pulling away from Vox to try and wrench them off.
To her annoyance, the bracelet was extremely sturdy, and the clasp was securely locked in place. She scrabbled at it with an annoyed snarl.
Not wanting to let Velvette’s furious momentum die, Vox spoke up.
“I would die, again, before I ever degraded my fiancée like that” he said.
Valentino rolled his eyes.
“That can be arranged”
“Fuck you” Vox snapped, before glancing back down at Velvette “Oh. No, no, no. Sweetheart. You’re doing it wrong, you need to hold that part down and-”
Okay. Maybe Valentino had a point about Vox having a White Savior complex.
"I know how to take off a fucking bracelet, Vox! Ugh! I'm not stupid, it's just really fucking well-made" Velvette snapped, before giving up and spitting in Val's direction “If I could, I’d throw it in your face”
“Really? But it’ll match your ring so perfectly. Voxxy’s little fiancée…” Val’s expression turned ugly “I have been by Vox's side for decades. You’re a pequeña puta inútil that inserted herself into our lives, and you get the ring? Que carajo!"
“Fuck you” Vox and Velvette said, in nearly perfect unison.
"Face it, muñeca. Voxxy only proposed to you because having a pretty wife is a status symbol for men like him. He doesn't really love you. You're useful, you broadened his business horizons to mediums he'd never even thought of before, and you have a tight little pussy to sweeten the deal" Valentino's eyes flicked down between Velvette's legs, and she reflexively curled up on herself.
"If you were listening in on us, did you miss the part where I said I was going to propose to both of you?!" Vox asked, shaking his screen in disbelief "...well, until you blew up that idea, like you blow up everything good in your life!"
"Sure you were going to marry me, but it wasn't for any romantic reason. I'm useful too, Vox. I bring in a lot of money... and besides, you're so scared of me you wouldn't dare have proposed to Velvette and not me" Valentino pinched the edge of Vox's screen patronizingly.
Vox slapped his hand away.
"Fuck. You. I'm not scared of you, I'm not scared of any jumped-up little bitch" he sneered.
Valentino laughed in disbelief.
"Oh Vox, it's so cute you believe that! But we all know you're terrified of me. Who else could get away with smashing that screen of yours in time, and time, and time again- and live!" Valentino pinched Vox's screen again, laughing as Vox ineffectively slapped at his hand. He tightened his grip on Vox's screen and shook him so hard that error messages started to pop up all over Vox's rattled expression.
"Stop! STOP IT! You're hurting him!" Velvette begged, reaching out and curling her hands around Valentino's arm, the one holding onto Vox "I'm sorry Val, please, I'm sorry! This is all my fault, leave Vox out of it!"
Valentino let go of Vox, chuckling and blowing out another cloud of pink smoke.
"You don't have the balls to truly take me on" he said, before turning his burning gaze onto Velvette. Before Velvette could say or do anything else, he reached out and grabbed her by the front of her camisole, yanking her in roughly until they were practically nose-to-nose.
Velvette choked as Valentino's manhandling dragged her through the cloud of cigarette smoke, fixing the taller Sinner with as icy a glare as she could muster, her eyes watering.
"No. You don't have the balls, Vox" Valentino leered at his partner "I could do whatever I want to Velvette, and you wouldn't be able to stop me. You're just as pathetic as Angel, really"
Velvette's heart was hammering in her chest, watching as Valentino lowered Vox's gun, holding it limply by his side as he grinned demonically down at Velvette.
Something's not right...
This close to Valentino, with his eyes boring into hers, Velvette couldn't shake the feeling that there was something... performative... about his rage.
It wasn't that Valentino didn't have a nasty temper, but if he was truly this angry, half the room would've been smashed to pieces by now.
"Lucifer got your tongue, bruja?" Val taunted, Velvette cleared her throat and shook herself out of her confusion.
"Angel would be three times the Overlord you could ever be" Velvette said, holding her head high trying desperately not to think about what Lucifer said, about the chance- fact?- that she was pregnant.
It made her feel more vulnerable than she already was, and it made her want to scream and cry and laugh and throw up all at once.
"Angel, Angel, Angel... you know, I think I'll let him have a turn on you too. Ha. Let him. He won't have a fucking choice. Did you know his dick is retractable? When it's all popped out there's some serious girth to it. He'd really hurt you, but not enough to kill you. You'd be conscious for every second of your new bestie ripping you apart" Valentino blew smoke in Velvette's face "...I'll make a fortune"
Velvette sputtered, before shivering and trying to ignore the artificially-bolstered thrill of arousal that ran through her from Val's smoke.
Without warning Valentino slipped one of his free hands down Velvette's sleep shorts, making her gasp in shock. She whimpered in discomfort as his long fingers pressed into her, one of them pushing against her entrance while his thumb rubbed slow circles against her clitoris.
Velvette was still on her period, a fact that had barely even registered to her or to Vox while fooling around in the studio, or fucking on the rooftop of The V Tower. Vox was shark-themed for a reason, it seemed. He certainly had pulling out her tampon down to a fine art.
(...and yes, Pride supplied tampons so good that you could confidently sleep naked in them. Hell wasn't all doom and gloom)
As ironic as it was, Valentino had always been more squeamish about menstruation. So Velvette could only gasp in complete shock as he used his long fingers to none-too-gently rip out her tampon out by the string, sliding once of his digits in to replace it.
“No. No. Val. Please. No” Velvette begged, her voice a breathy and helpless gasp.
Val just grinned, bringing his cigarette to his lips again and blowing more smoke into Velvette’s eyes.
Her vision obscured by smoke, Velvette choked, unable to see anything but painfully able to feel Valentino moving his finger out of her. Artificially aroused, she whined at the loss.
“Aw, look at that. You’re bleeding already. Estas tan contaminada como Lucifer” Valentino mocked, and Velvette could see his blurred silhouette licking menstrual blood off his fingers. Vox made a distorted-sounding noise of fury, and before anyone could move he'd launched himself at Val, a blurred blue figure knocking over a blurred purple one in Velvette's impaired vision.
Velvette blinked rapidly until her vision cleared, blinking in further shock at the scene before her.
Vox had managed to wrest Val’s limply-held gun off him, and he had it pressed against the younger Sinner’s head.
Valentino’s smile hadn’t faded one bit. In fact, he leaned into the gun, chuckling.
“So. You do have balls”
“Shut the fuck up, Val. Or those will be your last words in Hell” Vox threatened, baring his cyan fangs.
“Do it, Vox. I’m not going to change” Val said with a nonchalant shrug, taking another drag of his cigarette “I’m a monster, I deserve to be in Hell more than you two combined. Don’t let me get in the way of whatever disgustingly cutesy love story you’ve managed to forge together. Es repugnante”
Velvette stared at Valentino, shocked at how… relaxed he was. He wasn’t scared, and his anger had ebbed away to a casual acceptance. He was acting like he wanted to be shot. But Velvette had never met anyone who valued their continued existence more than Valentino.
It didn’t make sense.
“What the fuck are you waiting for, Vox? I’m not going to change! Can't you get that through your fucking wires?! All I do, and all I’ll ever do, is hurt everyone around me! Even the people I love!” Valentino snarled, curling his hand around Vox’s “Do it! You’ll be happier without me!"
Velvette and Vox just stared at Val, before he started to laugh hollowly.
“What the fuck are you doing, waiting for the punchline? Shoot me, and live your happily ever after!”
Oh fuck me. Why can't I have sacrificed my stupid fucking feelings to The Devil instead of my soul? Why can't I be as much of a bitch as I told Carmine I am.
Ugh.
“Valentino. You’re a monster. You broke something inside me that will probably never heal. I don’t know if I can ever forgive you. But...” Velvette laughed weakly “I can’t talk for Voxxy, but I’ll never stop loving you. I don't want to see you die. Isn't that pathetic?”
It hurt to say it, after everything Val had done, but it didn’t hurt any more than the sight of Valentino pleading for Vox to kill him.
Vox's screen dimmed, and he sighed heavily.
“I still love you, Val” he finally said. He kept the gun pressed against Val’s head, but moved his finger off the trigger.
Velvette crawled back to Vox’s side, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin against his shoulder as she looked up at Val, who stared down at them both, dumbfounded.
Finally, he laughed again, sounding more than a little unhinged as he did so.
"Oh, that's smart. That's really smart Voxxy! You don't want to set a precedent. You don't want Velvette to fry your circuits when she finds out I'm not the only rapist in the room!"
Time seemed to slow down around Velvette as she turned to stare at Vox.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Vox snapped.
"You know what I'm talking about, Voxxy. It's not the fifties anymore, wake up and smell the problematic past. You're a monster too" Valentino sounded hysterical, gesticulating wildly "I'll tell her everything! I'll tell her fucking everything! You have to shoot me! Just shoot me you cowardly little bi-"
Vox reached out with his free hand and rammed his claws into Val's wrist. Valentino jolted as a shock of electricity ran through him, blinking owlishly at Vox as sparks danced over his puffed-out fur.
"I've done nothing as despicable as you have, Valentino. Don't think you can blackmail me into shooting you” he said “There’s no easy way out of this; you grew a conscious and it’s eating you from the inside out”
Maybe Vox had read Valentino like a book, but it didn't matter to Velvette. Valentino's words had turned into a hollow ringing in her ears.
I'm not the only rapist in this room.
Vox wasn't a good man. Velvette had known that from the second she'd laid eyes on his digital visage. But she'd always thought- she'd known that Vox wasn't a sexual predator.
Right?
Right?
She racked her brain, thinking back to what she knew about Vox. In life he was a cult leader. Velvette knew what cult leaders tended to do to their followers, but it had been the Fifties. Surely nothing that horrific had been going on in Vox's television-worshiping cult. Surely he'd never raped anyone.
Maybe Vox had taken advantage of some of Val's employees, or even his own. Or maybe he'd done something untoward with her models-
No. Alastor had eyes and ears all over his former tower. If Vox was a rapist, all of Pride would know by now.
It's bullshit. It has to be bullshit.
Vox couldn't. He wouldn't.
"So tell me, bitch, how does remorse feel?" Vox was saying to Val while Velvette fretted.
He got to his feet, pulling away gently from Velvette's frozen grip before dragging Valentino to his feet with much less care.
Val sneered, but he didn't resist Vox's manhandling or try to pull himself away from the other Overlord. He raised his cigarette- somehow still lit and in his hand- to his lips and finished it in one last drag, ashing it against the carpet before turning his head away so he wasn't blowing the smoke into anyone's face.
It was the most respectful thing Velvette had ever seen him do.
"I don't feel remorse" he said.
Vox laughed.
"Bullshit. You're being eaten alive by remorse and you don't know how to deal with it" he said gleefully.
Valentino curled his lip and looked away.
"What made you grow a conscious?" Vox asked, but he never got an answer because Velvette couldn't contain herself anymore.
"Shut the fuck up, Vox! What the fuck do you mean you're not the only rapist in the room?" she addressed Val, whose face split into a demonic grin.
"Ooh, haven't you put two-and-two together? Because I did" he lit a new cigarette, brought it to his lips, and blew out a heart-shaped plume of smoke "I've had a lot of time to think, lately. I thought about a lot of things. I thought about the sins that led me down here... and I thought about Vox's too"
"You don't know what you're talking about" Vox said, even as his eyes darted nervously between Vel and Val "Drop it, Velvette. It's not important"
Velvette glared Vox down, an impressive feat when he was twice her size.
"Don't fucking tell me what is and isn't important. Valentino, what did you mean?"
Val shrugged.
"I can't give you all the details, I never paid that much attention to the news when I was alive, but lately I've been thinking; hm, I would've been around when Vox was being naughty on his sex cult compound-"
"-It wasn't a sex cult!" Vox protested, to no avail.
"-surely I would've heard about a cult leader dying in such a hilarious fashion- and then I realized, I know exactly who Vox was! Tell me, Velvette, does the name Julius Vickers ring any bells?"
"Oh my God" Velvette gasped out, climbing off the bed and taking several steps away from Vox "You're a serial killer!"
Everything she thought she knew about Vox had just been turned on it's head.
She scrambled to the other side of the room until her back hit the wall. Vox looked offended.
"That's a very strong word"
"I saw documentaries about you, you're a monster!" she said, pointing at Vox, her free hand covering her mouth.
"What? I'm not a good person? How could you have ever guessed? Velvette, sweetheart, calm down. I'm still the same man I was before you heard... that name"
"Julius Vickers. The Electric Demon. Fuck, you and The Radio Demon were a match made in fucking Hell- Literally!" Velvette said "I can't believe I ever trusted you!"
Vox glared at Val, who smiled innocently.
"How did you not realize how bad Voxxy was when you found out he lured innocent and vulnerable people to an isolated compound where nobody could hear them scream?" he asked Velvette.
”Because I’ve known Vox for years! I didn’t think he was capable of doing anything so evil!” Velvette snapped, lowering her eyes sadly “…and maybe I was stupid enough to think I’d found my knight in shining armor”
Val shrugged, taking a long drag before blowing out a spiral smoke ring.
"Don't give me that innocent maiden routine. You're as pretty as an angel, but you're not a saint. I know you've been going through it, cariño, but that doesn't change the fact that you have hurt so many innocent people. But... not as many innocent people as Voxxy has hurt" Val smiled at Vox, who scowled back.
Before Velvette could say anything, her phone pinged with an incoming text message. Shooting Val a scowl to match Vox's, she looked down at her screen.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: Hey, guess who's got six thumbs and just got evicted? 👍👍👍👍👍👍 I hope you've got room for one more!
"Fuck" she said. Angel had no idea that Val was back to his usual, charming self. That was going to be an awkward conversation.
"Hey bestie! So, my maybe-ex-boyfriend who abused, raped, and tortured you for a profit for decades isn't actually an amnesiac, so it looks like you might've blown up all your non-Vee relationships and lost your safe haven just so you can end up back in his clutches. Oopsie!"
The only way to keep Angel- and myself- safe is to make sure Valentino's Overlord status is transferred to him. No matter how mad I am that he didn't tell me about the whole Julius Vickers thing, I need Vox, the transfer won't be able to happen without him.
Damn. I was looking forwards to pouring nail polish into his sockets while he slept... well. I guess I'm free to do that once Valentino's defanged.
"What's wrong?" Vox asked, oblivious to Velvette's lacquered fantasies about him.
"It looks like Char-Char didn't take Angel dumping her father at Heaven's Embassy too well. Angel's been kicked out" she said, avoiding Vox's eyes.
"Angelito?" Valentino looked like a dog who'd just picked up the scent of a squirrel.
"You can drop whatever sick ideas are going through your head. I'm not going to see my friend get hurt by you, again" Velvette said, slipping her phone away "...Vox. The transfer has to happen. Understood?"
Vox nodded, while Valentino laughed.
"Ha! Friend. You and Angel are friends. That's fucking adorable, do you braid each other's hair and talk about how watching him be raped made you come?" Val said, taking another drag and blowing a heart-shaped smoke ring towards the ceiling "...you know, I bet you'll love hearing all the details about what Voxxy used to do to his poor, loyal flock"
Vox avoided meeting Velvette's eyes, glaring up at Valentino, who smirked back down at him.
"So, what happens now, Papi?" he purred, ashing his cigarette onto the carpet "I know so much shit about the Julius Vickers case, if you want me to keep my mouth shut, you're just going to have to kill me-"
"I already know what Vickers did, Val. Don't bother" Velvette said.
Val's expression twitched, and he looked away, disappointed. Despite the situation, Vox smirked.
"You don't get the easy way out, we're not going to kill you, no matter what. But we are going to give your Overlord status to Angel, and we're gonna enjoy every last second of it. I bet you'll cry" he said, drool-like lines of red running down the corner of his screen.
"Fuck you" Val said, avoiding Vox's gaze.
Vox shrugged, before trying to meet Velvette's eye. She copied Val and turned her head away.
"I have to change. Have fun with Val" she said quickly, turning and walking away.
Sinners can't get pregnant. It was one of the first things you learned in Hell.
There was no way Velvette was pregnant.
No way at all.
"Stupid moth dust..." Velvette muttered, sitting on her toilet and running a critical eye over the bloodied tampon in her hand, halfway through changing for what looked like a very long day ahead.
Velvette had never looked into whether or not you could get pregnant while on your period, as none of her flings had ever wanted to get their hand bloodied. By the time she was sent to Hell and met Vox and Val, pregnancy was no longer a concern.
Or so she thought.
So she wasn’t sure how it worked if you did get impregnated while surfing the crimson wave. Was her period supposed to immediately stop? If so, she had some questions, because blood was still dripping out of her and swirling in the toilet water below. The fact that she was was still bleeding brought her comfort, maybe Lucifer had been wrong, or maybe he’d been lying to screw with her head.
Or maybe she hadn’t been speaking to Lucifer at all. After all, she had been dreaming.
But he knew all about Val’s subterfuge…
She shook her head, tossing the tampon into the toilet as she stood up and flushed, reaching for a new one.
(Hell’s plumbing backed up routinely no matter what you did, so there was no point in being conscientious about tampon disposal)
Anyway, she had bigger fish to fry.
With her hands washed, a new tampon in place, and her underwear back on, she dropped down onto her bed belly-first and grabbed her phone to send a quick message to Angel.
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: Brace yourself. Our favorite piss-baby never had amnesia, he was faking it. Vox and I just found out, but we've got the situation handled and he doesn’t pose a threat, I promise.
Angel started typing back almost instantly, and Velvette paused with baited breath.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: I know I should be upset, but I'm not even shocked. Val's always been a duplicitous son of a bitch. Swear that he's not a threat. Swear it on your shoe collection, Toots, or I’m turning around and sucking Alastor’s dick until they let me back in again.
I swear on The Vees
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: I swear on Vox’s life.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: Sparky is already dead, Toots, but I get what you mean.
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: Please call him Sparky all the time. You’ll make him short-circuit.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: Kinky. You like getting zapped in the crotch, do you?
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: 😜 Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.
Velvette hesitated. Angel Dust was older than Valentino, and he’d had all the tea about Vox and Alastor’s messy break-up. If anyone might know about Vox’s sins, it was him.
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: Angel, do you know anything about Julius Vickers?
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: Who the fuck is that? Are they hot?
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: Not really, they were more like a generous five in the right lighting. They were a serial killer and cult leader in the 50’s, the media called them 'The Electric Demon' because they fried their enemies and defectors to death.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: I’m hard already. Have you run into them down here or something?
Before Velvette had the chance to respond, Angel texted again, and Velvette smirked as she could practically see the malicious glee radiating off his message.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: 50’s? OMG. Did they kill Vox?
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: Bitch. But to answer your question, I obviously don’t know the first thing about this Electric Cocksucker guy.
Velvette paused. It was taboo to discuss your previous life in Hell. It was even more taboo to discuss someone else's.
...but fuck it. Since when had she given a damn about taboos?
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: This 'Electric Cocksucker Guy' died, went to Hell, and ended up seven feet tall with a stupid telly on his head. I'm just trying to find out more about my fiancee.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: No fucking way.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: Fiancee, huh? When did I miss that? Congrats, anyway.
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: Thanks, Spider-Whore. So, what's going on in your half of the telenovela? You've been kicked out? Are you okay?
It was a disgusting thrill of empathy that made her send the concerned little tag to her message. She grimaced as she re-read it.
Pathetic.
Angel hesitated before answering.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: Let's talk about it later. For now, I just want to focus on making it to The V Tower in one sexy, sexy piece. Gotta be fully operational to give Daddy Vox that 'Thanks For Making Me A Vee' BJ.
Velvette rolled her eyes with a giggle.
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: Make sure you use teeth. It'll be funny (and pretty fucking hot)
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: Freak (affectionate)
💅💋Vox's Socket💋💅: You’re the one that wants to blow The Radio Demon.
👼🐷Val's Cumrag🐷👼: You know what they say about men with big ears... they're real good listeners!
Velvette laughed out loud, sending Angel a string of suggestive emojis before closing her phone with a smile on her face.
She had a million concerns and fears going through her head, but it was nice to have a friend.
"You and Angel were having an interesting talk, my little socket" Vox said, his tone teetering between teasing and threatening as Velvette sashayed back into Valentino's penthouse "...and not that what you wear is any of my business, but are we going to Club Chernobog again after this or..."
She'd spent longer than was strictly necessary on getting redressed. There was no style guide for transferring your abusive boyfriend's Overlord-Of-Hell superpowers to your new BFF, so she'd blazed her own trail. She wore a pink tube dress, mismatched striped gloves (pink-and-white on one arm, pink-and-black on the other), and knee-high, black stiletto boots.
She'd given a casual (for her) flair to her outfit by putting her hair up into messy space buns and slinging her favourite coat (sleeveless, with heart accents on the popped collar) over her outfit.
She'd been feeling quite sexy, until Vox made one stupid comment after the other. She stopped dead in her tracks, glaring at Vox.
"Firstly, you're right; what I wear is none of your fucking business. Secondly, you've been reading my texts?" she snarled through gritted teeth. It was such a violation of her boundaries that for a brief second, she entertained the thought of throwing her phone so hard at Vox's head that the whole thing would blow up in a shower of sparks.
Vox was redressed in his signature blue suit and standing behind Valentino's sofa, the same one he'd been assaulted on, keeping a gun aimed at Val's head as the overgrown moth lounged on the sofa. Vox had swapped out his angel-killing gun for one of Valentino's less-used guns. It was plated with platinum and had Bukkake engraved on the side, another testament to Valentino's endless class. It also only fired regular bullets; if Vox pulled the trigger, Valentino wouldn't be happy but he wouldn't be exterminated either.
"How fucking dare you" Velvette continued, her heels clicking against the floor as she approached the sofa.
Vox shrugged.
"The only reason I allow you any privacy is because I love you, Velvette" he said, as if that was going to cool Velvette's tempers.
Were Velvette a cartoon, she'd have steam coming out of her ears.
"You fucking-"
“Ooh, telling tales out of school, Velvette?” Valentino taunted, looking unconcerned as he sipped a cocktail with one hand and smoked with the other.
He’d taken off Vox's pyjamas and wrapped his wings around himself like a coat, slipping on a pair of stiletto boots with extra-spiky heels, for the second time in recent history unintentionally matching his footwear to Velvette's. The coincidence was almost eerie.
"Fuck you, Val. I can talk to whoever I want about whatever I want" she snapped, looking away from Val's shoes.
"Velvette, my darling, we have never been in a more precarious situation and you have a habit of mouthing off to the wrong people” Vox pointed an accusatory finger at her "So, I'm not going to apologize for keeping an eye on you"
Velvette glared at him, doing her best not to avoid his eyes. All she could think of as she looked at him was who he had once been, and what he had once done.
Truthfully, Julius Vickers couldn't compare to Valentino. But what he had done was vile enough to reshape Velvette's opinion of Vox. Over the trials and tribulations she'd recently endured, Vox had morphed from her lover-come-business-parter, to a soul-stealing bastard she couldn't trust, to her savior, and then finally to something closer to a soulmate than her acerbic personality wanted to admit to.
...and now...
Now she had no idea what Vox was to her.
"Velvette, I was going to explain everything once things quieted down. I swear" Vox said, looking genuinely remorseful "Please, don't let this change the way you look at me. It's still me"
Val chuckled, taking a drag and looking out the window with a small smile. Velvette approached Vox, her gaze softening as she looked up at him.
"Vox. I know what Vickers did to women. I know what happened on his 'farm'. I can't marry that up to how repulsed you've always been by rape”
She paused, looking meaningfully at Valentino.
"Or by the thought of doing it yourself, at least. Vox. You’re still the man I love, but you can’t blame me for looking at you differently now”
Vox’s screen dimmed, and he looked down at Valentino. Finally, he turned his screen back to Vel with a rueful smile.
"It was a very different time, Velvette. Forget the Fifties, I came of age during The Great Depression. Women couldn't even vote when I was working out my sexuality" he cleared his throat "I was... respectless, but I wasn't a rapist"
Velvette scoffed derisively.
“Bullshit. Rape is rape, no matter what old-timey bullshit was drilled into your head. But go ahead with your excuses"
Vox sighed, his shoulders slumping underneath his shoulder-pads.
"I was worshiped like a God. My followers adored me, so I assumed that they were completely willing. No matter what I suggested, they seemed eager to do it" Vox had the grace to look slightly ashamed "But with the benefit of hindsight... it was just a miscommunication and an abuse of power. I'm not a rapist"
"You sexually tortured and humiliated the female members of your cult if they defied you" Velvette said coldly.
"I made them strip off and swim in cold water. The army does that" Vox rolled his eyes "There was nothing sexual about it. Velvette, you know I hate public sex. I never would've done anything too depraved-"
"Then you made them apologize by blowing you. In private, of course" Velvette said.
Vox blushed.
"Wow, they really told everyone everything after I died, huh? They suggested it... at first... and then it became tradition" Vox looked away "I was very handsome, you know-"
"-no you weren't. You were a default Sim model with crazy eyes. I've seen pictures" said Velvette.
Vox shrugged, conceding her point. Valentino blew out a plume of pink-red smoke in the shape of a 'v'.
"So, is the reason you're all sparky now because of how you died or because of your favorite method of execution?" he asked, wincing as Vox smacked the back of his head lightly with the gun.
Velvette drew even closer to Vox, touching his arm.
"It's not the right time. We'll talk about this later"
"Are we still getting married?" Vox asked, his digital brows momentarily creasing in concern.
Velvette smiled softly.
"Of course we are. I'm furious with you, I feel betrayed, I feel confused but..." she leaned in even closer, standing up on tip-toes so she could whisper into the side of his screen "...but I'm kinda turned on, too. You were a very naughty boy"
It was the embarrassing truth. You don't fall in love with Overlords of Hell that are more than twice your size and resemble demonic beasts more than they do men unless you're at least a little bit of a freak.
Smiling at Vox's shocked expression, she stepped away, snapping a quick picture of Vox's shock and Val's curiosity. She'd laugh at how gormless they looked later.
She cleared her throat, getting back to business.
"So. Val. After one argument you're just going to roll over and let us give all your precious power to Angel Dust? That doesn't seem like you. What's the catch?" she asked.
Valentino sucked at his cigarette, chewing lightly on the end and looking thoughtful (a rare expression on his face).
"Mi querida muñeca, being turned into an insect gave me a... new perspective on life. A perspective that ruined all my fun. You and Voxxy won't put me out of my misery, no matter how much I try to make you snap, so... I'm powerless to do anything but what you want me to do. Joder mi vida"
Velvette pursed her lips, before slowly walking around the sofa, taking a seat gingerly next to Val.
"There's something I need to know. I've done awful things. It makes me feel like a weak bitch to admit it, but I feel so guilty about what I've done. Especially the things I've done to women-"
"Oh?" Valentino looked interested.
"-fuck off. Not like that. But I've helped monsters like you do things like that. I can barely scratch the surface of my sins because I can't cope with the shame. How can you enjoy the things you've done? How can you like it? Maybe it's fun in the moment, but afterwards..."
Valentino leaned in towards her, his pure red eyes boring into hers.
"Because it made me cum, muñequita. But now I'm being cockblocked by some disgusting sense of empathy, so no. I can't enjoy the things I've done anymore, and I have you to thank for it"
He reached out to touch the side of her face, and Velvette flinched away, making Val laugh. His laughs soon petered out as Vox took the safety off his gun.
"Fóllame! I wish you two could see the funny side of this. You act so moral, when one of you is a serial killer and the other one sold her soul to El Diablo"
Valentino wriggled his unoccupied fingers for emphasis, before spitting on the floor and downing his cocktail in one.
"I'm a terrible fucking person, but at least I'm not a hypocrite"
Velvette and Vox exchanged an eye-roll, before their heads whipped around at the sound of a familiar and very nasal accent.
"The bitch is back!" Angel Dust called out, slamming the door open with his foot "Hey, aren't there normally girls out here? Do I have to drag all my shit in alone?"
Angel Dust was right; Valentino normally had attendants at his doors, but Vox had dismissed them a very long time ago to stop rumors from spreading about The Vees'... issues. Sure, it meant they had more privacy, but it also meant that Angel did indeed have to awkwardly drag in a small tower of luggage while keeping Fat Nuggets tucked under his arm.
Velvette got to her feet and walked over.
"Aw, thanks Toots-" Angel Dust started to say, before Velvette cut him off with a derisive laugh.
"I'm not helping, I just prefer your company right now" she shot Vox and Val a quick glare through narrowed eyes. Angel followed her gaze, looking dubiously at Val in particular.
"...is it a bad time?" he asked.
"Is it ever a good time?" Vox asked dryly.
"Welcome home, Angelito" Val purred, blowing a heart-shaped smoke ring at Angel. He batted it away, his lip curling in disgust.
"You know, I think my first act as Overlord is going to be banning those disgusting fucking cigarettes. Jerk" he spat on the floor- not unlike how Valentino had- putting Fat Nuggets down and patting his beloved pet's rump "So, you're not just a squeaky bitch, you're a lying squeaky bitch"
"I'm also a very good actor" Val shrugged unapologetically "...it wasn't a complete lie, anyway. I was genuinely confused when I first came to. From my perspective, one minute I was a simple-minded moth, the next I was a brilliant and sexy Overlord again. If you want to talk about liars, why not ask dear Julius here about his misdeeds?"
Angel looked like he had questions, but he swallowed them down, not taking Valentino's bait.
"All I care about right now is cutting your fucking dick off and taking it for myself- metaphorically speaking, of course" he grinned evilly, turning to speak to Vox "The deal's still on?"
"Of course it is. I might not be your biggest fan, Angel-" Vox started to say, before Angel cut him off with a laugh.
"Ha! My biggest fan is Travis, I know you're not" he joked. Vox cracked a tiny smile.
"-exactly. I might not be Travis, but I think you'd make a much better Overlord than this dusty psychopath here" he nudged Val with the butt of his gun.
Valentino took a drag of his cigarette, his red eyes surveying the scene before him. Velvette saw no remorse in his gaze, only a dangerous calculation.
"We're wasting time. Let's just get this over and done with" she said, more anxiously than she'd meant to "...and Val, if you try anything, I'll film Vox blowing your brains out and upload it onto every snuff site in Hell"
Valentino just laughed, standing up and towering over everyone in the room, casting a dark shadow over Velvette.
"What an excellent idea, Velvette, damage our brand even more! I haven't had the chance to check Sinstagram, but I can tell that our formidable public image is lying in more broken pieces than our good relationship with the hotel is"
Vox's eye twitched.
"Don't be ridiculous, Val. I have been bending over backwards to keep our public image intact, I'm sure that..." he trailed off as he noticed Velvette checking her phone, glancing up at him with a grimace.
Vox was a very charismatic Sinner. But Velvette was the Social Media Queen. As hard as Vox had worked to keep The Vees' image looking flawless, he didn't quite have Velvette's magic touch when it came to social media.
...and with everything she'd been going through, Velvette didn't have Velvette's magic touch anymore.
Vox's eye twitched again.
"Okay. Okay. It's fine. It's all fine. We'll just focus on our strengths. I'll deal with Val and Angel's paperwork, you do some damage control online" Vox said, pointing at Velvette, who lazily saluted.
"I'll have Pride eating out of our hands before you..." she started to say, trailing off as she started scrolling through her feed "...hm. I might need some time. Have fun signing across the dotted line, nerds, I'll be in Val's room"
"Take a long look at this, Toots" Angel Dust said, motioning towards himself "The next time you see me I'll be an Overlord"
Velvette grinned, even as her heart sank with every post she saw on her feed, quickly walking away.
Oh... we are so fucked...
Our brand is perfection...
It felt like a lifetime ago that Vox's words had held any truth. Now they just felt like a sick joke.
Her ability to unnaturally rotate her limbs aside, Velvette was one of the most human-looking Sinners in Pride. Asides from her fangs and her unusual hair and eyes, she could easily pass as an average young woman. Yes, when she started to slip into her fully demonic form, her body became covered in doll-like ball joints and her skin became unnaturally hard and plastic. But even then, the changes were usually hidden under her clothes.
So, when compared to her monstrous paramours, Velvette often looked eerily small and vulnerable. Whispers that she was being coerced or abused by Vox and Val had spread since the day she became an Overlord, and it was only Velvette's nasty temper and fierce independent streak that had kept those whispers at bay.
But ever since that night at Forbidden Fruit, when images of Velvette soaked in vomit and trembling in Charlie Morningstar's arms had been eagerly spread like wildfire across Sinstagram, those belittling rumors had risen once more like a multi-headed hydra.
Slay one rumor, and two more sprang up to take it's place.
Still, at the time, nobody had thought it was anything worse than The Social Media Overlord drinking too much wine on date night.
Then Club Chernobog happened, and the rumor-hydra had gained another twenty heads. The fact that Lucifer Morningstar was involved had ensured that even The Sin Of Lust had commented on it.
"This is why I fucking hate love potions" was his to-the-point comment about everything. Velvette hadn't even bothered to argue with him online about it, it was unwise to piss off a Sin who already hated your boyfriend.
Velvette, looking in-control and unharmed, had made her rebuttal video to the rumors mere hours after the whole mess had happened, and the seeming evidence that the story had been blown out of proportion kept things under control. Through some miracle, the rumor-hydra didn't grow any more heads.
Velvette and Val suddenly vanishing from the public eye had raised eyebrows, but it wasn't like there weren't particularly nasty illnesses that afflicted Sinners. Besides, it was also believable that Vox might’ve just put his disruptive partners under house arrest while he did damage control on their public images.
...and then Alastor had leaked the video of Valentino assaulting Vox and Velvette.
The rumor-hydra had come roaring back, more multi-headed than ever before. Photos and videos of Velvette being dragged back to The V Tower by Vox were spread across Sinstagram faster than Vox could nuke them, and it felt like the rumor-hydra would never be slain. Velvette's forcible relocation to the Hazbin Hotel soon after had only given the unslayable beast even more heads, given that it crippled her ability to stay on-top of the whispers.
Vox had been very, very lucky that the full truth hadn't gotten out. It was only thanks to Angel Dust running Valentino's studios in his absence and Velvette's occasional Sinstagram post that feigned being sick in bed at The V Tower that Vox hadn't been the victim of a bloody uprising against him.
Vox and Velvette's bombshell news broadcast, slandering Lucifer's quasi-good name, had blissfully distracted the public from whatever The Vees were going through. Pride was gripped by uncertainty and fear as everyone waited with baited breath to see what would happen to Hell's prettiest angel.
...and then Velvette had been seen being thrown from the top of The V Tower. Sure, some people had been genuinely impressed by Valentino's aerial rescue, but most of the comments about The Vees were vicious.
The rumor-hydra rose once more, an unthinkably huge leviathan that blotted out Pride's 'sun' with it's nightmarish mass, more heads than could be counted in a thousand lifetimes leering down at The V Tower. At any second, it would pounce, and The Vees would be no more.
Or, in less poetic language, their brand- once kept meticulously polished by Vox's blood sweat and tears- now lay a tattered mess on the ground.
Sitting on the edge of Valentino's bed, Velvette scrolled through Sinstagram with wide eyes, feeling her heart sink as she read what the general public now felt bold enough to say about The Vees.
I can't believe we've stood by and let The Entertainment District be controlled by these cunts for so long. A whiny nymphomaniac who got all his power from his lame-ass simp sugar daddy, a pathetic old man with the emotional range of a menstruating teenage girl masquerading as some sort of big baller CEO, and a Barbie Doll with a bad temper and a worn-out pussy.
The Vees are a fucking joke. They don't scare me anymore. The next time I see Velvette, I'm just gonna get on top of that bitch and see what Valentino and Vox are so crazy about.
Hahaha! To think I used to be scared of Vox when he'd come to my joint. Now I know he's just a pathetic bitch.
Velvette. What a stupid little slut. She really thought she could play with the big boys, huh? She got fucked by everyone she hid behind.
If Heaven doesn't smite us all when they deal with Morningstar, I'm going to that fucking tower myself and I'm gonna shove my foot so far up Vox's ass that-
Incoming Video Call From: 💩👵Crap-milla Carmine👵💩
Velvette jolted so much that she nearly dropped her phone, staring at the screen in disbelief.
What does that wrinkly old bitch want now? Is she calling me to gloat?
Finally, she accepted the call, scowling as she held the phone up so that she was at the most flattering angle possible.
"What the fuck do you want, fossil?" she snapped.
Carmilla was sitting at a desk with her hands clasped regally before her.
Like she's the fucking Queen of Pride or whatever. Bitch.
"Are you alright?" she asked, her tone surprisingly gentle.
Velvette scowled more.
"None of your business"
"Velvette, what's going on over there?"
"None of your fucking business"
"Vox locks the tower up, and the next thing we know you're seen being thrown from the top of it by Lucifer Morningstar. Either you give me a very good reason why I shouldn't be worried, or I will come over there myself and drag you kicking and screaming back here"
"Why? Are you going to punish me for daring to be a rape victim? I thought your heart broke to think of any woman being violated by a man she thought she could trust" she threw Carmilla's own words back in her face.
Carmilla's expression flickered between anger and pity.
"Velvette, you are not safe with Vox and you are really not safe with Valentino, and now that you've angered The King Of Hell personally there's nothing either of your psychopathic boyfriends can do to keep you safe from him. But I can, and I will, keep you safe" she said levelly "You can call me whatever vitriol comes to your mind, you can throw as many tantrums as you like, but I'm not going to rest until you are under my roof and far away from those inane, uninformed, bastards"
Velvette felt a flash of déjà vu, remembering Charlie Morningstar comforting her in the bathroom of Forbidden Fruit, brushing her vomit-soaked hair away from her face.
"Velvette. I know that... I know that the Hotel doesn't exactly have a good relationship with your... um... associates. You know. Because Angel Dust and Alastor and everything. But you've never done anything to warrant us disliking you. If you're scared, or you're being hurt... I'll protect you. It's okay"
She wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
She just smirked, tilting the screen so that the camera angle was going down the front of her dress.
"Oh, is that what this is about? You want me in your bed, Carmine?" she purred, tugging the top of her dress ever-so-slightly down "All this faux-concern, just so you can get me between your sheets with all my pretty little clothes torn to shreds around me. All of Pride will know what you're up to, I'm loud. You wouldn't have to be gentle with me, either. I'm the sort of toy you can be rough with"
She'd been kidding, trying to get a rise out of her nemesis. But Carmilla's reaction wasn't one of rage or disgust. Rather, she sheepishly averted her eyes, a blush running across her face.
Velvette stared, shocked, for a few seconds.
"Is that what all of this is about? You want me?" she finally said.
"It's not important, Velvette. I do genuinely want to keep you safe, darling" Carmilla quickly said, holding out her hand in a calming gesture.
Under normal circumstances, Velvette would've had a field day with the blush on Carmine's wrinkled face-
Not that she actually had a single wrinkle, Velvette was just a bitch.
-but Velvette had had her life repeatedly flipped upside down for months now, and she'd just found out that the man she thought she could trust used to be a sexually abusive serial killer in life. It felt like every time she got her feet back on sturdy ground, she was thrown into ever-shifting sands again.
That wasn't even getting into the emotional maelstrom brewing inside her from the fear that she was pregnant with some sort of impossible Hell-baby.
So, what would've once been derision and delight was now cold and icy fear.
Carmilla Carmine was much larger and stronger than her, and she was an older and more powerful Overlord than Valentino. Velvette shivered to imagine the damage that she could do to her.
"Please don't hurt me" Velvette whispered.
Carmilla saw Velvette's spiral, and quickly intervened, shaking her head and speaking more softly than Velvette had ever heard her speak before.
"Velvette. I have never wanted to do anything like that to you. I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to make you do anything, I just want to keep you safe from those psychopaths. You will have your own room, and your own bed-"
Velvette stared at the phone with tears in her eyes, one of them dripping down her face before she could quickly wipe it away.
"Oh, Velvette. It's alright. You've been betrayed too many times, haven't you? I know we haven't gotten along, and I know this isn't a good time to realize I've noticed how beautiful you are-"
"I am. I'm hot as fuck" Velvette said weakly "Check out Sinstagram, half of Pride wants to rape me"
Carmilla cringed, looking revolted.
"I am not going to hurt you. I swear it on my daughter's lives. Come to me, darling. I can keep you safer than that television ever could"
Velvette sniffed weakly. Outside, she could hear Vox talking softly, while Valentino muttered in angry Spanish and Angel Dust laughed.
"Vox asked me to marry him" she finally said "He shot Lucifer t-to protect me. He shot Val- he shot Val to keep me safe. H-he's forcing Val to give his Overlord powers to Angel Dust. H-he's protecting me" she stammered out, not sure why she was telling Carmilla such sensitive information.
She soon regretted it.
"He's doing what?" she hissed "Angel Dust?! He thinks that Angel Dust should have Valentino's power?!"
Velvette was going to say something, a defence, an explanation. But whatever she was going to say was driven out of her head when she heard Valentino start yelling and crying out in pain.
Her head whipped around at a neck-snapping angle, her eyes widening as she stared at the door, unknowing of what would be making Valentino yell like that and terrified to face whatever it was.
"¡Dios mío, me duele! ¡Me quema! ¡Para, por favor! ¡Vox, ayúdame!"
Before Velvette could move another muscle, there was an ear-splitting bang and a blinding flash of light, and Velvette's world went dark around her.
To Be Continued...
Notes:
...another chapter, another cliffhanger, another round of Author's Notes!
1. I don't know how or why, but spell-checker stopped working on this chapter after a while. If there's any egregious errors... I'm sorry. Please point them out to me.
2. Irn-Bru is Ambrosia straight from the gods, and I will not hear a single word against it. (It's a Scottish soft drink)
3. The episode of Doctor Who that Velvette/Dolores is watching is Series 2, Episode 9 "The Satan Pit".
4. Did someone (me) forget that Velvette was meant to be on her period when I wrote the VoxVel rooftop sex scene in Chapter Nineteen? Oh well, there was blood all over the place anyway, who was even gonna notice?
5. I'm 99% sure that Vox's canon backstory won't be that, and his canon real name won't be that either. But 'Julius Vickers' is a pretty fun name, if you ask me. I chose 'Julius' because of it's association with an ill-fated ruler, and 'Vickers' because I wanted a V name that sounded a bit quirky.
6. I'm trying something new with the formatting of the text messages. Let me know what you think!
7. I’m pretty sure Velvette is meant to have her doll-like, articulated joints 24/7 in canon. But I like the idea of her looking mostly human most of the time, so 🤷♀️
8. What amazing timing that the chapter that reveals Carmilla has a crush on Velvette gets posted right after it’s confirmed Canon!Velvette is a lesbian.
9. I make no promises, but I will do my best to have the next chapter done ASAP. Stay tuned, folks!-Jesse xx
Chapter 22: And Why Are You Avoidin' War?
Chapter Text
Velvette was lying on her back in the middle of the ocean, perfectly-temperate waves lapping at her skin as she let herself float. She looked up at the endless blue skies above her and smiled serenely.
She hadn't seen blue skies in years...
Her tranquility was ruined when she felt strong hands grab her shoulders, and she found herself looking up at the beautiful features of Lucifer Morningstar, his white suit drenched with seawater.
The former angel smiled grimly down at her.
"The sand in your hourglass is running out, Velvette, and when it's all gone... I don't know what fate is going to befall you, but it won't be pretty"
"Fuck you, Lucifer" Velvette snapped "I'm always pretty"
Lucifer smirked, before looking up as grey storm-clouds started to gather above them, marring the blue skies that Velvette had been so entranced by.
"See you soon, Dolores"
Velvette woke up the same way that a flood of molasses engulfs Boston. Slowly, and painfully.
She felt like she'd tried to imbibe Angel Dust's entire stash in one go, before charging head-first at a brick wall. Her head was splitting, her ears were ringing, she couldn't open her eyes without being overwhelmed by the smallest light, and she could taste blood.
She groaned, wriggling the pins-and-needles sensation out of her fingers and toes as she tried to get her bearings. She was lying on something soft, with her head resting against what felt like two fuzzy pool noodles.
"-just found her like this? I find that highly unlikely, what did you do to her?" someone was saying, their words warping around the shrill ringing in her ears.
"How fucking dare you" someone else snarled, their voice distorting like a malfunctioning television speaker "We only found her seconds before you came charging in uninvited! We didn't even hear a thud. Why were you even calling her? You hate her!"
"My concern for another woman's safety transcends hate. Don't speak on things you don't understand, Vox" the first voice spoke again, their voice becoming clearer as the ringing in Velvette's ears started to die down.
"Fossil? Is that you?" Velvette asked, her voice coming out as a particularly pathetic squeak. Instantly, she felt three sets of hands on her, one set smoothing back her hair while another rubbed her shoulders and a third set dabbed at her face with some sort of cloth.
"Velvette? Can you hear me?" the second voice asked, Velvette's face split into a grin as she recognized the speaker.
"Oh, Julius, I'm so glad you're here" she purred.
"...Julius? Has she hit her head?" asked Carmilla.
"No, she's just being Velvette" Vox said, sounding exasperated.
The bed dipped, and Velvette felt Vox's clawed hand take hers, his fingers wrapping around her palm and squeezing gently.
She squeezed back, before slowly opening her eyes, giving them time to adjust.
She was lying on Valentino's bed, staring up at the red fairy-lights. They twinkled and blurred in her vision as her head throbbed.
The fuzzy pool noodles she was lying on shifted slightly, and Velvette realized that her head was on Angel Dust's lap, and that it was his three sets of arms that were tending to her. He grinned down at her, his gold tooth glimmering, and Velvette smiled back.
It could've just been the fairy-lights, but Angel Dust had a glow to him that she'd never seen before, an ethereal glitter that brought out how pretty he was.
(...for a spider-themed Sinner in Hell, at least. Velvette had never seen the appeal of Angel, personally)
She continued to stare, her smile fading in curiosity.
Angel had always wanted his freedom back, yet when Lucifer had offered it to him on a silver platter, he'd turned it down.
Yet when Vox, someone who'd stood by and enabled Valentino's abuse of Angel for decades, had offered Angel the same thing he'd jumped at the opportunity.
Then again, there was a difference between "I'll rip up your contract and you'll never have to see your abusive lover again" and "I'll give you all the power your abusive lover has, and you can still keep him in your life, under your thumb"
You didn't have to be as diabolical as The Vees were to see which opportunity was more appealing.
"Did it happen? Are you an Overlord?" she asked.
Angel's grin gained a wicked edge.
"Fuck yeah it worked. I'm now the baddest bitch in a mini-skirt that Pentagram City has ever seen. Sorry to snatch your crown"
"Fuck you" Velvette laughed.
Vox squeezed her hand again.
"It all went off without a hitch. All of the souls previously owned by Valentino have been transferred to Angel Dust's ill-reputed name" he said.
"Or in other words, I'm the new Valentino" Angel said with a wink, making Velvette raise an intrigued eyebrow.
The new Valentino, huh? Let's see how far you take your new title, Angel...
Angel Dust was, at his core, a good person. But he wasn't perfect, and power went to your head faster than any liquor.
Please don't turn into a jerk. I don't think I could take another man I thought I could trust hurting me. Not after Dad, and Val, and Vox, and...
Val.
"I heard Valentino screaming in pain..." she said "Is he okay?"
"Oh, he's fine. The screaming was just because he couldn't cope with a mild burning sensation-"
"Ha, ironic" Angel Dust snorted.
"-but he's fine now. Anyway, fuck him. Are you okay? I went to check on you and found you lying unconscious on the floor with a nosebleed and a broken phone. What happened?"
Velvette gasped and sat bolt upright, nearly knocking Angel Dust out as she did so.
"My phone's broken?!" she cried out, staring at Vox in horror.
Vox, sitting on Val's bed with his legs spread wide, chuckled. Still holding Velvette's hand in one of his own, he dug around in his pocket and pulled her phone out, holding it towards her for inspection.
The phone was in perfect condition. If anything, it looked better than it had before Velvette's collapse.
"Just a cracked screen, my dear. Nothing I couldn't fix within minutes" Vox said comfortingly.
Not wasting time with a thank-you, Velvette snatched her phone out of his hand, cradling it against her chest.
"Velvette" Velvette's head whipped around at the sound of Carmilla Carmine's voice. She'd forgotten that her be-loathed fellow Overlord was in the room with them.
Carmilla was standing by the window, outlined in red light as she looked at the younger woman with an unreadable expression on her face. The bloodied light made her look even more striking than she already was, and Velvette schooled her features carefully.
Now isn't the time for a new crush, especially not on that old bag...
"What the fuck are you doing here? Is there a bingo tournament in town?" she snapped, examining her phone and feigning disinterest.
"I saw you collapse and came straight here. I did not find it difficult to get in, by the way. Vox, if this is your highest level of security, I shudder to imagine how useless your Angelic Security scam is"
Vox sneered.
"Firstly, VoxTek Angelic Security isn't a scam. Secondly, Apollyon falls to pieces once it's breached, it's a necessary trade-off for how impenetrable it is while intact"
"Yes, Lucifer Morningstar found it completely impenetrable, didn't he?" Carmilla sneered right back at him.
One of Angel Dust's hands suddenly appeared in Velvette's peripheral vision, dabbing at her nose with a bloodied handkerchief.
"I had a nosebleed? I don't get nosebleeds..." Velvette said, still feeling dazed.
"Well, you get them now, apparently. Val's carpet is ruined. Again" Angel Dust said, looking down at the carpet and wrinkling his nose.
"I can fix it, I've done it a thousand times before" Vox said, rolling his eyes "Valentino is practically allergic to keeping his things in good condition"
"To be fair, I think the last couple of times the carpet got ruined, it was me" Velvette said, looking down at the bloodstains on the carpet, before jumping as she felt a large hand rest heavily on her shoulder.
Carmilla Carmine stood besides the bed, towering over her. The twin peaks of her hair made her look all the more imposing, and Velvette felt the peculiar urge to lick her lips.
Velvette had never really thought about how huge Carmilla was. But she really was; Velvette only came to her waist when they were both standing. Maybe she wasn't as tall as Valentino, but her hands were about three times the size of any of Val's. Velvette imagined how those fingers would feel inside her and she felt herself run hot and cold as erotic images filled her mind. Maybe she'd seen too much hentai, but her perverted side couldn't help but wonder if Carmine's breasts would be larger than her head.
She swallowed dryly.
"Velvette, what happened?" Carmilla asked, squeezing Velvette's shoulder gently.
Velvette bit her lower lip, but managed to pull her mind out of the gutter.
"No idea. One second I'm having a really boring talk with you, the next second there's that huge flash-bang and I'm out like a light..." Velvette shrugged.
Vox and Carmilla exchanged a confused and concerned look. Velvette couldn't help but feel patronized, she was as much of an Overlord as they were, and yet they were exchanging glances over her head like they were her parents and she was some out-of-control party girl who'd been caught drinking.
...and no. Velvette refused to entertain that line of thinking any further. Her flesh still crawled every time she thought about the dream she'd had, about Vox and Valentino and the lake. She could only pray that Lucifer never brought it up. Ever.
"Velvette... there wasn't a flash, or a bang" Vox finally said "Are you feeling alright?"
"Of course I'm not feeling alright, you stupid fucker. But this was before I collapsed. I know what I saw, and what I heard. Are you seriously telling me you didn't notice anything?"
Carmilla and Vox shook their heads.
"Angel?" Velvette tried, but Angel was already shaking his head.
"Sorry, Toots. I'm as confused as the fossils" he jerked one of his unoccupied thumbs at Vox and Carmilla, who looked nonplussed at the insult.
Carmilla cleared her throat, glaring briefly at Vox.
"Velvette. My offer still stands. No matter what"
Vox glared back at her, tilting his screen in suspicious curiosity.
"Offer?"
"I don't believe I was talking to you, Vox" Carmilla snapped.
Velvette's diabolical side was nudging at her, daring her to throw a grenade with Julius Vickers stamped on it's side into the conversation, just to see what happened. But now wasn't the time, and besides, she had other things on her mind.
"Velvette, what's this offer she's talking about?" Vox asked.
Velvette smiled innocently.
"Carmilla wants to steal me away for herself, Voxxy. She thinks she can protect me better than you can" Velvette said, putting her phone away and placing her hand over Carmilla's own.
Her pulse quickened as she really got a good perspective on just how much larger than her Carmilla Carmine was.
Holy shit!
"I don't think I can. I know I can. How much harm has Velvette come to under your 'watchful' eye, and how much harm have you inflicted on her, Vox?" Carmilla said.
"Don't give me that crap. You despise Velvette, Carmilla, why the fuck would your intentions towards her be better than mine. I love her" Vox pointed out.
"Yeah. So does she" Velvette said.
Carmilla sucked in a quick, shocked breath, a light blush coloring her cheeks.
Vox looked between them, before a small, confused error message flickered on and off across his screen.
"Huh?" he said, eloquently.
"Haven't you heard, Vox? She doesn't hate-hate me. Carmine's got a crush" Velvette said, smirking.
Angel Dust, who had been diligently dabbing blood off Velvette's face all throughout the conversation, glanced at Carmilla and Velvette with a smirk but didn't say anything.
"She's got a crush?" Vox said, his voice laced with utter disbelief "Carmilla Carmine has a crush on you? Darling, you're very beautiful but..."
Vox trailed off, his expression clearing as several pieces had clearly fallen into place for him.
"...actually, that explains a lot. Trying to steal my fiancee away, Carmine?" he needled her.
Carmilla made a noise like an angry cat.
"Fiancee? Ha! That's a strong word when you're describing a woman who doesn't even have a ring on her finger" she sneered "But my concerns aren't that selfish. I'm not you. I'm just worried about Velvette being torn to shreds for that sick bug's pleasure again"
"Where is Val, anyway?" Velvette asked.
"Sulking. He's taken the loss of power about as well as you'd expect" Vox rolled his eyes "He's curled up on the sofa with a bottle of Malibu and about two cigarettes in each hand"
Angel Dust finished wiping up Velvette's face, tweaking one of her space buns.
"All done" he said, and Velvette offered him a warm smile.
"So. How does it feel? Being a big bad Overlord?" she asked.
Angel looked good. His usual gaunt, skittish affect was gone, replaced with a glow that couldn't quite be described.
"I dunno. I feel... better? Like I've had a cold for years and years, but somebody just gave me the cure. But it doesn't feel... dramatic, I guess" he shrugged "Maybe I gotta grow into it?"
"You'll acclimatize" Vox said, clapping Angel Dust on the back. The gesture was a friendly one, and weird to see. Vox was treating Angel Dust like an equal.
Carmilla cleared her throat, letting go of Velvette’s shoulder and putting her hands on her hips, glowering down at Vox.
Vox glared back up at her.
"You know, it's considered rude to invite yourself to somebody's house" he said, gritting his cyan teeth together.
"Whether or not Valentino is an Overlord, he is still extremely dangerous, and something is clearly wrong with Velvette" she snapped back "She will be safer with me. I can look after her. I can keep her safe"
“Gee, thanks for the compliment. I’m fine, fossil, you can go” Velvette said “Valentino doesn’t post a threat to me anymore and it’s offensive that you think he does”
Carmilla inclined her head, conceding Vevette’s point.
"Fine. But what about The Hazbin Hotel? What about Princess Morningstar and her particularly dangerous allies? You shot Lucifer Morningstar-"
"How the fuck do you know that?" Vox asked.
Velvette carefully schooled her expression while Carmilla ignored him.
"-you shot a fallen angel and The King Of Hell, after slandering his reputation for all of Heaven and Hell to hear about-"
"It's not slander if it's true" Vox muttered.
"-where is he, anyway?" Carmilla looked around the room with an exasperated gesture, as if expecting to see Lucifer hidden behind Valentino's curtains.
"I dumped him at Heaven's Embassy" Angel Dust interjected, sounding proud of himself "Relax Carmine, I know it doesn't look good right now, but there's nothing Charlie won't forgive. As long as Heaven doesn't kill her Dad, things will be smoothed over before you know it"
Reclaiming his soul had certainly given Angel a more optimistic outlook on life.
Carmilla stared at him in disbelief.
"...and you've turned one of the hotel's residents against them" she finally said, pointing at Angel "What happens if Heaven does kill Lucifer? Charlie and the hotel will declare war on you before you can say vendetta"
Velvette felt her heart skip a beat. Carmilla wasn't wrong, the Vees' situation was more precarious than Angel Dust's hemline.
"I'm not even getting into the shit-show that'll erupt if Lucifer's fellow Sins decide they want to make an example of you. If there's one thing I know about power, it's that those who've been so untouchable for so long don't take it well when one of their own is touched" Carmilla said, rubbing at her face with one of her hands "...and what about Heaven? You are Sinners and you took down an Angel. They won't want that sort of behavior to go unpunished!"
"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Velvette said darkly, tapping at her phone, the glow of the screen bathing her in an eerie light "Pray that Heaven never knocks on our door, Carmine, because I'll throw you under a bus so hard-"
Carmilla slammed her hand against Val's nightstand, making Velvette jolt, dropping her phone onto Angel's knee.
"Yes. You'll throw me under a bus. Because unlike your fiancee, I've killed an angel. I can keep you safe, Velvette. I have the weaponry, and I have the knowledge and experience"
Velvette rolled her eyes, picking her phone up and snapping a selfie of herself and Angel. She didn't even complain when he threw up bunny-ears behind her head.
"The bitch kills one fucking angel and she thinks she's an expert" she stage-whispered to Vox, engrossed in carefully editing her picture for Sinstagram.
Carmilla's gaze softened as she watched Velvette pick out a filter.
"I can keep you safe. Please, Velvette. Let me keep you safe... but only you, and Angel Dust if he's wise enough to walk away. I have no interest in preserving The Vees"
Velvette felt a spike of irritation run through her, and she put her phone away, glowering at Carmilla as she curled her fingers around the top of her tube dress. Without warning, she yanked it down, exposing her breasts.
Vox rolled his eyes, exasperated, while Carmilla stared in shock as her face flushed a deep crimson.
Velvette smirked.
"That's it, fossil. Take a good, long look. This is clearly all you're interested in. If you're not invested in my boys, you're not invested in me as a person. The Vees are a package deal" she said "If you really cared, you'd want to keep my friends safe too. Now piss off, Carmine. Thanks for leaving the nursing home to check on me, but I'll be fine"
She paused, a sudden, crazy idea coming to her.
Carmilla wasn't wrong. Velvette and The Vees (including Angel Dust) were in a lot of danger.
Charlie Morningstar and/or her saccharine little hotel might be about to declare war on The Vees, and Charlie's Princess-of-Hell powers aside, her ever-smiling hotelier posed a significant threat.
Or...
As Carmilla had said, Heaven might panic when they find out how easily an angel (even a fallen one) had been taken down by such lowly (in their eyes) Sinners. Also, if Heaven took an interest in them, Velvette had more to fear than Angelic retribution.
What if I am pregnant? What will they do to me?
Or...
Velvette didn't know much about the other Sins. She knew their names and what they were Sins of, but beyond that she wasn't too sure about the specifics. But she did know that they were dangerous, and more powerful than any Overlord could hope to be. If they declared war on The Vees, it would be over before she could even blink.
She blinked several times, trying to focus as she pulled her dress back up again. There were a lot of things she couldn't control. She couldn't control Heaven, she couldn't control The Sins, she couldn't control being on her period, she couldn't control her ambiguous pregnancy, she couldn't control Vox's past, and she could never control Valentino...
...but she could do one thing, and she'd always done it well.
She could throw a party so good that it reified The Vees' public image for centuries to come- if they didn't end up dead, that is.
"Voxxy and I are getting married tonight. Please come. There's going to be a huge party, and everyone who's anyone in Pentagram City is invited- even the hotel!"
Vox stared at Velvette in disbelief, his screen glitching several times before he managed to school his features. He wasn't going to present anything less than a unified front while an outsider was around.
Velvette knew he must think she was crazy, but she knew what she was doing.
It was a glitzy, star-studded olive branch. She couldn't do a thing about Heaven or the other Sins, but hopefully she could sweet-talk Charlie into sparing them.
...and hopefully Lucifer wasn't currently being measured for a noose as she spoke.
…and hopefully Alastor kept his ugly head down and didn't have any more tricks up his outdated sleeves.
"You're being paranoid. I'm sure it was terrifying, when you saw the meteor coming to wipe you and the other dinosaurs out, but you don't need to assume everything's the end of the world" she said.
Carmilla stared at Velvette in disbelief, a blush still lingering on her cheeks.
"You have declared too many wars on too many proud and dangerous people to assume that you can avoid the inevitable. But..." she glanced at Vox, and then at Angel, before looking back at Velvette "I can't force you. I'm not Vox"
Vox rolled his eyes.
"...but I am like Vox in one respect. I'm a businesswoman. I know when a deal is impossible, and I know when to walk away. But please, Velvette, remember that I genuinely want to keep you safe. If you ever need me, just call for me"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever" Velvette crossed her arms "Just piss off and flick your bean to the thought of my tits. Yes, fossil, they aren't meant to sag all the way down to your knees"
Carmilla looked like she wanted to insult Velvette in turn, but couldn’t quite bring herself to do it.
"Goodbye, Velvette. I'll see you tonight, I suppose. Is there a registry?" she asked.
"We'll need a wedding dress, on such short notice" Vox said, shooting Velvette a loaded look as he got to his feet, before offering his arm to Carmilla with a winning smile "I'll walk you out, Ms. Carmine"
"No need. I know the way" said Carmilla.
"Ha. I'm sure you do. But I insist. I'd be a fool to let you wander around VoxTek unsupervised” Vox’s smile became more shark-like.
Carmilla narrowed her eyes, but took his arm without complaint and allowed him to guide her out of Valentino's bedroom.
Once they were out of sight, Vox’s dress shoes and Carmilla’s Angelic Steel ballet slippers could still be heard clicking against the floor, a rhythmic tap-tap-tap that echoed across Valentino’s penthouse. The sound was only cut off when Valentino’s door snapped shut behind them.
Velvette let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, slumping and rubbing at her temples.
Angel disentangled himself from her and got to his feet, stretching as he slipped his third set of arms back into... wherever it was that they went. He cracked his knuckles before grinning down at Velvette.
"Isn't fossil what you call Zestial?" he asked conversationally.
"I don't discriminate, I'll call any old fucker fossil, if they deserve it" Velvette said.
Angel snickered.
"I'd be a fool to let you wander around VoxTek unsupervised" he mimicked Vox, with surprising accuracy "He's also a fool to think that someone like Carmilla Carmine can't just do what she wants"
He grinned a little more, his smile gaining a wicked edge.
"I bet you like the sound of that, Carmine doing what she wants. You've had a corrupt CEO and a pimp, why not try out an arms dealer?"
Velvette felt herself blush, baring her tiny fangs at Angel Dust as he ruffled her space buns and dropped back down onto the bed next to her, wrapping two arms around her shoulders.
Velvette leaned against him, smiling to herself.
"I can't believe you're free" she said "I thought you'd always be under Valentino's thumb, but look at you now. Nobody owns you, you're the one holding the leashes. How does that feel?"
Angel chewed on his lower lip, looking out the window with a wistful expression, the red city skyline of Pentagram City reflected in his eyes.
All eight of them.
"I dunno. Maybe this is gonna sound ungrateful, but I don't really feel anything. Not yet, at least" he looked back down at Velvette "Tell me, how did it feel when you became an Overlord?"
Velvette pressed herself more against him, sliding down until she was able to comfortably press her cheek against his chest fluff.
"I acted like a bad bitch, when I became an Overlord I just shrugged it off like it didn't mean anything to me, like I expected it" she said.
"Sounds about right. But how did you feel?" Angel squeezed her slightly, pulling her closer.
"I was fucking terrified, babes. I had only been in Hell for a couple of weeks, and two demonic freaks twice my size had given me a deadline I had to become an Overlord by. If I didn't make it, I was going to end up with my soul in one of their clutches"
"...I saw the way Vox was looking at you, on your first day in Hell. He wasn't letting you go, and I don't think he would've mistreated you. You never had anything to be afraid of" Angel comforted.
"I remember. His pupils were basically little hearts" Velvette snickered "...and his trousers were this close to splitting at the front"
She held her thumb and forefinger about a millimeter apart.
"Ha, I don't blame him" Angel Dust said "You were dressed kinda slutty when you came plummeting down here, weren't you? I can't really remember, I was high as fuck that day. All I remember is you were a bitch and Vox had a crush"
"I guess it depends on your definition of slutty... hang on, I've got pictures!" Velvette grabbed her phone, opening it up and scrolling back through her pictures with her thumb moving so fast she nearly left scorch marks on the screen.
She stopped when she saw the pictures, taken at Valentino's insistence, of herself standing in Vox's conference room. She was pouting and glaring at the camera, wearing her ridiculous baby-doll dress with her hair in bunches and cheap makeup slathered all over her face.
"Awwwwww" Angel Dust said, before he burst out laughing "You look like... like you're about to shoot something really sick in Val's studio. Why are you glaring like that?"
Because I thought Valentino was planning on jerking off to the pictures and I didn't want to make it any easier for him was what Velvette thought, but didn't say.
Her words died in her throat as she stared at the door of Valentino's bedroom, frowning.
"...did Vox seriously leave Val unsupervised?"
Angel Dust looked nonplussed.
"Trust me, he ain't a threat right now. But if it'll make you feel better, we can pay him a visit" he said, slowly grinning "...actually, I bet it'll make you feel much better, Toots"
Velvette and Angel Dust held hands as they returned to the main living area of Val's penthouse. The pink-and-red rooms held so many memories for Velvette, both good and bad, that the garish decor almost felt haunted to her.
Once upon a time, Velvette walked through The V Tower like Hell's most untouchable bad bitch, now she practically tiptoed. Once upon a time, Velvette had written Angel Dust off as a washed-up, drug addicted whore. Now she clung to his hand like a scared child.
Once upon a time, Valentino had been one of the most notorious and terrifying Overlords in The Pride Ring.
Now...
Valentino was curled up in the fetal position on his sofa, a bottle of Malibu clutched in one hand while each of his free hands held two cigarettes each. He looked terrible, his face ashen and his oversized frame trembling.
"Holy shit..." Velvette said, stunned.
It wasn't like she'd never seen Valentino look sick before. She'd seen him hungover, she'd seen him suffering from Hell's equivalent to The Common Cold, and she'd seen him coming down from a drug high.
But this was something else.
"C-c-come to gloat?" Valentino stammered out, curling up more on himself. He had his wings wrapped around himself like a blanket, and it didn't look like he was wearing anything underneath them "Go on then, cabrones, take a good look. Take a picture, it'll last longer- hey! What the fuck?!"
Velvette had taken Valentino literally, snapping a picture of him with an evil grin on her face.
"What?" she said, slipping her phone away "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and this is gonna be in my wank bank forever"
Valentino glowered at her, before shivering and taking a drag of all his cigarettes at once.
"I feel like I've had my balls cut off! Like I'm a common house-cat!" he whined.
"Maybe you shouldn't have acted like a tom-cat then" Angel Dust said, unconcerned "Velvette, you know what happened to Husk, right?"
Velvette nodded and Angel Dust let go of her hand to walk over to Valentino, and she didn't miss Valentino's tiny flinch as Angel grew close to him.
"So. To transfer Val's Overlord status to me, all of Valentino's soul contracts were put under my name instead. It was really business-y and legal-y. I'm glad Vox was helping, he's better at that shit than I am" Angel Dust grinned down at Valentino, who shrank back against the sofa "...and when I say all of Valentino's souls, I do mean all of them"
With a downright diabolical expression on his face, Angel Dust raised his hand, causing a smokey pink chain to appear in his palm, connected to a matching collar around Valentino's neck.
"...now he's as much of a bitch as my favorite kitty-cat is" Angel purred.
Valentino recoiled away from Angel Dust, looking terrified as he tried to put as much distance between himself and his former 'employee' as he could. He dropped all his cigarettes as he scrambled, and it was only through sheer luck that they didn't light the sofa on fire as they ashed themselves out on the ground. The bottle of Malibu stayed clutched in one of Val's hands, and he took a deep swing from it as he stared fearfully up at Angel.
Angel Dust ignored him, grinning at Velvette.
"Hey, wanna get some payback?" he asked, and all eight of his eyes brightly and briefly flashed with red light, causing Velvette to take a startled step back.
"Uh... what do you mean...?"
"Well, Valentino thought it was so much fun to cross all our boundaries, so maybe you and I could-"
Whatever Angel Dust was going to say was cut off, mercifully, by Vox zapping himself into the room again. He straightened his sweater-vest as he approached Velvette, an annoyed expression on his screen.
Velvette smiled beatifically. If she wasn't literally in Hell, you could've easily imagined a halo appearing around her head.
"So, it's my wedding day, is it? News to me" Vox said, his smile becoming dangerously sharp "I love you, my darling. But what the fuck are you thinking? How are we supposed to put together a wedding by tonight?"
"A wedding?" Val looked lost.
"Toots and Sparky are tying the knot tonight. Apparently" Angel Dust said, smirking at the flicker of pain that went across Val's face.
"Yeah. Apparently. Why the rush, my dear?" Vox folded his arms.
"I know it's a crazy idea, but hear me out. Firstly; I want to get married as fast as possible, before fate can find another way to fuck us over and split us up. Look at how unlucky we've been. Look at how much danger we're in now" she approached Vox, resting her hand on his chest, right over his heart.
Vox tilted his screen, while Val laughed hollowly.
"You know, that's pretty smart, picardias. You two are fucked by fate" He said, before cowering as Angel glared down at him.
Velvette ignored him.
"Secondly, we have a lot of swords hanging over our heads right now, and we can't control if and when most of them drop. But, there are two of them that we can deflect; our reputation, and our broken relationship with Princess Morningstar and the hotel" she counted the issues off on her fingers.
"Those are certainly problems, but I'm a little more worried about what Heaven's going to do next, and what the other Sins are going to do when they find out what we did to Lucifer- fuck, I'm more worried about what Lucifer could be plotting in that pretty little head of his" Vox said, shuddering.
Velvette shrugged.
"Those are problems that are completely out of our hands. Let's focus on what we can control. So, our reputation. Everyone now thinks that The Vees are a joke and that we're weak and fractured... so we put on a show of force. We host a lavish ceremony, where you and I reaffirm our love and dedication to each other, and we gave Angel Dust his grand re-introduction to Hell" Velvette gestured grandiosely with her hands.
Vox looked thoughtful, tapping a claw against his screen as he mulled over Velvette's words.
"VoxTek could sponsor the whole ceremony, and I can easily broadcast it across all of Hell. You could dress the wedding party, and it would be a good atmosphere to re-introduce Angel Dust in. It could be quite the PR stunt. But darling, how are we supposed to pull it off on such short notice? The tower is still mostly covered in Apollyon!"
"That's what's so brilliant about it. It shows what a fantastic team we are, and how we can survive anything, dust ourselves off, and end up back at the top again" Velvette said "...and how we can look pretty fucking fabulous while we're doing it"
Angel dropped Val's chain, letting it dissolve into smoke.
"You know what, Toots, that's not a half-bad idea. Most people down here are fucking idiots, if you and Vox are at the altar all shiny and new, they'll forget they ever saw you at your worst" he crossed one set of arms "...but what about Charlie? I know you were hoping I'd be able to hold out an olive branch, but she doesn't really want anything to do with me right now"
Velvette offered Angel Dust a sympathetic smile.
"You just need to wait-" Vox started to say, but she waved him off.
"-and let that pain fester? Fuck no. We're not just holding that olive branch out, we're pushing her in the river first. We'll back her into a corner where she has to come, and then we launch a charm offensive" Velvette sighed dreamily "It'll be such a romantic day, everything will be so beautiful, the music will be perfect, I'll be in a pretty white dress... there's no way that sentimental bitch won't get swept up in it"
"...and then what?" asked Vox, grinning fondly down at her, clearly picturing the romantic scene she was painting.
"I can sway her. I'll just simper and weep and beg her to forgive me" Velvette shrugged "I'll have her eating out of my hand in no time"
"You're confident, for the biggest bitch in Hell. What if she just ends up hating us more?" Vox asked.
Velvette shrugged "Then I'll throw my drink in her face and tell everyone she said I deserved to get splattered over Pentagram City. If we can't build bridges, we'll just nuke the river"
"...and how, exactly, are we going to force the princess to come to our wedding?" Val asked, his voice unusually quiet.
"Leave that with me. Vox, I can trust you with the bulk of the wedding planning, surely?" Velvette wrapped her arms around Vox's waist, looking up at him pleadingly.
...sure, Velvette knew she could throw a killer party... but so could Vox, and she was feeling lazy.
Vox chuckled.
"I'll do my best"
"Good. I'll handle invitations and wardrobe, you handle the rest. Love ya, kisses!" she leaned up and kissed Vox's screen repeatedly, before hurrying over to Angel and grabbing his hand "Come on, I want your help with the designs"
...and I want to keep an eye on you. You got Valentino's everything, but did you get Valentino's... everything?
"Well, Valentino thought it was so much fun to cross all our boundaries, so maybe you and I could-" rang in Velvette's ears.
"See, I knew you respected my style!" Angel said, letting himself be dragged out of the room with a laugh.
Melissa was sitting on her desk, watching her co-workers scurry around while she ate a sandwich, when Velvette unexpectedly kicked the doors to her studio in.
"Look alive, bitches! Momma's home, and she's got higher fucking standards than ever!" Velvette announced, pulling Angel in behind her "Ooh, I'm starving"
Without asking, she swiped the other half of Melissa's sandwich. Her assistant sighed in resignation.
"How are you feeling, Miss Velvette?"
"Like I got thrown off the roof by a very fuckable angel. Hey, what is all this crap?" she motioned towards the studio, where red coats, black lingerie sets, and blue suits had been draped over every available service.
"It's your Vox and Valentino collection. It was never launched, but we still have everything... did you want to examine it?" Melissa slid off her desk, looking nervous.
"No. I want it all destroyed. It looks fucking horrible" Velvette said, ignoring the dismayed looks on her employees' faces as she grabbed a sketchpad and a pen "Alright, we don't have much time. I want a groom's tuxedo made to Vox's measurements, a maid-of-honor outfit made for Angel Dust, a best man's tuxedo made for Val, and a small tuxedo that a little fat pig can fit into"
"A pig" Melissa blinked several times, watching as Velvette scribbled frantically at the sketchpad, mocking up designs. She grabbed a bunch of highlighters once she was done, ripping off their tops with her teeth before rubbing colors into her designs.
"...okay, here are my ideas. Make them fucking perfect" she said, ripping the page out of the sketchpad and shoving it into Melissa's hands before starting to sketch again "...and I want... the best... fucking... wedding dress... that Hell has ever seen. Make this. But make it better" she ordered, shoving the notepad at Melissa once she was done scribbling.
"Are you getting married?" Melissa asked, looking confused.
"Vox proposed" Velvette said "What? Is that so shocking?"
"No, no, of course it's not!" Melissa said quickly "I'll get right to it. Congratulations, I'm so happy for you. Mister Vox makes you so happy"
She paused, a tiny smile tugging at her mouth.
"...we've all heard how happy he makes you, in your office, when you think everyone's gone home for the day" she finally said.
Vox wasn't an exhibitionist, but he made an exception for fucking Velvette on the pull-out sofa in her office after-hours.
The knowledge that they hadn't been as discreet as they'd thought made Velvette blush a deeper red than any of the Valentino-inspired coats in the room.
"Just make the designs" she snapped, before remembering she was trying to treat Melissa more like a human being (so to speak) "Please"
"Of course, Miss Velvette. Hello, Angel Dust. You look good" Melissa smiled sweetly before walking away.
Angel smirked at Velvette.
"In your office? Wow, Toots. That's freaky" he teased.
"Shut the fuck up, Spider-Whore. Come on, I have a wedding invitation to post, and I want your help choosing an outfit" Velvette took Angel's hand again, pulling him out of her studio.
Velvette knew her room was a disaster zone, but it was her disaster zone and she’d be damned if she let someone rifle through her shit under the guise of ‘cleaning’.
So when Angel Dust started to tidy up a pile of last-season cocktail dresses to give himself enough room to sit down, she didn’t hesitate to throw a pair of red bottoms at him.
Angel ducked the projectiles deftly, pouting at her.
“Hands off my shit” she said, sweeping the dresses off the sofa and onto the floor with little ceremony.
“Wow. You really are on the fucking rag” Angel said as he took a seat, watching her dive into a nearby pile of clothes and start throwing unwanted garments around hither-thither.
Velvette threw a stray purse at him, it hit him square in the face, making him wince.
“Okay, okay. That was too far” Angel admitted, rubbing his nose and continuing to watch her for a few minutes before speaking up again "...so, your powers are still a no-go? Not even the witch stuff?"
"No. Nothing's been reliable lately" Velvette admitted, picking up a sparkly pink dress and looking at it with a critical eye "What do you think?"
“I think that you’re already wearing a pink dress, and you’re obviously stress-dressing. What are you getting dressed up for, anyway, what’s your big plan for the wedding invitations?”
Velvette let go of the dress and slumped against a nearby pile of lingerie, looking up at Angel.
“I’m going to go live on Sinstagram and invite all of Pride to the wedding, and I’ll really put the pressure on Charlie Morningstar and her merry band of do-gooders to show their happy shiny faces. It shouldn’t be too hard, I already know what I’m going to say”
“So why the stress-dressing?” Angel asked with a tilt of his head.
I’m pregnant. I think.
Velvette nearly said it, but there were so many concerns going through her head that it wasn’t what came out of her mouth.
“Stress-dressing’s not a thing” she said instead.
“You’re deflecting” he said.
“Deflecting is a big word for such a big whore to say. Well done” she snapped.
“Fuck you! I’m worried about you!” he snapped.
…and then Velvette’s eyes started to water, and she had to press her hand against her mouth to stop herself from bursting into tears.
Angel Dust was by her side in less than a second.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry. You can try on a thousand pink dresses, I won’t say anything”
“It’s not that, you idiot” Velvette sniffled “It’s my wedding day, and… it’s not what I imagined it would be. Did you ever think about your wedding day when you were little?”
“I can’t say I did” Angel smirked “But go on”
“I'd daydream about it sometimes. I never imagined anything like this; a rushed PR stunt done so that I can more easily manipulate the Princess of Hell, while Hell itself might rise up from the other Rings to destroy us, or Lucifer might come back to smite us, or Heaven might open up and wipe us all out, or... or..."
Angel gently patted Velvette’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, Toots” he soothed, but Velvette shook her head with a frustrated sob.
"Why did you say it?"
"Say what?" Angel's brow creased in confusion.
"'Valentino thought it was so much fun to cross all our boundaries, so maybe you and I could-' why did you say that? What did you want to do to him? Are you going to be as bad as he is now?!"
Angel's expression softened, and he wrapped both sets of arms around Velvette, pulling her into his chest fluff.
"I could never be as bad as he is, Velvette. I mean, I'm completely gay, I wouldn't want to rape you" he said, snickering as Velvette slapped his arm "Ow! Okay, sorry. That's a shitty joke. Look, I just wanted to watch Val squirm a bit. He's such a piece of shit he can’t comprehend someone having his power and not abusing it, and maybe Vox and I made some... jokes... about how I was gonna be treating him now I own his soul and he... didn't like it. At all"
Velvette rolled her eyes, even as she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
You have nothing to worry about. Not with Angel, at least. It’s okay. He’s safe. He’ll always be safe.
“Boys” she pulled away from Angel and got to her feet, brushing herself down “Alright, how do I look?”
“Like the prettiest little whore to ever lock lips with The Devil” Angel Dust blew her a kiss, and she feigned catching it, before making her way to the nearest window, grabbing her phone and holding it up at a carefully flattering angle.
Angel offered her four thumbs up, and she smiled at him before hitting a button and going live.
"Good... uh... afternoon? Fuck. I don't know. Hello, fuckers. It's Velvette, the sexiest doll in Hell. Now, I don't know if any of you took your hands off your dicks for long enough to notice, but life hasn't exactly been peaches and cream for me lately"
She shook her head, sneering.
"I was attacked by The King Of Hell, for the sin of calling him out on the disgusting things he was planning on doing to his own people. But I lived, and now he's awaiting Heaven's judgement"
Heaven's Embassy glowed in the background of her livestream, and Velvette briefly wondered to herself what had become of Lucifer. Was he still in there? Had he been dragged off to Heaven? Had he been let go?
...had the flash of light that only Velvette seemed to have seen had anything to do with him? The connection that true Witches had to Lucifer had never been extensively studied, they rarely lived long enough for it to be of any importance.
"...yeah. I lived. Because I'm a bad fucking bitch" Velvette continued, before inclining her head with a grimace "But I'm not delusional. I know that I'm the youngest, and the weakest, of The Vees. But I'm also not scared to admit it, not when I have who I have to hide behind. You've all seen how nasty Voxxy can be, haven't you? Tom Trench certainly has. But my flat-faced prince isn't all claws and manipulation; he just asked me to marry him, and I said yes! That's right, fuckers. Voxxy and I are getting married, and why waste time? We're tying the knot tonight. Anyone who can wear something nice enough to get in is invited... and I'd like to reach out and offer a special invitation to Princess Morningstar herself"
This was the important part, the part she couldn't screw up. Velvette looked into the camera, attempting sincerity as she smiled grimly.
"Your father hurt me, and more than that, he hurt everyone trapped in this Lucifer-forsaken Ring by breaking what little trust we had left in him. A true king protects their subjects, they don't hide in their castles, plotting to poison and brainwash the people they rule over. But Charlie, I know you, I know that you are sweet and kind and honest- the opposite to Daddy. So I want you there, I want you there so you can see what your father tried to snuff out. Also, who wouldn't want a princess at their wedding?"
Velvette shrugged, before grinning more normally.
"Anyway! Bring a gift, but don't expect a goody bag. Ta-ta for now!"
With a middle finger stuck in the air and a tap on her screen, she ended the livestream.
"So, do you think guilt-tripping her is gonna work?" Angel asked, playing with his hair.
"It's not just guilt-tripping. If Princess Sunshine doesn't show her chirpy little face, it gives Vox and I a free kick to damage the Morningstar name even further. After all, why wouldn't she come after an invitation like that?" Velvette smirked "Vox and I could make up all sorts of things..."
Angel Dust raised a brow.
"Aren't we trying to extend an olive branch?"
"We are. That doesn't mean I have to be nice about it" Velvette said.
Angel looked uncomfortable.
"...she did so much for me. I'm not really comfortable with how... manipulative this is"
"Unfortunately, The Vees haven't gotten to where they are by having morals" Velvette said "If you want to be a Vee, you need to get comfortable with being manipulative"
Angel Dust laughed.
"I admire the confidence, but now that I'm one of you assholes, I should break it to you that outside of your little fiefdom The Vees are a joke. I suppose, after everything, you're even more of a joke now"
Velvette felt her eye twitch.
"...then why did you agree to become one of us?"
"It's a joke that makes me smile" Angel grinned.
Velvette couldn't help but grin back, before making her way across the room, wrapping her arms tightly around Angel Dust's waist and leaning against him.
"We are so fucked, aren't we?" she said.
"So, so fucked" Angel wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight "So, what do we do now?"
Velvette hummed to herself.
"Vox probably has a lot to do, he could use my help... so I'm going to have a nap, fuck him. Want to join me?"
"Sounds good, Toots"
Velvette and Angel Dust had fallen asleep in Velvette's bed, surrounded by the plushest portion of her doll collection, swaddled in blankets, and cocooned away from the world.
Velvette stirred into a half-wakeful state after two, maybe three hours of rest had passed. Her sleep was dreamless, and she felt refreshed. She pressed herself more against Angel Dust's side, wrapping her legs around his and nuzzling her head even more into his fluffy chest.
She'd written Angel off as a joke for so long that she could appreciate the irony in his comment about The Vees being jokes. She couldn't be mad at him for it, either, he wasn't wrong. Even before that nightmarish night when Valentino had raped her and changed everything, Velvette had never had delusions that The Vees' enjoyed anything more than precarious positions of power.
Our brand is perfection... because at the slightest imperfection, we're fucked.
They were despised by their fellow Overlords, Valentino had a nasty habit of picking fights online with the Ars Goetia, and they were either feared or hated by the common Sinner on the street.
They had no friends. No allies. Nobody to turn to who wouldn't gleefully kick them while they were down. For good measure, Velvette had ensured that even Lucifer and the hotel's concern and sympathy for her had evaporated like a snowball in Hell.
...and now Heaven might be looking down at them with ill intent, while Lucifer's Sin friends looked up at them and seethed.
Overlords hanging by a thread...
Velvette shivered, holding onto Angel Dust a little tighter.
"Are you cold?" Vox whispered, making her jolt and whip her head around 180 degrees to stare at him.
He was lying next to Angel and Velvette, smiling warmly at her as she re-aligned her body with his head.
"Jesus, Vox. You'll give me a fucking heart attack!" she snapped once her neck was no longer twisted around like a piece of fusilli.
"...and what? You'll die? Oh no" Vox rolled his eyes, reaching out and pulling her into his arms, holding her close "Everything is ahead of schedule. I delegated the last of my tasks and came up here to spend some time with you... only to find you in another man's arms, how scandalous"
Velvette rolled her eyes in turn, before pouting up at Vox.
"Don't you know it's bad luck to see the bride on her wedding day?"
"I don't think a little more bad luck will change things for us" Vox whispered, leaning in and pressing his screen against her forehead "...I got a call from the hotel. Charlie's coming"
"That's nice of Vaggie to let us know, but maybe she should focus on spelling out the alphabet with her tongue" Velvette said.
Vox chuckled, rubbing her back.
Velvette stared into his digital eyes, lost in thought.
The first time I thought I was pregnant, I told myself that Valentino would never be around my child. But now... are you safe, Vox?
...am I even pregnant?
"So" Vox said, interrupting her troubled thoughts "Carmilla Carmine?"
"She's a wrinkled old bitch. Yes"
"Ha! Don't deflect. I'm not shocked she wants you, but is it a two-way street?" he asked.
"Do you really think I'm going to have an affair with Carmilla fucking Carmine, Voxxy? I think your signal's been lost" Velvette tapped his screen.
"I did just see you flash her, my dear"
"What, are you jealous? You got to see them too"
"Maybe I am jealous, but not of that. Carmine is more powerful than me... she can offer you things that I can't"
Velvette rolled her eyes again.
"You are such an idiot, Vox. I don't want Carmilla Carmine, unless you're asking if I want her head on a stick" she kissed his screen "Now shut the fuck up, I want to get some rest before our wedding"
"Alright, Velvette. Sleep well" Vox said, settling down and closing his eyes, holding Velvette tight as she rested her head against his shoulder.
...but despite what she'd just said, she couldn't help but become lost in thought.
She'd never actually put a name to her sexuality. In life, her relationships had all been with men, and her only experiences with women had been non-consensual encounters in prison.
But her fantasies had been far more fluid. She'd thought about women while masturbating before, but she'd never allowed herself any soul-searching about what that meant.
She opened her eyes, looking up at Vox.
She was lying next to an openly bisexual man. She could just ask him questions, maybe find some answers for herself in them.
...but there was something more pressing on her mind, if she was going to ask Vox anything about his own sexuality and sexual history, it was going to be something far more serious.
"Vox" she whispered, and Vox's eyes snapped open.
She wondered if he'd even been trying to sleep, as his screen display hadn't even dimmed. Maybe he'd just wanted to hold her.
It was a sweet thought, but not sweet enough to derail her question.
"Is there something on your mind?" he whispered.
No fucking shit, Sherlock.
My reputation is ruined. It’s my wedding day. The most powerful people in Hell could be baying for my blood. I might be pregnant. My fiancée was a serial killer and a rapist.
Last things first, I suppose.
She sighed.
"...sixteen?!" she breathed "I can't believe you were so sick"
"Excuse me?" Vox just looked confused.
"One of your followers, one of the poor girls that you raped, she was only sixteen. I can forgive you for a lot of the awful things you did as Julius Vickers, but..."
She shuddered, before something horrible occurred to her.
"You loved me from the second you lay eyes on me, right?" she asked.
Vox's expression softened.
"Yes, I did"
"Was that because I was a tiny little doll dressed up like a little girl? Are you into that?"
Vox sighed, cupping Velvette's face in his clawed hand, shaking his screen as best as he could while lying in bed.
"One of the first things I ever said to you was that I'm not into that. Velvette, you were dressed like a baby-doll and about half my size, but I have never thought you looked like a child. Even if you do have a doll collection" he gently teased "Yes, I did something awful to that poor girl, and I can't deny it or explain myself. But it was a very different time-"
"Not an excuse. She was still sixteen" Velvette said coldly.
"Yeah. That fact doesn't change. Look, I can't apologize to her, and I can't change what I did. So I don't know what you expect me to do, asides from promising you that I'm not a pervert"
Velvette lowered her gaze, focusing on Vox's bow-tie so she wouldn't have to meet his eyes.
"...anyway, weren't you just telling me that you find Julius Vickers' misdeeds a turn-on?" he pointed out, winking.
"Shut the fuck up" Velvette snapped "This isn't the last you're going to hear about it, I hope you know. But I still love you, and... I'm still looking forwards to my wedding. Does that make me a terrible person?"
"You are in Hell, Velvette. Yes it does. But if you can love me despite the horrible things I've done, I can love you despite what a little freak you are"
Velvette smiled.
She doubted that her and Vox were going to have some sort of blissful, conflict-free marriage. She also highly doubted that she'd ever be able to move on from what she knew about Julius Vickers.
But at the end of the day, all that truly mattered to her was that Vox loved her, and that he'd never hurt her the way he'd hurt his followers. It was selfish, but Velvette had never claimed to be a saint.
After all, she was one of The Pride Ring's most preeminent Sinners.
Speaking of Sinners...
Velvette looked up, glancing around the room with a frown. Something was missing. Something nearly ten feet tall and winged.
"Speaking of freaks, where's Val?" she asked.
No matter what power he did or didn’t wield, only a fool would underestimate was Valentino was capable of.
“Eelijah’s watching him” Vox said.
“Is that a good idea?”
“Probably not. But Val’s currently scared of his own reflection, and Eelijah’s so scared of Val that neither of them are going to do anything” Vox shrugged.
Velvette was going to say something, but she didn’t want to keep bickering with her fiancée on her wedding day, so she just pursed her lips.
"...I told my team to make Val a best man's tux. I should've asked you first" she finally said, her tone rueful.
“Don’t apologize. It’s the logical choice. Who else am I going to ask, Alastor?" Vox chuckled.
The Radio Demon…
"Shouldn't we be more worried about him? He's the most dangerous fucker at that hotel" Velvette asked.
In the excitement of the past few hours, thoughts of Alastor had faded into the background. But that didn't make him any less dangerous, or vindictive.
"Alastor? We should always be worried about him. But not today. That grinning shit-stirrer isn't going to pull something at an event that Charlie Morningstar is attending" Vox smiled comfortingly "Anyway, he's probably going to be more focused on his angel. Heaven only knows what's going to happen to Lucifer- literally"
Velvette snickered.
“I’m going to try and get some rest” she leaned over, kissing his screen "I love you"
"I love you too"
Angel Dust hadn't just kept Valentino's studio running smoothly, he'd also gotten the place cleaner than it had ever been before.
Maybe it was just frustration from how dirty his place of work made him feel, or maybe being around so many Type A personality neat-freaks at the hotel had rubbed off on him, but Angel Dust seemed to have adopted the ethos that the studio needed to be so clean that you could lick the aftermath of a bukkake off the floor without worry.
So, it hadn't taken much for Vox to have the studio deep-cleaned and gutted, redressing the space in record time and turning it from a den of sin into the perfect replica of a lavish cathedral.
"I'm pretty sure this is just repurposed set-dressing, but I gotta hand it to him, this looks good. Hey, was he Catholic or something? Back when he was Julian Vacuum or whatever his fucking name was. This looks like the kinda place my family would go to" Angel Dust commented as he and Velvette walked into the 'cathedral', looking around himself.
"I... don't know" Velvette admitted. For obvious reasons, discussions of faith and religion weren't common in Hell. If anyone still bothered praying in The Pride Ring, they did so behind closed doors. Most Sinners thought that God had abandoned them, or despised them.
So, she had no idea how Vox had prayed when he was alive, if he'd prayed at all.
"He does have a priest's outfit, though" she continued, admiring the garlands of pink, purple, and blue flowers that lined the pews "So you might be onto something"
"I'm sure he'd kill to see you in a Catholic schoolgirl outfit" Angel Dust teased her, nudging her side.
Velvette went to say something, before rolling her eyes at the sound of a familiar whine.
"Velvette! Miss Velvette!" Eelijah was running towards them, wearing a dark blue suit and clutching a clipboard "You should be getting ready! The ceremony is in two hours. Please hurry, Mister Vox had some of your things brought to Angel D- Mister Angel Dust's dressing room"
He looked nervously at Angel Dust, clearly unsure about the power dynamic now that Angel was a Vee. Angel just grinned down at him.
"You know, I haven't been in there since Val was shot. Does it still smell like moth puke?" Velvette asked.
"Nah. It had to be gutted and scrubbed with bleach for a few weeks, but it's spotless now" said Angel.
"Oh, and Vox asked me to give you this. Um..." Eelijah looked uncertain as he pulled a small box out of his pocket. He finally smiled sheepishly at Velvette, before dropping down onto one knee.
"...seriously? Vox couldn't do this himself?" Velvette said, crossing her arms and looking unimpressed.
Eelijah cringed, reaching up and pressing one of the buttons that was wired into his head, causing a recording of Vox's voice to play.
"I'm sure you'll call me old-fashioned, my dear, but I have wanted to marry you since the day I met you. I love you, and I'll always love you. I'm sorry I'm such an evil, untrustworthy bastard, but to be fair you are also a massive fucking bitch"
Velvette put a hand over her heart, touched.
"You've already said yes, and despite everything you've stayed true to your promise. So I'll make you a promise of my own. You will never regret marrying me. Ever. If I break my promise, you can put the Angelic Steel through my heart yourself"
"I will" Velvette said bluntly.
"I love you, Velvette. Now go get your fucking dress on, you're going to be late"
Eelijah opened the box, and there it was, the breathtakingly beautiful engagement ring that Vox had promised her. It was even more stunning in person, and Velvette was mute as she slipped it onto her finger, admiring the way it glimmered in the 'cathedral's' lights.
Angel Dust leaned over her shoulder, checking out the ring with a low whistle.
"So... that dress you were wearing when Vox fell madly in love with you. Do you still have it? I think I'd like a ring like that" he teased her, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.
Angel Dust was right. His dressing room was spotless.
He and Velvette did their hair and makeup side-by-side, sharing an oversized stool as they sat at his vanity.
Velvette had stripped off and changed into Angel's robe, fussing around with her eye makeup while Angel teased his already-fluffy hair. Having sacrificed his robe to Velvette, he had left his skirt on to preserve his modesty as he dolled himself up.
"...so, Toots. Do you want to give it a try?" Angel asked, glancing over at her as he fluffed up his chest hair with a comb.
"Give what a try? Your retractable dick? No thanks, I'll ruin my makeup" Velvette deadpanned, concentrating as she started on a winged eye that could take down an entire battalion in a single blink.
"No. I mean... maybe you could give making your own wedding dress a go?" Angel Dust suggested "Your team is really talented, but they're not you. You probably have the perfect dress already there in your head, after all"
Velvette looked at her reflection, her expression carefully neutral.
"Angel, I can't-"
"-can't hurt to try, yeah, I agree" he said with an encouraging nod.
Velvette narrowed her eyes at him.
Her powers had come and gone since The Incident. She couldn't say it enough times; it felt like Valentino had broken something inside her, some intrinsic connection that linked her to her supernatural abilities. Yes, her connection to Witchcraft had been rekindled. But even then, her link to it was tenuous at best.
Still... Angel had a point.
She nodded slowly, getting to her feet and brushing powder off the lap of her robe.
"Fine. What's the worst that could happen, I suppose"
She looked back at her reflection, before raising her phone and clicking it at the mirror like it was a television remote.
Nothing.
"Well. That was eventful" she snapped. She went to sit down again, only to hesitate as Angel Dust raised one of his hands.
"...when you could... do your thing. What were you doing, exactly? Was it like you were tapping into something?" he asked, looking at her curiously.
Velvette paused, thinking about it.
"No. That's more of a witchcraft thing. I'm not tapping into something, I'm doing something that comes naturally to me, like yawning or blinking. I don't overthink it"
Angel nodded, looking thoughtful.
"I sort of get a vibe. I think "sporty!" or "sexy!" or something like that and bam, there it is. The perfect look. Most of the time, anyway, sometimes it takes a few goes" she continued.
I miss those days. Those days when my biggest concern was what outfit I was going to wear...
Angel stood up, grabbing Velvette's shoulders and maneuvering her until they were both facing the mirror.
"Listen to me, Toots. It's your wedding day, you're automatically beautiful, and you already have a wedding dress being made for you. There's no pressure. Everything is fine. You're just... trying a few other options out. Don't try and be perfect, just see what looks you come up with. You're just messing around"
Velvette was already shaking her head before Angel Dust had finished his spiel.
(...and once everything had blown over, she'd have to remember to tell Vox that Angel Dust could be quite the talented salesman)
"Angel, I can't-"
"Velvette, you can't do shit if you don't try. Just give it another go. Remember, you're not trying to be perfect here"
Velvette held her phone up again, shooting Angel Dust a sardonic look before clicking it fruitlessly a few more times.
"Ta-da. Nothing" she sighed.
Angel frowned, before shrugging.
"Oh well. Maybe it's for the best anyway. I saw those scribbles you did for Melissa and... I'm not a fan. I don't think wedding stuff is really your thing"
Velvette stared at him in shock.
"Excuse me?"
"You're great at everything else, don't get me wrong. You're just not really the bridal kind. But I'm sure your wedding night lingerie is going to be smoking!" he offered her a thumbs-up and a cocky grin.
Velvette ground her teeth in indignation, before clicking her phone furiously at her reflection, switching Angel's robe out for a simple wedding dress.
"Take a good look! A-Line, mermaid, ballgown, slip-dress, high-low. Which one is bridal enough for you?" she snapped, changing her dress's silhouette with every zap of her phone. She finally stopped on a design matching the sketch she gave to Melissa, a figure-hugging, strapless and backless dress with a waist-high slit up the side and a skirt that trailed behind her on the floor, sparkling with every motion "Is this fucking good enough? You know what, I don't care. I like it. If I want to look like Jessica fucking Rabbit on my wedding day I fucking will!"
She turned to Angel Dust, furious, before gasping in shock and spinning to look back at her reflection.
"I did it! I did it! I did it!" she squealed, actually jumping up and down a few times.
With a complete lack of structural support or spirit gum to keep it in place, the front of her new dress started to slip down. Angel Dust quickly grabbed some skin-safe adhesive from his vanity, handing it to her.
"We don't want you popping out half-way through the ceremony" he said, winking "You look amazing"
Velvette grabbed the little bottle, applying it to her dress and carefully sticking it down, her hands trembling from excitement. Once everything was in place, she grabbed her phone again.
"Shoes, shoes, shoes..." she started clicking at her reflection again, cycling through options before landing on a pair of sky-high stilettos studded with crystals. A few more clicks and she nodded in satisfaction at a pair of sheer, sparkly, finger-less gloves that now adorned her arms.
"Do you have any glitter in here, Angel?" she started pulling her hair out of it's messy space buns, tossing it around to try and make it look more artfully messy.
"Ay dios mío" a familiar voice spoke up from the doorway.
Angel reflexively flinched, before glaring, while Velvette jolted.
Valentino was standing by the door, wearing a sparkling black suit with heeled boots and multiple gold chains around his neck, his wings folded back into their cape-like form. He was holding two garment bags in his hands, while a third hand held the door open and a fourth was pressed against his mouth as he stared reverently at Velvette.
"You look like a goddess" he said, lowering his free hand to pull a cigarette from his pocket, clutching it between his teeth while he fished around for a lighter.
"...and you look like a pimp. So we both look the same as ever, I guess. What the fuck are those?" she gestured towards the garment bags.
"Your dress and Angelito's outfit. Voxxy's little eel is very busy, and Vox said I was getting underfoot by trailing around behind him, so he gave me some errands to run"
"Aren't you a dutiful little errand boy" Velvette snatched the garment bags from Val, tossing one at Angel Dust before throwing the other one aside "Melissa can burn the dress, for all I care. I like this"
She admired herself in the mirror while Val lit his cigarette, blowing out a heart-shaped smoke ring.
"She'll be heartbroken, she worked on it until her fingers bled. Oh well" he purred, his red eyes watching Angel closely as the newly-minted Overlord walked behind a privacy screen to change "By the way, muñequita, the ceremony starts in twenty minutes"
Velvette's smile faded.
"TWENTY MINUTES?!" she gasped, fussing around even more with her hair, her motions becoming frantic "My make-up isn't even done!"
Valentino looked at her, before glancing at the vanity.
"I could..." he motioned vaguely "You know I'm good at it"
Velvette glared at him, before shrugging and taking a seat at the vanity.
"Fine. Just don't fuck up my eyeliner" she said.
Valentino dropped his cigarette to the ground, putting it out with the heel of his boot before grabbing a brush and a bottle of foundation.
He started to work on her face, and they sat in awkward silence, listening to Angel Dust fuss around with his own clothes from behind the privacy screen.
Finally, Val spoke up as he did Velvette's contour.
"Are you excited?"
He spoke so softly that he didn't even sound like himself.
"I'm marrying the man I love. Of course I'm excited" Velvette said.
Valentino nodded, continuing to work.
"...so, the dress is new. Do you have anything old?" he asked while he worked on her lips.
Velvette waited until he was done to answer.
"Duh. I'm marrying Vox" she said, causing Valentino's lips to twitch.
"I suppose he counts as the 'something blue' too. What about something borrowed?"
Velvette shrugged, glancing at her reflection. Valentino had done a good job, she glimmered on all her high points, and her lips were painted a dark purple with a glittery topcoat.
While she admired herself, Valentino took off the thinnest and shortest of his chains, offering it to her.
"I'm more of a silver girl" Velvette said, even as she took the chain, holding it against her chest.
She didn't hate it.
"Here, te ayudaré" Valentino took the chain back, undoing the clasp and attaching it around her neck, before leaning back to look at the finished product "...one last thing. You need glitter in your hair"
He grabbed a bottle and held one hand protectively over Velvette's eyes. She said nothing as he worked on her, breathing in the chemical-laced scent of glitter spray and waiting for him to finish.
"Perfecta" Valentino took a step back and Velvette glanced at her reflection. The white streaks in her hair now sparkled in the vanity's lights.
"Thank-you" she said, her tone clipped "You should go wait with Vox"
Valentino straightened up.
"Velvette-"
"I don't want to talk to you, and neither does Angel Dust. Just go. Please?" she looked up at him "I still love you, but that doesn't change what you've done"
It must've been a trick of the light, but for a moment Valentino looked like he was about to cry.
"...you look beautiful" he said, his voice thick, before leaving with a sweep of his wings.
Once the door snapped shut behind him, Angel Dust re-emerged from behind the privacy screen, wearing a shimmering pink tuxedo with a mini-skirt that barely covered his backside.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have hid from him like that. It's not like I have anything to fear now. It's just... being in here... with him..."
He shuddered.
Velvette thought about the times she'd happily stood by and watched Valentino rape Angel, and felt a pang of remorse.
Brushing it aside, she picked up her phone and clicked it again. A long veil, held in place by a sparkling tiara, appeared on her head.
"Gorgeous! You look like more of a princess than Charlie does" Angel patted her shoulder, before scowling as the door suddenly opened again "Valentino! Piss off!"
"Is that any way to talk to a friend?"
Speak of the devil's daughter...
Charlie Morningstar stepped into the room, wearing a red tea dress with a black shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders, her expression grim.
"Hello Velvette, Angel Dust" she said, not meeting either of their eyes "I think we need to talk"
To Be Continued...
Notes:
...and now, a not-so-quick word from our sponsor: my ego!
1. "Alexa, look up The Great Molasses Flood of 1919"
2. Noah Fence, Angel Dust fans, but I'm with Velvette. I love Angel as a character but I just don't get the ~*appeal*~ he's meant to have. Angel Dust groupies, let me know what the big deal is!
3. Vox x Manspreading is the real OTP of Hazbin Hotel.
4. Lepidopterophobia!Velvette is basically an OC at this point, but I'd bet money that her canon counterpart is just as much of a pervert as she is, just in a different way.
5. Funny story, I was always writing Lepidopterophobia!Velvette as a bisexual who'd never truly explored her sexuality. Maybe PolyVees is forever fanonical, but I do feel vindicated that my Sapphic Senses were right about her.
6. Friendly Reminder: I still haven't seen Helluva Boss. If I make any mistakes Re: how I talk about the other Sins or the greater lore of Heaven and Hell, please let me know.
7. I *think* (and hope) that how I’m interpreting soul contracts and Overlords aligns with canon.
8. It occurred to me that it's more likely that Canon!Velvette is a neat freak, given how much of a perfectionist she seems to be. But I liked the idea of Velvette's penthouse being a disaster zone when I wrote Chapter Four(?), and I'm sticking with it! I'm 50/50 about whether or not Canon!Velvette has a doll collection too. She is doll-themed, but she's hardly childish. We'll just have to wait and see...
9. Fusilli is that corkscrew-shaped pasta. Y'all probably already know that, but just in case. It's "Learning Stuff, With Jesse" in these Author's Notes.
10. "One of the first things I ever said to you was that I'm not into that" Eelijah! Play the recording of Flashback!Vox in Chapter Three!: ""Oh fuck, oh my God... fuck. Does Val really think I'm into this sort of shit? Oh fuck me, this is ridiculous. Oh, honey, come sit on my lap"" Hmm... interesting.
11. Velvette's still a very selfish little Sinner, and most of this fic is written from her perspective, so I do want to make it clear that Julius Vickers' actions are completely inexcusable and Velvette is actually *under-reacting* to Vox's identity revelation.
12. Hmm... I wonder what Alastor's up to...
13. I *am* just making stuff up re: how Overlord powers work and the whole 'Witchcraft' thing. Sorry Vivienne Medrano.
14. By the way, Happy Pride Month! 🏳️🌈That's all for now, folks! Stay tuned...
-Jesse xx
Chapter 23: That's What The Guns You Sell Are For
Notes:
Hello again! So before we get into the next installment of Jesse Makes Up A Bunch Of Fanon That Season 2 Is About To Throw Out The Window, I need to be serious for a moment.
This is probably the darkest thing I've ever written. Even the exploitative filth of Scum and Villainy can’t come close to how far I've gone with this chapter. I’m giving you all a very firm and very serious warning, this chapter is not for the faint of heart. It contains extremely graphic depictions of gore and sexual assault.Poor Velvette…
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Even though Angel Dust was gay, he'd always had a preferred type when it came to female friendship; fabulous bitches with zero respect for anyone or anything.
See: Cherri Bomb (formerly), and Velvette (currently).
His preference for spending time with Hell's biggest divas had always made his friendship with Charlie feel unusual. She was nothing like the sort of women he usually hung out with. But even though their connection was an unusual one, it was also a genuine one.
...and now he'd gone and fucked everything up.
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.
Part of the reason that Angel Dust was so drawn to respectless women was a sense of kindred spirits; he had very little respect to spare (including self-respect). Sure, he knew when he had to kowtow and play nice- Val wasn't someone you got away with being rude to, after all- but in general he was very hard to intimidate or leave starstruck.
Hell, meeting Lucifer fucking Morningstar had elicited little more than a smile, even if he had quite liked Hell's very own short king.
(The key word being had. Past tense)
He'd also never been intimidated by Charlie's status as Princess of Hell, or by how powerful she was. To him, she was just a wide-eyed optimistic with a crazy dream and an unshakably altruistic approach to life in Hell.
He never thought he'd see the day that he was scared of Charlie Morningstar. But here he was. Staring at Charlie. Scared out of his mind.
It was funny timing; Charlie looked even less threatening than she usually did, wearing a pretty dress and clutching a shawl around herself like she was shivering in the snow, but the way she was glaring at him and Velvette sent shivers down Angel's spine.
It wasn't a glare of hatred; her expression was almost completely blank, with something dark and unfamiliar lingering behind her eyes.
It was like she'd been hurt so badly that she'd undergone some sort of system reset.
Velvette stared at Charlie, opening and closing her mouth while no sound came out. All her previous bravado and confidence that she'd easily be able to manipulate and sweet-talk the princess was gone. Angel Dust didn't blame her in the slightest for losing her nerve. He was freaked out enough, and he wasn't a head shorter than Charlie like Velvette was.
Charlie looked between them both, before sighing.
"Okay. That's fine. I can start; do you know what's going to happen to Dad? I was on the phone with Uncle Ozzie for hours, but he's got less answers than I do. Alastor's been trying to get into Heaven's Embassy since he found out Dad was dumped there, but the whole building is locked down"
Briefly, Charlie shot Angel Dust a hurt look, and Angel felt a pang of remorse stab through his heart. If he wasn't trying so hard not to cry, he would've laughed. It wasn't so long ago that he would've been standing firmly by Charlie's side. He'd hated Velvette, and she'd been nothing but a malicious bitch towards him. Sure, she'd never raped him or physically abused him, but she had been a total cu-
...anyway. It made Angel want to laugh to look at him and Velvette now, standing side-by-side, aligned against the girl who'd tried to save Angel from his own self-inflicted Hell of an existence.
Charlie's blank expression cracked and her eyes brimmed with tears, and Angel felt another remorseful pang go through his heart.
"Please. Can somebody say something? Anything? I don't care if it's bad news. I just need to know something about what's happened to Dad" Charlie continued, her lower lip wobbling as she pleaded.
"How am I supposed to know what's happened to short, blonde, and pathetic? He's stuck up in Heaven, now. Do I look like a fucking Angel, Morningstar?" Velvette snapped.
Ironically, all dolled up and wearing her sparkling wedding dress, Velvette certainly had an angelic glow around her. But the pissed-off expression on her face was anything but holy.
Charlie lowered her gaze, her lip continuing to wobble, and even Velvette was helpless in the face of such a pitiful expression.
"...I'm a Witch, I'm sure I'd feel something if King Lucy bites it, and the strongest emotion I've been feeling lately has been pre-wedding jitters" Velvette shrugged "Try and be optimistic, Charlie. Heaven has never and will never care about Sinners, and Sinners are the ones that Lucifer hurt the most with his little scheme"
"I am so, so sorry... if I had any idea what Dad was up to-" Charlie started to say.
"Don't waste your breath apologizing. It's not your fault" Velvette said.
"I know it's not. But it doesn't change the fact that I should've kept a closer eye on Dad. I know there's a lot of exaggerations about him, mostly about his height, but that doesn't mean he can't be... well..."
"He's The Devil, Char-Char, and I guess the greatest trick The Devil ever pulled was making us think he's harmless" Velvette shrugged again, Angel watched as the motion of her shoulders made Valentino's borrowed chain shimmer against her skin.
"I'm furious with him, but I'm worried for him too. I wish I could be optimistic, but Heaven has always liked punishing him" Charlie sniffled slightly "You look beautiful, by the way"
"Coming from you, that's a compliment" Velvette said "You're the biggest babe in Hell. I've always wanted to dress you"
"Or undress you" Angel said, nudging Velvette gently "Hey, did you know Velvette's got a lesbo side? I would never have guessed, would you?"
"Shut the fuck up" Velvette said, even as she smiled up at Angel, blushing slightly.
Charlie adjusted her shawl. Under normal circumstances, Angel guessed she'd have chided him for using problematic language.
But, as they had been for so long, their circumstances were hardly normal.
"I'm glad to see you'll still have a friend at your new home. Well. Your old home, I guess" Charlie said.
Angel Dust nodded, feeling his guilt start twisting inside him like a restless snake.
Charlie Morningstar had always believed in him, even when it seemed pointless, even when everyone was telling her to give up on him, even when he was telling her that redemption was impossible for a drug-addled whore like him. More than belief, Charlie had advocated for him, she'd come skipping down to fucking Valentino's studio to ask fucking Valentino to pretty please treat him with dignity and respect.
Even Angel's biggest fans in Hell didn't think he deserved dignity and respect. Even Velvette hadn't considered him to be any better than a piece of gum stuck on her shoe until very recently.
Maybe he'd made the wrong call.
Velvette reached out subtly, her hand curling around one of his, and he immediately banished that thought from his mind.
Nah, Toots. I'm sticking with you, even if you were and are an ultra-bitch. But do you know who's never been an ultra-bitch? The poor princess standing in front of us now, hurting like she's never hurt before.
"Charlie, look-" he started to say.
He wasn't sure what he was going to say, and thankfully Charlie didn't let him continue, cutting him off with a shake of her head.
"Angel, there is nothing you can say to me, and no apology you could give that'll make me feel better. After the wedding, I'm going to go back to the hotel and we're not going to talk for a very long time" she said, her gaze softening as she looked up at Angel "...not forever. But for a while. I barely even want to look at you right now"
Angel looked away, staring at his reflection and watching his eyes fill with tears.
"Yeah, that's... that's fair, Charlie. I just... I just wanted to let you know... I've been totally clean and sober for one month"
It was a small, unimportant thing, easily forgotten in all the chaos. Hell, even he hadn't thought too much about it, he'd been so distracted with Velvette. But he knew how important his sobriety and self-improvement was to Charlie, and he wanted to give her some good news.
"That's wonderful, Angel" Charlie said "I'm very proud of you"
"Thanks, Toots"
In the reflection of the mirror, he watched as Charlie looked back at Velvette.
"Velvette, I know what you're up to. You're scared of a war breaking out between The Hazbin Hotel and The Vees, so you pulled that stunt on Sinstagram to pressure me into coming here. How did you put it? You pushed me into the river and held out an olive branch?" Charlie said, smiling ruefully "I know exactly what you were saying off-camera, don't bother lying"
Velvette opened and closed her mouth several times, stunned, before her expression hardened.
"So, Alastor is still spying on us?" she said.
"It's Alastor, what do you expect?" Charlie said "Velvette, you didn't have to emotionally manipulate me to get me to come here, I wanted to talk to you anyway"
Velvette looked dubious, but didn't say anything. Charlie took a deep breath in, looking miserable as she continued.
"Before you and Vox decided to air my father's dirty laundry across all of Heaven and Hell, Dad was prepared to apologize and make amends. We could've all sat down and talked this over-"
"Charlie, your father can't be trusted and neither can that antler-y fuck-" Velvette blurted out, her tone scornful.
"Dad was genuinely remorseful and he easily could've made Alastor back off! He's The King Of Hell!" Charlie said, exasperated "We could all be friends by now!"
"I said try and be optimistic, not act like your brains fell out. I think it's wonderful that you live in the land of sunshine and unicorns, Charlie, but this is Hell. Don't make me laugh. Friends? With The Radio Demon?"
Charlie swallowed, her eyes filling with tears.
"There's something else I wanted to talk about; I know why you and Vox are angry with Dad, and why you're angry with Alastor, I'm angry with them too. But what did I do? What did Vaggie, or Niffty, or Husk, or Cherri- what did anyone else at the hotel ever do to you? We took you in!"
A muscle twitched in Velvette's cheek.
"Took me in? Charlie, I was forced to stay at The Hazbin Hotel. I was practically under house arrest! I spent my luxurious visit waiting for death, if not at Alastor's claws then at Lucifer's. It was a great fucking visit, five fucking stars! Fuck your father for putting me through that, and fuck you and your hotel, you are antithetical to The Vees and your stupid fucking redemption pet project has caused us nothing but trouble! Oh, and fuck Alastor!"
Velvette ended her rant, her chest heaving.
Angel Dust felt the guilt-serpent twist even more inside him. Velvette had a good point; ditching The Hazbin Hotel for The Vees was the biggest slap in the face he could've possibly given Charlie.
"Velvette. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I'm mad at Dad too. I’m mad that he put you through that, and I’m mad that he did it while you were a guest at my hotel. Don’t get me started on Alastor, either” Charlie said, looking hurt and remorseful in equal measures.
"Hey, where is Smiles?" Angel asked, his eyes flicking about the room nervously, examining every shadow "Is he here?"
While Angel had enjoyed teasing and borderline sexually harassing The Radio Demon, being enemies with him was a whole different story.
He'd already had his screams broadcast enough, he didn't want to have his lasting legacy be his death rattle airing across The Pentagram in between Mack The Knife and Tiptoe Through The Tulips.
"No. He refused to come" Charlie said.
"Not for the first time" Velvette stage-whispered.
Angel snickered, while Charlie smiled sadly, before her gaze softened as she looked more closely at Velvette.
"Oh, Velvette. I haven't even asked; are you okay? I still can't believe that Dad threw you off the roof-"
"Twice" Velvette interjected, holding up two fingers.
"-twice. Fuck. Did you get hurt? Are you feeling okay?"
"Nothing was hurt worse than my pride, don't worry" Velvette said, flicking imaginary dust off her exposed shoulder "I've been with Vox and Valentino for a while, I can survive some rough play"
Charlie looked skeptical.
"Velvette, you don't have to lie. If Dad scared you or hurt you, there's no shame in admitting it, and obviously I'm not going to take his side" she reached out and rested her hand on Velvette's arm.
Velvette shrugged her off, still holding tightly onto Angel Dust's hand. Angel wrapped one of his free arms around her shoulders.
"She's lucky Vox and Val were there. Lucifer only knows what- err- Lucifer was planning on doing to her if-"
"Ha! Don't worry. I know" Velvette said with a hollow smile "He told me himself. Because he owns me, he can do what he likes to my body and my soul. He was going to splatter me all over the streets and then reshape my pulverized body into a perfect double of you, princess. At least I would've gotten a free boob job out of it all"
Charlie and Angel both stared at her in shock and horror. Angel held her a little closer, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.
"Why the fuck was he going to do that?" he asked, a million horrific possibilities running through his mind.
"He thought Charlie would be punished in his place, because..." Velvette started to say, before trailing off with a thoughtful look on her face.
Suddenly, she gasped, with an expression on her face like a light-bulb had just gone off over her head.
"Of course. I'm a fucking idiot. Lucifer told me himself; I just forgot in the excitement of... everything. Heaven and the other Sins aren't going to touch a hair on Lucifer's head; nobody knows what happens if the big dick in charge bites it and nobody wants to find out! So. Now you know something about your Daddy, Princess. Care to piss off now?" Velvette explained with a toothy grin that showed off her small fangs.
Charlie looked dubious, while Angel grinned back at Velvette.
"Well, hey! That's some good news! Isn't that good news, Charlie?" he turned his grin towards Charlie, hoping that Velvette's revelation would start to ease the awkward atmosphere in the room.
It didn't.
Charlie shot Angel an annoyed look, before softening her gaze as she looked back at Velvette.
"I appreciate the optimism, but I think it's misplaced. If there's one thing I know for sure about Heaven, it's that they hate Dad and everything he stands for" Charlie pointed out "Look, Heaven routinely has Sinners slaughtered during The Exterminations because it's the fastest and easiest way to deal with the overcrowding problem, and they never even stopped to wonder if Sinners could be redeemed instead"
"...we still don't know if they can be" Angel pointed out, not unkindly.
"We don't, and neither does Heaven. Heaven also has no idea what'll happen if Dad dies, but they do know that their least favorite Angel has been getting a big head lately, and they'll want to knock him down a few pegs in the fastest and easiest way possible. Do you see what I'm getting at?"
Velvette's smile soured.
"Shit"
Angel Dust chewed lightly on his lower lip. As Carmine had pointed out, if Lucifer was killed nothing would protect them from the wrath of Charlie and the hotel.
Charlie adjusted her shawl again.
“I'm getting off-topic. None of this is what I wanted to say. Velvette…” her expression became pensive “I started The Hazbin Hotel because I believe anyone can be redeemed, and that includes people I’m angry with. You have nothing to fear from me or my friends, I promise. I don't want any trouble between us, and I really don't want there to be some sort of horrible turf war ripping Pentagram City apart"
Velvette looked hesitant, like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Angel felt a stab of pain at the realization he was no longer counted as one of Charlie’s friends.
"...and what if Lucifer is killed? Surely you'll want a war then" Velvette finally said.
Charlie just shook her head, setting her jaw determinedly before continuing.
“If my Dad dies, I'll still forgive you and the other Vees. Because I'll understand why you handed him over to Heaven in the first place” she said.
"Fuck me, you really are part angel. But you're also not the only one at that hotel, Charlie. What about Alastor, or Cherri, or even your own girlfriend? I bet they'd love a horrible turf war with us" Angel said, feeling another stab of pain as he realized he might've permanently ruined his relationship with Cherri.
Once upon a time, Cherri Bomb had been his best gal-pal, now she was... fuck. Angel didn't know. Fucking Velvette had somehow become his new best gal-pal. The Angel Dust of only a few months ago would never have believed it.
"Vaggie would never do something that would upset me, and that includes starting a turf war on my hypothetically-dead Dad's behalf" Charlie made a weird hand motion on hypothetically-dead, pulling a face. She clearly didn't relish the thought of Lucifer's demise "Cherri Bomb is furious, there's no other way to say it, but... she won't hurt you, Angel. Not permanently at least. As for Alastor..."
Charlie hesitated.
"No matter what happens to Lucifer, Alastor is gonna rip us to shreds and broadcast the screams. You don't need to mince your words" Angel said.
"No! No, I'd never let him do something like that!"
"Let him?" Velvette laughed scathingly "Princess, you're acting like you have that freak on a leash. Nobody can control The Radio Demon"
"No. Listen. I'm serious. I can talk him out of doing anything stupid. He's... been a bit of a mess since Dad was arrested. He feels responsible. After all, none of this would’ve happened if he hadn’t tried to manipulate you, Velvette”
"I hate to play Radio Devil's Advocate, but maybe Alastor did us all a favor. If he hadn't stolen Little Lu-Lu's potion, then Lucifer would've ended up using it on your guests. Who knows how big of a shitshow that would've been" Velvette said.
"Let's be completely honest. Dad dug his own grave, and he pulled us all in with him. Things were always going to get messy, with Valentino's abuse and Vox and Alastor's rivalry, but Dad's stupid potion made it all a thousand times worse" Charlie said, smiling ruefully.
"Maybe if I hadn't been such a little bitch about experiencing a fraction of what Vox and Angel had put up with for decades, Pentagram City would be a much calmer place right now" Velvette said, playing idly with the sparkling bracelet on her wrist.
"No, Toots, don't-" Angel started to say, but she waved him off.
"I don't want to be late for my own wedding, so let's wrap this up; my boys have nothing to fear from you or your little Scooby Gang?" she said, examining her nails.
"My... what?" Charlie asked, frowning as the cultural reference soared over her head.
"Your annoying little friends" Velvette said, rolling her eyes.
"Of course. You will never, ever have anything to fear from me. Ever" Charlie held her hand out "All I ask for in return is that you look after Angel Dust and... try and keep him clean"
For a moment, Velvette didn't move, and it took Angel Dust a hot minute to work out why. In his defense, he was pretty distracted by the fact that Charlie still cared enough about him to want him to stay clean.
...and then the penny dropped.
Oh shit.
"You want to make a deal with Babydoll?" he said.
"After what Dad and Alastor put you through, Velvette, yes. I'm giving you my word that I will never, ever, harm you or The Vees. Do we have a deal?" Charlie shook her own hand in midair, looking hopeful.
Velvette took a step towards the princess.
"Vox is going to be so fucking jealous. I bet I'm the first Overlord you've ever made a deal with, huh?"
Charlie cleared her throat, shrugging.
"Yeah. You are" she said, sounding oddly evasive.
Angel said nothing.
With a grin on her face like the extra-bitchy cat who got the extra-bitchy cream, Velvette took Charlie's hand and shook it firmly.
"Deal"
There was a flash of pink light from their clasped hands, as if a camera had gone off in their palms, and then it was all over. Velvette stood back, rubbing her hands together with her cat-like grin still firmly affixed.
"That was fun, mwah!" she blew Charlie a kiss, before shimmying on the spot a little bit "I'm all tingly now, princess"
"Oh. I have a girlfriend" Charlie smiled apologetically "But thank-you, I'm flattered"
Velvette went red, the smile vanishing from her face.
"I didn't mean it like that, of course I know you have a fucking... and how the fuck are you so sweet all the time?" she sputtered, and Angel snickered behind one of his hands at her obvious embarrassment. She clearly hadn't thought through her tingly comment.
“Maybe my life would be easier if I wasn’t. You should go, Velvette. The ceremony is going to start soon”
Velvette looked like she wanted to say something else, but she just nodded, pulling away from Angel to examine herself in the mirror one last time.
"You look beautiful, by the way" Charlie said, taking a step towards Velvette to smooth out her veil "Who's walking you down the aisle?"
"Angel Dust is" Velvette said, so confidently that Angel took a second to wonder if they'd discussed it before and he'd forgotten "After all, he's the newest Vee. I want to make it clear that he's a part of my little family"
Oh, that's clever, Toots.
"That sounds nice!" Charlie said sweetly, stepping away from Velvette. The young Overlord started to walk towards the door, fussing some more with her bracelet.
Angel went to follow her, before hesitating, his eyes lingering on Charlie. She looked so forlorn, it was breaking Angel's heart just to be near her.
"Hey... you go ahead, I'll catch up. Why don't you do a pre-wedding interview with Katie Killjoy or something?" he said, patting Velvette's shoulder.
"Sure. Maybe when I'm done I'll ram some knitting needles through my eyes, that sounds just as fun!" Velvette snarked, even as she minutely nodded in understanding and swept her way over to the door "Don't take too long, fuckers. I've got 'getting railed in a wedding dress' on my bucket list and I can't wait to cross it off. Love ya, Angel. Kisses"
Blowing two kisses Angel's way with a mwah mwah! Velvette opened the door, leaving Angel Dust's dressing room with a toss of her hair and a shimmer of sparkles.
Charlie tightened her grip on her shawl, looking down at the ground.
Angel tugged at the hemline of his sparkly pink skirt, feeling self-conscious.
"Look, Charlie. I never, ever meant to hurt you or any of your- my- friends" he finally said.
"I know you didn't, Angel" Charlie said, still looking down "...and... maybe I can't empathize with your position, but I can sympathize. I can't imagine what it was like, being chained to that Moth-Man-"
"-literally, sometimes" Angel interjected.
Charlie's lips twitched.
"I can't imagine it. Valentino is such a creep, and he owned your soul, that must've been terrifying. I only saw a little of how he treated you, but it was enough"
"You saw a lot of how he treated Vox and Velvette, though, and they were getting off easy"
Charlie finally met his multi-eyed gaze, her expression crumbling as her eyes filled with tears, again.
"Oh Angel..." she said.
"It's okay, Charlie. I'm free now. He can never hurt me again" Angel said, comfortingly reaching out towards her.
But before he could touch her, Charlie pushed his hand away.
"Why didn't you take Dad up on his offer" she said, her tone of voice becoming colder. "Why did you turn Dad down, over and over, and then jump at the chance of taking practically the same offer from Vox?"
Angel felt a shock of annoyance.
"Toots, you don’t know what it’s like to be powerless. You wouldn't get it"
“Try me. Why did you do it? Why did you take Vox's offer and not Dad's?” Charlie asked.
“Because Lucifer’s offer would cut me off from the only flimsy power I had, the power of my fame as Val’s starlet. Vox’s offer gave me power I’d only ever dreamed of, and it did it in a way that… that let me keep Val in my life”
“Valentino abuses you”
“But I still love him. You’re so, so lucky that you don’t get it” Angel said "Anyway, you of all people should understand sticking with your friends. Lucifer help me, But Velvette's my friend now"
Charlie glanced at the door that Velvette had just swept out of, her expression surprisingly bitter.
"I still can't believe you picked her over us. I feel so bad for her, but that doesn't change the fact that she's done some really nasty stuff. I follow her online-"
I didn't know that. I'm surprised Velvette never bragged about it.
"-so I can see what a bully she is, and how mean-spirited she can be. She once told a Sinner that looked like a skeleton with a parrot's head that she could stand to lose a few pounds"
"I'm not saying Velvette's some kind of saint-" Angel started to say.
"-and she enabled Valentino's abuse of you for a really long time. I think anyone can be redeemed, and she does seem pretty remorseful, but it doesn't change what she did. It doesn't change what she stood by and let happen" Charlie said.
Angel Dust sighed, rubbing his temples before smiling sadly down at Charlie.
“Do you know how I felt when I found out that Valentino raped Velvette? When Val told me he shot her in the fucking head?" he said, and Charlie unsurprisingly shook her head "I felt like; “Oh shit, now me and Velvette are gonna become best friends, The Broken Valentino Toys Club”. I never felt that way about Vox, because Vox kinda brought on his own doom-"
“Nobody deserves to get raped, Angel” Charlie chided him.
“I’m not saying that, I’m saying… look. Velvette never had an affair like Vox did and she wasn't a homewrecker like Val, she just loved her boys. But there she was on the floor, just lying there with her blood and brains all over the place, and she was wearing this cute outfit and it was ruined, and all I could think was that she’d be so upset if she was awake because we had to destroy her clothes and… fuck. It made me see her as so fucking fragile. Then she told me to take the day off, to protect me from Valentino's wrath. Val and Vox never would’ve done that”
"But what about us, Angel, we have tried so hard to protect you from Valentino! Cherri's whole beef with The Vees is because she's so loyal to you! But you've never been grateful!" Charlie said "...and I mean what I said, nobody deserves to get raped, but the woman who co-created Hell's most prolific date rape drug is your guardian angel because she told you to take a day off work?"
Angel stared at Charlie, disbelief quirking one of his brows.
"I do not like how you started that sentence with nobody deserves to get raped, but..." he said, crossing both sets of arms.
Charlie's expression quickly turned to remorseful horror.
"I didn't mean it like that. She didn't deserve anything that happened to her, of course she didn't!" she said, and Angel waved her off.
"Don't get your angelic panties in a twist, I know what you meant. She went swimming with sharks and got bitten, and sometimes it's hard to feel sorry for someone like that when you hear about how people get pushed into the water and meet the same fate..." he trailed off, confusing even himself with his convoluted metaphor "That doesn't change how I feel. I don't know how the fuck it happened, but she's my honorary little sister now, and I gotta stick with her”
Angel tried not to grimace when he said sister. It wasn’t the right time to think about his own family.
Charlie tightened her grip on her shawl, her knuckles going white.
"Angel. It's going to be a long time until we're friends again, but I could never hate you" she reached out, touching Angel's arm "I have no idea what you, Velvette, and Vox have set into motion, but The Hazbin Hotel will never be The Vees’ enemy. Maybe we’ll all be friends, one day”
“…it’s a beautiful sentiment, Toots, but even you can’t be that optimistic” Angel said softly "Carmilla Carmine didn't make her fortunes as an arms dealer because everyone down here is so friendly and forgiving, you know"
“I have to be optimistic. Because if I don’t have hope… I don’t know what I’ll do” Charlie said, her eyes still shiny with unshed tears “I’ll see you at the reception”
Unable to do anything else, and not wanting to make Charlie cry, Angel Dust just nodded, watching as Charlie quickly turned on her heel and walked out the door. He waited a few seconds, giving her time to walk away before he followed her outside.
The 'cathedral' was so crowded it felt claustrophobic. Angel didn't think he'd ever seen so many people crowded into Val's studio before, and that was saying something. The pews were so full Angel could practically hear the wood creaking in distress, and even more Sinners had crammed themselves into the corners of the room. Everyone, sitting or standing, was waiting for the ceremony to start with palpable impatience.
Eelijah was playing a church organ (that had come from Lucifer-knows-where) with surprising proficiency, sitting near the closed doors of the studio. Behind the doors, Angel could hear more rumbling, indicating that the whole tower was just as crowded as the makeshift 'cathedral'. He stepped fully out of his dressing room, carefully closing the door behind himself, and felt a thrill of shock when he realized that every Overlord in The Pride Ring was there too.
Rosie, sitting near the back with a cabal of her fellow cannibals, turned and offered Angel an unnervingly hungry-looking smile as he passed by. He grimaced back.
He could see Charlie taking her seat in one of the crowded pews, whispering something to Vaggie as she sat down.
Vox was standing by the flower-wreathed altar, looking as handsome as someone with an appliance for a head could look. Valentino was standing next to him, and Angel Dust briefly met his eyes as he looked his way. In Val’s red-hot gaze there was something… dark. It was a something that was insolent, powerless, and petulant, but it was dark nonetheless.
Then again, there was always something dark about Val.
“…and there’s our beautiful bride. Doesn’t she look lovely. You wouldn’t even know all her joints are articulated like a Barbie's sixty percent of the time!” Katy Killjoy was gleefully reporting, standing at the end of the aisle that was nearest to the doors and yammering into her microphone while a sweaty cameraman aimed his equipment at Velvette.
Velvette, a woman who had spent most of her life and death with a serious case of RBF, looked so beautiful she nearly eclipsed the Princess of Hell herself in her radiance. She smiled with surprising sweetness as Melissa handed her a bouquet of black roses, before she looked up and directed her smile at Angel Dust, who smiled back as he approached her.
"So, you're sure about this?" he quietly asked, offering her one of his arms, before he felt another arm be grabbed by a talon-like hand.
“…and here’s our newest Overlord! Tell me, Angel Dust, how does it feel to be overflowing with Valentino’s juices. Not for the first time, of course” Katie Killjoy grinned at him venomously.
“It feels like you need to get your fucking hand off me if you don’t want to find out how I like to deal with disrespect. Valentino made everything sexual or he did it fast with a gun. But I’m patient” Angel grinned, and relished the horrified look on Katie’s face as she wordlessly pondered what Angel was capable of.
“If you’ll excuse my new business partner, he has the important honor of walking me down the aisle to do. Come on Angel” Velvette said, taking his arm and grinning evilly at Katie.
The music picked up in tempo, and Angel kept a rigid smile on his face as he started to walk down the aisle with Velvette on his arm, feeling like he was trying to perform a dance he didn't know all the steps to.
“This feels so fucking weird” Angel said through his smile.
“It’s not as weird as it’s going to feel when all of Hell watches Vox take my garter off with his teeth” Velvette responded through her own smile, and Angel had to bite his tongue hard to stop himself from laughing.
“I think you’ll make him shut down” he said once he'd regained his composure.
“As long as he doesn’t lose his erection, I can work with that. I'm getting fucked in this dress and I don't care how many sex crimes I have to commit to get there” Velvette said with a straight face.
“Jesus Christ, Vel!” Angel Dust said, and they reached the alter suppressing their giggles.
Vox smiled widely at them both, his blue fangs filling the bottom half of his screen. There was nothing short of complete adoration in his gaze as he took Velvette’s hand, pulling her gently away from Angel.
To Angel’s shock- Vox wasn’t much of an exhibitionist, after all- he didn’t hesitate to hoist her up into his arms and kiss her, wrapping his arms around her tightly and not letting go. Even when he broke the kiss and leaned back, he kept her in his embrace, her feet dangling in mid-air.
Velvette, who'd been so shocked at Vox's PDA that she'd dropped her bouquet to the ground, smiled soppily up at Vox. It wasn’t an act; Angel doubted even the best actor in Val’s employ could replicate the sheer adoration on her face.
Vox carefully lowered Velvette back to the ground once the organ music stopped, though he kept her wrapped securely in his embrace.
With much panting, Eelijah started jogging down the aisle, arriving with sweat beading on his brow and one hand clutching a stitch in his side. He took his place behind the altar, pulling a folded-up piece of paper from his breast pocket.
“Okay! Marriage!” He said cheerfully “Mister Vox, Miss Velvette, are you ready to do marriage?”
Vox and Velvette both shot him an irritated look, while Angel stifled his giggles, taking his own place a few paces behind Velvette. He offered the gathered crowd (and the cameras currently being pointed in his direction) a dazzling and casually confident smile.
Turning back towards Velvette, he made the mistake of letting his eyes drift towards Valentino, hovering over Vox's shoulder like a devil offering nothing but bad advice.
As Angel Dust's eyes met his, the former Overlord offered him a bitter smile, before winking and blowing a kiss.
Angel just glared.
"Webster's dictionary defines "wedding" as "the fusing of two metals with a hot torch..."" Eelijah was trying, but he clearly was out of his depth. Vox and Velvette's choices for officiant had been extremely limited, and Eelijah didn't cost a thing to use.
But honestly, Velvette couldn't have cared less. She stared dreamily up at Vox, admiring his wedding attire. Melissa had done such a good job on his suit, it perfectly highlighted everything fuckable about him, and the midnight blue fabric shimmered in all the right ways with every tiny motion. He'd even gone to the effort of polishing his screen and adding a touch of glittery nail polish to his claws.
(Or maybe Valentino had painted his claws for him)
Yes, this was a PR stunt. Everything, from inviting Charlie Morningstar to letting Angel Dust walk her down the aisle, was a calculation.
But here, at the altar, in Vox's arms... it felt real.
She ran her hands over the lapels of his tux.
"You look good" she said.
"I look like a humanoid appliance, darling. You look good" Vox said, running his eyes over her, red lines starting to drip down his cheek.
"You're drooling" Velvette teased.
"Fuck you" Vox said affectionately "So, is Alastor here?"
"You'd know by now if he was" Velvette moved one of her hands down, flicking him lightly between the legs "You don't seem to be pitching a tent, so I don't think he is"
Vox chuckled, while several Sinners who clearly didn't realize where they were gasped. Velvette picked out Niffty's distinctive laughter in the crowd and flicked her eyes towards the pews.
Charlie was sitting closest to Velvette, and she smiled sweetly as their eyes met. Velvette nodded back, before returning Vaggie's venomous glare with one of her own. Charlie, holding Vaggie's hand tightly, placed her free hand on her girlfriend's knee and squeezed it comfortingly.
Niffty was sitting next to Vaggie, and she giggled and waved at Velvette, ignoring Husk's attempts to get her to settle down. Husk, for his part, was determinedly ignoring the ceremony as he tended to Niffty and tried to keep her sitting still.
Next to Husk, Cherri Bomb stared down at her lap, looking unusually sedate.
Velvette couldn't see so much as an antler anywhere in the 'cathedral', and she breathed a tiny sigh of relief, glancing around more to see who else was in attendance.
She smirked at Carmilla Carmine, who was blatantly staring at her. She thought about the joke she'd made about Vox pulling off her garter belt, and made a mental note to throw the garment right in her wrinkled face when the time came.
Zestial was sitting behind Carmilla, his eyes narrowing as he met Velvette's gaze. With a shudder, Velvette looked away and focused on Carmilla's daughters, sitting primly either side of their mother.
You killed a fucking angel for them, Carmine. Would you kill one for me?
Carmilla briefly locked eyes with her, and Velvette quickly looked away, turning her sights to the overgrown Sinner currently lurking behind Vox.
Valentino had his cigarette holder in one hand, while his lower arms were crossed. Even though it was a wedding, and even though he was on razor-thin ice with his fellow (former) Vees, he was still Valentino. Decorum wasn't in his vocabulary.
Valentino's red eyes bored into Velvette's, and he smiled toothily. Despite the red heat of his gaze, and the pink smoke that was currently curling around his head, his smile held no warmth. Velvette couldn't tell if the cold affect was rage at his unenviable situation, jealousy of Vox, jealousy of her, or fury that his favorite toy was now permanently out of his reach.
Yes, Valentino had seemed strangely remorseful in Angel Dust's dressing room, but his moods had always swung like a Newton's cradle.
Velvette felt Vox's clawed hand press against her cheek, before he gently moved her head to face him again. He smiled down at her, pure adoration in his eyes, and Velvette noticed that his pupils were once again tiny little hearts.
"I do" he said gently, and it took Velvette a few seconds to realize what was going on.
"...wait, is that it? We're not doing vows?" she complained, causing Vox to roll his eyes with exasperation.
"I thought part of the reason for our rushed nuptials was because you wanted to get married as quickly as possible?" he said through a forced smile.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to skip the chance for you to fawn over me some more" Velvette said.
"Fine. Eelijah, please replay the recording I made for Velvette earlier" he said, snapping his fingers at his assistant.
"Lazy bastard" Velvette whispered, even as she smiled up at him.
"What? Am I supposed to pause the ceremony and write out custom vows on the spot?" Vox whispered back as Eelijah pressed a button in his head.
"I'm sure you'll call me old-fashioned, my dear, but I have wanted to marry you since the day I met you. I love you, and I'll always love you…" started to play, ringing out across the ‘cathedral’.
Velvette and Vox both knew what Vox’s 'vows' contained, so they ignored them, continuing a private conversation of their own while Eelijah acted like a living speaker.
"So, are you looking forward to fucking me in a wedding dress?" Velvette whispered.
"I'm wearing the wedding dress tonight?" Vox whispered back with a cheeky grin.
"Don't be an idiot" Velvette said, snickering. She paused, thinking it over "...of course, if you really want to..."
"We'll discuss that tonight" Vox winked down at her "To answer your question; fuck yes I'm looking forwards to it. If we weren't dead I'd say I planned on putting a baby in you tonight"
"That's supposed to be sexy?" Velvette said with a tiny laugh, even as a rush of guilt made her insides twist.
Vox's expression softened.
"I could strangle that little cockroach, you know" he said, subtly flicking his eyes towards the still-fussing Niffty "For putting you through that uncertainty... even if any idiot could tell you that Sinners can't get pregnant. But I suppose you were under a lot of stress at the time"
His expression gained a taunting edge.
"You fucker" Velvette said, pouting up at him.
"I love you too" Vox said, shooting Niffty another annoyed look out of the corner of his eye.
Vox hadn't really talked about Velvette's prior delusion that she was pregnant. He'd been sympathetic when she'd told him while recapping everything he'd missed, but he hadn't seemed to care beyond that. Personally, Velvette wondered if he was really the paternal sort, he was just so selfish.
However, he did have a serious ego. She could see him wanting a son to carry on the family name.
Maybe he'll be happy... at the very least, I won't be going through this alone.
"Vox. I had a dream" she started to say.
"That's nice, dear. I had one too. Val was licking whipped cream off you" Vox leered, while over his shoulder, Valentino peered curiously at her.
"This is serious, you prick. I had a dream about- uh- something unimportant. But then, I was suddenly talking to Lucifer, and I think it was really him. He told me something very important" Velvette said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"What did he say?" Vox asked.
Before Velvette could respond, Eelijah interrupted them both.
"Miss Velvette? Do you have anything to say to Vox?" he asked.
Velvette turned to stare at him, wondering what he was talking about.
"Your vows, Miss Velvette. Do you have any?" Eelijah prompted.
"Oh. Right" Velvette looked back at Vox, who smiled at her.
We'll talk later flashed across his screen for a split second, and she nodded.
"You're alright, for an old guy, and I like that you're powerful and rich. That's pretty fucking hot. Also, your tongue is longer than my arm, and it buzzes inside me. Oh, and your nipples are USB ports, so I can charge my phone if it's running low while you're fucking me" Velvette said, improvising her vows with her usual amount of decorum.
Vox blushed, pink-red lines running across his screen as he self-consciously glanced at the crowed.
"Velvette, do you take this man to be your hellishly wedded husband?" Eelijah asked.
"I do" said Velvette.
"We need the rings" Eelijah said, looking around anxiously and patting down his pockets "Uh, who has the rings?"
Valentino wordlessly held one of his hands out, balancing two platinum bands on his palm. Vox took one, gently slipping it onto Velvette's finger, before letting her slip his ring onto his own finger.
The platinum clinked against Vox’s claw as Velvette slid it on, and her heart fluttered.
My TV Demon. All mine.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now- uh. Okay. Carry on" Eelijah cleared his throat awkwardly. Without waiting for him to finish, Velvette had practically launched herself at Vox, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders and kissing him like her life depended on it.
Despite their audience, Vox kissed her back as passionately as she'd kissed him, his hands supporting her by her backside.
Velvette was touched by his display of public affection, peppering his screen with kisses as he gently lowered her back to the ground for the second time that day.
They finally tore their eyes away from each other and faced the crowd, who were staring at them like they'd just re-enacted The Human Centipede.
The only people who didn't look shocked were Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench, who were too busy micromanaging their exhausted-looking cameraman. Velvette knew the cameras would be broadcasting the wedding to the rest of tower, with the satellite dish atop the tower then broadcasting it to all of Pride- and all of Hell, if Vox could manage it.
"...you're supposed to clap, you stupid fuckers- and Overlords" Vox said, smiling sheepishly as he realized he'd insulted people he really couldn't afford to insult right now.
The 'cathedral' burst into a smattering of polite applause, and Velvette leaned up to press another sweet kiss against Vox's lips.
Vox reciprocated the kiss before whispering into Velvette's ear, taking one of her hands in his own and squeezing it.
"Was it urgent? Your dream about Lucifer?"
Velvette hesitated, before-
"Well isn't this just beautiful?"
Vox froze up, his grip on Velvette's hand tightening, Valentino muttered several curses in Spanish and looked around himself, while Angel Dust and Charlie exchanged a panicked look across the room.
Alastor's voice was ringing out across the entire studio, sounding as clear as a bell, give or take a little static crackling.
"I apologize for my tardiness, but I wanted to look my best, and you're never fully dressed without a smile..."
A dark shadow slithered across the floor, and before anyone could react, Alastor materialized between Velvette and Vox, forcing them apart.
"...and it's so hard to find a smile to put on, these days!" Alastor said cheerfully, slinging an arm around Velvette.
She gagged as she was overwhelmed with the scent of blood and rotting meat. She looked up with watering eyes to take in what a mess Alastor looked like. A few strands of his normally pin-straight hair were actually curling against his head, and he had darker shadows than usual under his eyes, while his suit was stained with Lucifer-knows-what.
Vox was seething so badly that Velvette could feel static electricity tingling across her skin. He crackled with blue sparks as he glared Alastor down.
"Don't make me ruin my new suit, Alastor" he snarled, his voice warping as his screen glitched "Stay away from my wife"
Alastor kept his arm around Velvette, taking a step towards Vox.
"Yes. Your wife. Because you're married. To a woman. Did it give you a thrill, to string not one but two men along, to let them delude themselves into imagining you’d ever commit yourself to a man. I hope you enjoyed your picket fence fantasies, because they're never going to come true"
Vox sparked again, and wires started to snake their way out of the hems of his sleeves and trousers, forming a serpentine halo around him. His screen glowed brighter, and his hypnotic eye swirled as he took a step towards Alastor.
He stopped mere inches away from The Radio Demon, actually reaching out and wrapping his hand around Alastor's neck, causing the crowd to gasp.
Alastor, for his part, barely reacted.
"Let. Her. Go" Vox said, and Velvette felt several wires wrap securely around her waist and wrists, tugging her out of Alastor's grip and throwing her behind Vox and towards Val.
Both sets of Valentino's arms grabbed Velvette as she stumbled, his cigarette holder falling to the ground with a clatter.
"Are you alright?" he asked, blowing out a plume of pink smoke.
"I'm fine" Velvette pulled away from him, brushing herself down and glowering at Alastor "Fuck you, this dress is new, you old-timey fuck!"
She glanced briefly out at the crowd again. Almost everyone was standing, some poised to flee. The other Overlords were watching with open curiosity, and the only one who looked concerned was Carmilla.
Charlie and her friends in the front row looked even more concerned. Cherri Bomb was tossing one of her namesakes up and down in her hand, looking ready to fight.
"I'm sure it is. Tell me, did you make it yourself, or did you torture those poor souls you own to have it made? How many models were torn to shreds in your pursuit of sartorial perfection?" Alastor asked, unfazed by the clawed hand around his throat.
"...I made it myself" Velvette said, crossing her arms "What are you getting at?"
"Yes, you have been through such trials lately... but really, the pity party you're constantly throwing for yourself is getting trite. I'm so terribly sorry you were raped, and I'm sorry that you experienced a fraction of the sadism that Valentino is capable of, and the manipulation that Vox is capable of... but truly, dear girl, the double-standard and hypocrisy is breathtaking"
Velvette glared daggers.
"Shut up, Alastor" Vox said, his wires sparking threateningly.
"You have a lot of nerve, gatecrashing my fucking wedding" Velvette snarled, just as dangerously. She could feel her body stiffen, her exposed joints gaining doll-like articulation as she slipped further into her 'true' form.
Alastor, however, just chuckled to himself.
"Oh Velvette... silly, silly Velvette. While you have wept over a night or two of torment, the souls you manipulated and tricked into signing their autonomy over to you have trembled in fear, waiting for the next tantrum that leaves them in pieces"
"That's Valentino you're think of" said Velvette quickly, even as she felt a pang of remorse.
Obviously it had felt less significant, in light of what had happened later, but the night that Val had raped her hadn't just been a nightmare for her...
"Melissa! You useless fucking bitch! What have you done to my collection!? It's ruined!" she'd screamed in Melissa's face. Without giving Melissa time to form an answer, she'd used her soul contract chain against the long-suffering young woman, throwing her across the room and yanking at the spiked chain wrapped around her neck until...
"Didn't she rip your head off?" Alastor addressed Melissa directly "A terrible thing to lose, no?"
Melissa, sitting a few rows down, looked terrified.
"Come now, my dear, you have nothing to fear from me!" Alastor lied.
Trembling from head to toe, and staring guiltily at Velvette as she did so, Melissa nodded. Velvette carefully looked down at her bracelet, schooling her expression as the crowded 'cathedral' was filled with whispers.
Not wanting Alastor’s technophobia to destroy their devices, most of the cameramen and photographers had their lenses aimed at Velvette. She couldn’t look weak, or remorseful.
I know I'm a horrible fucking person, but what does that have to do with Alastor? Why should he care?
"We're Overlords, we have no obligation to treat our indentured souls well" Vox snapped, and Velvette could hear Valentino squeaking indignantly behind her.
"Some fuckers don't realize they're in Hell. Bitches. All of them. Fucking bitches that can't handle a real Sinner" Val muttered, smiling sardonically at Velvette as she shot him a quick look over her shoulder.
"You’re right, my old friend. But when you choose to be so singularly despicable, it's wise not to make yourself look so weak" Alastor said with an airy laugh "What was it that dear Velvette said on her little broadcast? She's the youngest and weakest of The Vees. Well, she looks even weaker now. The scariest member of your group has been depowered, and Angel Dust here barely knows the first thing about his new position. You're weaker and more imperfect than ever-"
"This is boring!" whined Missi Zilla, interrupting Alastor "I thought we'd see them bang or something, I'm out of here!"
With a clatter, she got to her feet, plodding out of the 'cathedral' and making the ground tremble with every step. She was soon followed by several other Overlords, until only Zestial, Carmilla, and Rosie remained.
The next chapter of the Alastor vs. Vox saga interested very few of Pride's elite.
As Zestial got to his feet, Carmilla halted him with one of her oversized hands, shooing her daughters towards him with the other.
"Take the girls" she said "I'm staying"
Zestial inclined his head without question, sweeping out of the 'cathedral' with Carmilla's daughters tucked under his cloak.
As soon as Zestial had safely ushered her daughters away, Carmilla fixed her gaze on Velvette, who flipped her off and stuck her tongue out.
"You're a worrywart, babe" Velvette said "Alastor's harmless. He's nothing more than an outdated has-been who experienced twink death in the 20's"
Alastor looked amused, canned laughter playing in the air around him as he smirked at her.
Charlie cleared her throat and raised a hand like she was in class.
"Yes, Charlie?" Alastor asked.
"...Alastor, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Fine people of The Pride Ring, Sinners and Hellborn alike! I know you've all been so scared of The Vees for so long, or maybe you just hate them but have never been able to stand up to them. But those days are over! The Vees have helpfully crippled themselves for you!" Alastor ignored Charlie, addressing the room at large.
Velvette's heartrate started to accelerate as she felt the atmosphere... shift.
Velvette wasn't old enough to remember The French Revolution, but she suddenly had a great deal of sympathy for Marie Antoinette as she watched the crowd begin to murmur, becoming restless.
Alastor somehow managed to twist himself out of Vox's grip, and he twirled his microphone, pointing it at Vox as the other Sinner's hypnotic eye spun uselessly.
"Just look at Vox here! His big, scary partner is weakened, and all his embarrassing little secrets are out in the open. Does he really seem so scary, now that you all know what he's allowed someone as lowly as Valentino to get away with for decades"
The crowd murmured, a few Sinners derisively laughing at Vox's misfortune. Vox's screen started to redden, and his eye spun even faster as he glared at Alastor, who ignored him.
“That’s not even getting into how he relies on hypnosis to keep the masses buying his worthless products, listening to his every boring word, and not raising a finger against his pathetic, bullying behavior. But lucky for us, that little party trick of his has an easy fix!"”
Alastor twirled his microphone again before smashing it into Vox's screen, and Vox cried out in pain, letting go of Alastor and dropping to the floor. Broken glass dripped onto the ground and Vox's voice warped and distorted as he moaned in pain.
Angel Dust took several steps back with his eyes as wide as saucers, while Velvette cried out in alarm. She would've run forwards, but one of Valentino's hands grabbed her arm, holding her back.
"No, no, no, muñequita. Stay back" he whispered, his voice nearly completely drowned out by the alarmed squeaks he seemed to involuntarily be making.
Undeterred by the chaos, Alastor pointed his microphone at Val, who quickly let go of Velvette and moved away from her. Velvette couldn't tell if he was trying to keep her away from Alastor's retribution, or if he was worried Velvette would use him as a human shield.
"...or take Valentino! A sadistic rapist who'd have gotten nowhere in Hell if not for the assistance of his biggest fan; Vox! A man he repaid for his generosity by regularly beating and raping him. All of The Pride Ring lives in fear of him, but there's nothing to fear anymore; he's near-powerless now, thanks to the machinations of his own lovers"
Finally, Alastor pointed his microphone at Velvette. Velvette held her head high, smirking with a confidence she didn't truly feel.
"Yeah? You got something to say to me, bitch?" she snarked.
"Velvette, Velvette, Velvette... Queen of Social Media and Queen of Hypocrites. I don't even know where to begin. What a self-serving, loathsome little harlot you truly are. Shall we start with the bullying you indulge in on social media? Or perhaps we'll revisit the way you treat the most vulnerable inhabitants of The V Tower. Your abuse of your 'employees' is just the tip of the iceberg-"
"You seriously have the nerve to lecture me on how I treat the souls I own? Take a look in the mirror, you outdated freak!" Velvette spat.
"I know I'm hardly a paragon of virtue. But I don't paint myself as a victim, either. You have sobbed and wailed to anyone foolish enough to listen about what was done to you, but Valentino has done far worse to far more vulnerable and innocent people..." Alastor started to walk slowly towards Velvette "Valentino has sodomized dead bodies on camera, my dear. You were well aware of that, weren't you? Weren't there days that you didn't dare go near his studio, because you didn't want to see what he was doing? But once he cleaned himself up and came sashaying back to you and Vox you were all over him. Weren't you?"
Velvette crossed her arms, glaring at Alastor. He was completely right, that was the worst part of it all.
"Piss off"
"...in fact, a little birdie told me that you would pleasure yourself to the thought or even the sight of Valentino assaulting dear Angel Dust" Alastor turned to Angel Dust, who just glared.
"Fuck off. I've done worse. It's a compliment that she thinks I'm so hot" Angel said, shooting Velvette a quick look.
Velvette had the grace to mouth I'm sorry while Alastor wasn't looking at her, keeping her expression neutral when Alastor turned his grin back towards her.
"...and Vox. Vox. Vox. Vox" he looked dismissively down at the broken TV Demon, whimpering on the ground and clutching his screen as it glitched "How many lies has he told you? How many things have you found out about him that made you feel sick. Yet despite a token show of disgust or anger, you inevitably let every revelation slide. I’d blame your willingness to forgive and forget on your nervous breakdown, but before your pretty little mind broke you happily forgave him for stealing your soul”
Velvette said nothing, narrowing her eyes.
"What will it take for you to realize that this attention-seeking noisy picture box is a bad, bad man? What will it take to shatter your delusion that he's your soulmate? Trust me, my dear, he's nobody's soulmate but his own"
"I said piss off" Velvette snapped, covering up a genuine stab of insecurity with red-hot rage, stepping closer to Alastor and spitting in his face.
The crowd gasped, and even Velvette took a step back as she realized what she'd done.
Alastor slowly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping Velvette's spit off his face. Velvette recognised Lucifer's handkerchief- the one he'd given her at Club Chernobog- instantly.
"It's a pity that Vox and Valentino never taught you respect. But I suppose they don't understand the word. I know Valentino's mistreated you, and as little as you want to admit it, so has Vox. But that is nothing compared to what the masses would like to do to you, you brat. Did you really think you'd be untouchable forever?" Alastor looked out at the gathered crowd "The Vees are weaker now than they've ever been before, and aren't you all convinced that they deserve to be punished for their behavior?"
Charlie saw the writing on the walls and shook her head, running to Alastor's side and waving her hands in the air.
"No! No! Please, everybody, listen to me. I know that The Vees have done terrible things, but nobody is beyond forgiveness. Please... I'm sure you're all angry with them, and I'm sure you all have very good reasons to be angry, but don't do this. An eye for an eye just leaves the whole world blind!" she pleaded with the crowd.
There was a tense silence, before one Sinner booed her.
"You suck!"
"Charlie" Alastor turned to her, his smile as rigid as ever, even if his eyes seemed to dim "Go home"
Charlie turned to Alastor, tears in her eyes.
"This isn't the way. Alastor, please-"
She was cut off by Vaggie running to her side and grabbing her arm, staring apprehensively at the restless mob before them.
"Charlie. I think he's right. We need to leave" she said.
Cherri Bomb was still tossing a bomb up and down in her hand.
"I'm not scared of you fuckers, come and get me!" she threatened.
"Admirable courage. But it's not you they want. This city needs a pressure valve, and I have no interest in myself or the hotel serving as one. It's better we allow the masses to turn their sights on more... unsavoury targets"
His eyes lingered on Velvette, who shuddered.
"This is nonsense! Everybody, go home this instant!" Carmilla ordered, drawing herself to her full height.
"Carmilla!" Rosie said with a cheerful wave "Don't be such a spoilsport. We've all wanted to see these three get what's coming to them for a long time, haven't we?"
The cannibals sitting around her murmured and nodded with assent.
Charlie looked uneasy, looking at Vaggie with desperation in her eyes. She was about to say something else, but before she could, Rosie kept talking.
"...and don't forget, the good people of Cannibal Town still have Angelic Steel weapons. You never asked, so we never gave them back" she said, tilting her head as she stared at Velvette with a hungry look in her eyes.
Velvette felt like she'd had the ground pulled out from under her. She, Valentino, Vox, and Angel all exchanged alarmed looks.
This wasn't just an uprising, this was potentially life-or-death for The Vees.
Alastor twirled his microphone yet again as a burst of jaunty music played from... somewhere, directing his unbreakable smile at Charlie.
"I really do insist you leave" he said, one eye twitching minutely.
"Alastor. You're in pain. You're lashing out. Please... call off the mob, stop this, and we can talk it all over" Charlie begged.
"I'm afraid, my dear, that there's nothing I can do to control this mob now. It's better we leave" said Alastor.
As if to prove his point, that was when a glass of champagne was tossed all over Charlie, leaving her shivering as bubbles dripped off her long hair.
"Fuck you, and fuck your father! He wanted to poison us all!" somebody, hidden within the crowd, called out.
Slowly, his screen still cracked and glitching, Vox managed to pull himself up to his feet again. Alastor noticed, reaching into his coat with his free hand before pulling out a very familiar handgun.
"...I have got to put a tracker on that fucking gun" Valentino said as Alastor aimed Money Shot at Vox's screen.
Vox's non-hypnotic eye was still intact enough to see the gun, and he took an alarmed step back, holding his hands up.
"I'd say it's not personal, old friend, but it really is" he said, glancing at the rumbling crowd "Tell me, how many people did you invite to your wedding? It can't just be the contents of this room, can it? Why... I think this tower is positively packed like sardines! Wouldn't it be a shame if they were incited to... well. To be very bad guests"
Dripping with champagne, Charlie screamed.
"Alastor, don't!"
"I'm not a huge fan of firearms, myself, but this is what they're intended for. Isn't that right, Ms. Carmine?" Alastor said, moving the gun slightly before firing, hitting Vox in the shoulder.
Velvette and Charlie screamed, Valentino cried out in outrage, and Angel Dust was splattered with Vox's blood.
Vox seemed to collapse to the ground in slow-motion, error messages flashing over his face.
That was when all Hell broke loose.
The doors of the studio burst open, and before anyone could react, the altar was flooded with a crush of bodies.
It was like being hit by a tidal wave.
Velvette was helpless to do anything but be swept away by the crowd. She couldn't see Vox, who almost immediately became buried under a sea of furious Sinners.
She looked around, frantic, seeing nothing but snarling angry faces.
"Death to The Vees!" someone was screaming.
"Death to Valentino!" someone else yelled.
"The warranty on my VoxTek home entertainment system was never honored! There was nothing in the terms and conditions about not customizing the external appearance of my products! Stickers are barely customization anyway!" yelled out one particularly pedantic-sounding Sinner.
Velvette was finally slammed against the far wall, wheezing as the air was knocked out of her. Soon after, Valentino was slammed against the same wall. He stood mere inches away from her, his good antennae swishing in irritation as his mauled one just twitched.
To his credit, Valentino didn't hesitate. The second her saw her, he made use of his superior strength and pulled her away from her assailants and into his arms. Velvette wrapped her arms firmly around his waist, crying out in fear as the angry mob rained blows down on them both.
Valentino wrapped his wings around them both in an attempt to shield them, and Velvette pressed herself against his chest, screaming. She couldn't see, she couldn't breathe, all she could feel was the crushing suffocation of the mob around them.
...and if she listened carefully enough, she could pick out familiar sounds and voices from the chaos around her.
Alastor was laughing, the sound warped by radio static, and it sounded like the laughter was coming down from above. She couldn't tell if he'd lifted himself up with his tentacle-like shadows, or grown to an unnatural size in order to loom over the crowd.
Glass shattered, and Velvette cringed as she recognized the sound. Vox's screen. She choked out a sob, terrified for Vox's safety.
Over the din of the angry mob, she strained her ears, trying to hear Vox's familiar voice over the chaos.
"Velvette! Velvette! Where are you?" Carmilla was calling out "Get away from me! Get away from me, don't think I won't take off your head!"
There was a cry and a thud, apparently the unlucky Sinner hadn't taken Carmilla's advice.
"Charlie, come on, we need to go" she could hear Vaggie saying, followed by Charlie weeping bitterly.
"How could you do this, Alastor, how could you!" she screamed at The Radio Demon.
"Come on, we need to go..." Vaggie said, and Velvette could hear Charlie's sobs grow softer and softer, as if she was somehow making her way out of the crowd.
"Angel, kid. Let's go. Come on" Husk was saying, somewhere surprisingly close to Val and Velvette.
"Let go of me, Husk. I'm not leaving without her. Velvette! Toots?" Angel was calling out.
"I'm over here!" Velvette called back "Angel, come over here!"
"Velvette? I can't see ya, can you raise a hand or something?"
Velvette looked around the cocoon of Valentino's wings helplessly, before tapping Val's shoulder.
"Val, pick me up!" she called out.
"What? Are you insane?" he said, sticking his head under the wing canopy to stare at her in disbelief.
"Are you fucking deaf as well as blind?! Pick me up and hold me up!" Velvette wasn't sure what her plan was, but if Charlie and Vaggie had found a safe way to leave, maybe Husk would be able to get her and Angel out safely too.
Valentino muttered something under his breath, before he grabbed Velvette with both sets of arms.
"Brace yourself" he said.
He dropped his wings, before hoisting her up into the air without hesitation. Velvette stared in shock at the carnage before her.
She knew it would be bad, but she didn't think it would be this bad.
The air was full of smoke, and she could smell blood. The whole room was nothing more than a senseless, heaving crush of Sinners.
"Angel!" Velvette called out, trying to spot his blonde hair in the crowd "Angel! Over here!"
She received no response, other than sadistic, static-warped laughter.
Alastor was suspended from the ceiling by his shadowy tendrils, hovering not too far away from where Valentino was holding up Velvette. His eyes were two spinning radio dials and the air around him was darkened, with glowing sigils floating about his head. He leered down at Velvette.
"I must say, this is quite the reception!" he taunted.
That was when the crowd saw Velvette.
She didn't stand a chance. One second she was being held above the crowd by Valentino, the next she was being dragged into the crush of bodies by dozens of grasping hands.
It was like being overwhelmed by a zombie hoard, and no less terrifying.
...actually, Velvette would've preferred the zombies.
She was grasped at, pawed at, and groped with free abandon. Her veil was soon torn off, and she cried out in pain as someone slapped her across the face. The impenetrable wall of grasping hands pushed her to the ground, where she was beset upon by a flurry of kicks.
"Bitch!"
"Cunt!"
"Slut!"
"Barbie bitch!"
"Bratz reject!"
"Asshole!"
"Vox's whore!"
"Whore!"
"Little cunt!"
"Moth-fucker!"
"Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!"
Velvette cried out in pain, feeling as if all her ribs had been broken by the assault. A couple probably had. She only just had the presence of mind to curl up on herself, her arms cradling her stomach.
"Val! Val help me!" Velvette cried out, but there was no answer "Vox! Angel Dust! Carmilla!"
There was still no answer. Once the crowd grew bored of kicking her, several hands grabbed her once again and she was pulled to her feet. She looked around, finding herself in the middle of a seemingly-endless sea of Sinners, without a single familiar or friendly face in the crowd.
"Looks like we found a runaway bride" one Sinner, who resembled a goat, bleated.
A scaly hand touched her face, forcing her to look at a serpentine Sinner who looked eerily like Sir Pentious, if Sir Pentious had been genuinely evil.
"What a fucking joke. She's nothing more than an evil Bratz doll, isn't she? She's fucking tiny, I could get my hand around her waist, look" he moved his free hand down and curled it around her waist. His fingertips met, and he snickered at the sight.
"How did Valentino even fit. That fucker's got a massive dick" someone else asked.
"Maybe she stretches"
Velvette could feel dozens of hands on her, lightly shaking her to and fro. Some of the hands brushed against her breasts and backside, and she shuddered, closing her eyes.
That was when one of the sets of hands holding her moved to her dress, ripping the bodice down and exposing her breasts.
She cried out in rage and embarrassment, her eyes snapping open again.
"Get your hands off me!" she said "I'm an Overlord! I own more souls than you've had hot fucking breakfasts, get your fucking hands off me!"
The crowd just jeered and laughed, and Velvette slowly realized that there were multiple cameras being aimed at her, their 'recording' lights blinking at her like red eyes of doom.
Someone callously slapped her breasts, and Velvette hissed in pain.
"Fuck, look at these. I was expecting plastic" someone said.
"Move it, I can't get a good angle!" a wolf-themed Sinner snarled, aiming their VPhone more towards Velvette.
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Please. Please no.
"Get off me!" she screamed again, trying and failing to reach inside herself for... something. Anything.
But her powers had gone more flaccid than Vox's dick after ten minutes with a bottle of hand lotion and a recording of Alastor singing Daisy Bell.
"Vox! Vox! VOX!" she screamed, struggling to get away. Several Sinners around her wolf-whistled and laughed again.
"That's it, slut. Shake them" the Sinner with the VPhone leered.
Velvette shuddered as another scaled hand grabbed her face and forced her to look up. She glared at the owner of the hand, a Sinner with an unnaturally wide smile and more teeth than the Osmond family. He was leering down at her, drool dripping from his jagged fangs. Velvette thought of Valentino and felt ill.
"Fuck. You're pretty" he said, leaning in. Not unlike Valentino, he had an elongated tongue, though his was barbed with spiked protrusions.
He stuck it out and ran it along Velvette's face. She shuddered in repulsion.
No. No. No. No. No.
"I don't see what she's being so fucking prissy about. She fucks a flat-screen TV and an overgrown moth" someone said, laughing "She’s gonna love being fucked by a real man"
"...Vox is a better man than all of you fucking combined!" Velvette snarled, her fury turning to a whine of disgust as someone grabbed her breasts.
"Hey, I'm a woman!" someone called out.
"So am I!" another said.
"Wow. Equality for fucking perverts!" Velvette tried to kick the shins of the barb-tongued Sinner, but he easily dodged it.
The hands holding her breasts squeezed until it hurt, and Velvette's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't think you understand what's going on here, bitch. You're not in control anymore, we are. Do you really think half of Hell hasn't thought about fucking you silly since the day you made your debut?" someone snarled in her ear.
Velvette shook her head, tears running down her face.
"...I'm not some fucking whore! I'm an Overlord! I'm a Vee!" she said, trying to kick out and- if not free herself- inflict some damage.
But her kicks were as useless as the fussing of an upset puppy, and she couldn't so much as move an inch out of the grasps of her assailants. She was helpless to do anything but stare at the sea of leering perverts that encircled her, allowing herself to be groped and pawed at while tears dripped down her face.
That was when several more hands moved to her dress, and she felt herself start to be completely undressed.
No! No! Please God no!
"Stop! Stop it!" she screamed, looking around the room "Carmilla! Carmilla, help!"
But there was no answer.
Velvette struggled, but it was as useless as ever. She tried, she desperately tried to do something- anything- to break free, but it was as if every magic trick had vanished from her mind. She couldn't so much as conjure up a pair of socks, or even nudge her assailants away from her.
She looked around frantically again, seeing nothing but the same sea of leering faces and the unmistakable sight of dozens of phone cameras being pointed at her. Unable to take the sight anymore, she squeezed her eyes shut.
This isn't happening.
Her dress was finally ripped off her, lying in torn pieces on the ground as the crowd cheered and jeered at her. She hadn't bothered to wear anything underneath her grown, not wanting to give herself panty lines at her wedding.
(...and maybe she'd wanted to make Vox's job easier for him, whenever they made it to bed)
"Ha! Look, the little slut isn't even wearing underwear!"
"Lucifer, she's fucking begging for it"
"I bet she's already wet. She was probably desperate to get her freak of a husband into bed"
"Do you think he even fits?"
"Vox? Who cares, I'm more curious about how this tiny little thing's been fucking Valentino"
"Hey, that's what I said!"
Velvette kept her eyes screwed shut, choking back a horrified sob when she felt an unfamiliar hand press against her vulva.
"Please, no..." she begged, sounding pathetic.
A thick finger started to push into her, and she whined in dismay.
"I can give you money, I can give you souls, I can give you power. I'll give you anything, don't do this, don't do this!" she pleaded, unable to believe she'd been brought so low. She was offering to sacrifice her Overlord status, just to stop herself from being raped.
Again...
A second finger joined the first, and Velvette moaned in dismay.
I only ever wanted Vox and Val. I've been so loyal to them. I don't want to do this. Please don't do this.
It was a pathetic, stupid thought, and not a completely honest one either. But she wasn't thinking clearly.
Her whole body stiffened up when the fingers inside her located her tampon, ripping it out gracelessly and tossing it aside before sliding back into her vagina. Velvette felt more unfamiliar hands paw at her breasts, running along her exposed skin.
"Aw, loosen up, Dolly. We just want to have fun with you" someone purred in her ear.
"...stop. Stop it! I'm a fucking Overlord, you sacks of shit! Get off me!" she screamed, opening her eyes again, glaring daggers at the Sinners clustered around her.
This isn't happening. This can't be happening. This is why you ran to the arms of the scariest fuckers around the second you realized you were in Hell. You were always vulnerable, and then you ended up in Hell in the body of a breakable little doll...
"I thought she had... you know, doll joints and stuff" one Sinner was saying, running their furry hand along her arm.
Velvette tried and failed to yank her arm away, sobbing out as she felt the fingers probing her push in even deeper.
"No, no, no, please, please stop..." she felt the hands start to push her down, and the sea of sneering, drooling faces took up more and more of her vision as she was pushed to the ground.
She closed her eyes again.
This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening-
"It's okay, Velvette. I got something here that'll help you loosen up" someone said, and Velvette didn't have any warning before she felt the rim of a bottle being pushed into her mouth.
She knew the taste instantly.
Love potion.
She tried to struggle, to spit it out, but she was helpless against the larger Sinners holding her down. The Sinner trying to force-feed her pushed the bottle in so hard she felt one of her fangs crack, and she whimpered as she had no option but to drink the sickly-sweet concoction, laced with her own blood from the broken tooth.
Velvette was forced to drink it all in one go, even as her lungs screamed in protest. But the only way back to oxygen was by swallowing the goop, so she drank it down it as swiftly as she could.
"See? She's a baby-doll, she just needed her bottle" the Sinner force-feeding her sneered, and Velvette whined in disgust behind the bottle.
Once empty, the bottle was pulled away from her mouth, and Velvette spat out her broken tooth, along with a glob of blood. Her vision was already going hazy and pink...
"I want her first!"
"Fuck you, I get her first. I got the bitch's dress off"
"I gave her the love potion, I get her first!"
"The bitch is fucking bleeding, didn't you notice? You sure you want her that badly?"
"Eww!" a new, whiny voice cut in "I'm outta here, that's fucking disgusting"
"You're just unimaginative, you can still fuck that pretty little face of hers"
Velvette looked up, glaring at the fox-like Sinner that made that comment. She bared her fangs at him, only to recoil as he bared fangs larger and spikier than Val's at her.
She was so distracted by the fanged Sinner that she didn't pay attention to what was going on between her legs. The only warning she had was the sensation of callused hands pushing her legs apart-
-and then she was screaming.
"No! No! No! No! Stop it! STOP!" she pleaded, even as she felt a Sinner with mismatched eyes and spotted markings along his neck force himself into her. The love potion was starting to make her pulse race, but it hadn't fully taken hold, and the only lubrication between her legs was blood.
Velvette was pinned to the ground by more arms than she could count, her eyes screwed shut and her wedding dress lying around her in tatters, weeping as she was raped by a Sinner so lowly she didn't even recognise their face.
...and the whole thing was being filmed.
Her reputation was completely shattered.
She gave up and slumped against the ground, weeping bitterly. She kept her eyes closed, and as the pink haze of the love potion overcame her, she let herself start to drift away...
...but she didn't drift away fast enough.
The Sinner who was inside her started to grunt, and she only had time to choke out a disgusted sob before she felt him ejaculate.
She felt filthy. Semen and blood was dripping onto the ground from between her legs, she could feel it against her thighs.
Vox will never want you again. I hope you know that. You thought being so arrogant would get you anywhere? You’re in fucking Hell, dumb bitch. You should’ve kept the baby-doll dresses on, kept your head down, and cowered on Vox’s lap.
This isn’t Valentino forcing himself on you, Val is a part of your relationship, this is you letting a pack of no-name nobodies defile you.
A second Sinner forced their way inside Velvette, and she screamed and thrashed against her restraints as they did so. But there was nothing she could do but take it.
By the time the third Sinner forced themselves on her, the love potion finally took hold. She didn't scream, she moaned, actually moving her hips up to pull her assailant deeper inside her.
"Fucking slut" someone spat, while another poked curiously at her arm.
“Hey! Look! She’s got those doll joints now!” they said gleefully.
“Is she any different down there?”
The third Sinner huffed.
“She’s harder, tighter. Its not bad”
"So, she's more like a doll than ever, huh? You know, there's something I used to love doing to my sister's dolls..."
Velvette felt several hands curl around her left arm, and she moaned incoherently, slipping deeper and deeper into a pink haze.
“Do you reckon…”
“Won’t know unless we try”
That was the only warning she got before her arm was ripped from its socket. No amount of love potion could numb that pain, and the agony pulled her out of the pink haze and back to reality. She screamed louder than she had before, feeling as thought she’d split her vocal cords as she did.
She could still feel her detached arm, and she helplessly flexed her fingers, before curling them into a repulsed fist when the Sinner holding her arm started rubbing her hand against his crotch.
Just like how she could rotate her limbs to an abnormal and doll-like extent, she could still function while torn limb-from-limb. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, and it didn’t mean there wasn’t blood everywhere.
She watched, sobbing in pain, as red poured from her shoulder and pooled around her. Another Sinner fidgeted, looking impatient.
“Would you hurry up?” he snapped at the Sinner currently forcing themselves into her.
“Just use her mouth!”
“Are you crazy? She’ll bite it off!”
“Then take out her teeth, you fucking idiot! She's already lost one!"
Two Sinners held her head more firmly in place, while a third hovered in her peripheral vision, leering at her as he drew his huge fist back.
Before Velvette had time to scream again, the Sinner brought his fist down, and she could only let out a muffled moan of pain as several more teeth were knocked out and blood filled her mouth.
She spat out blood and tooth fragments, and the Sinner looming over her snarled as red droplets went all over his face.
"You fucking bitch!" he said, and Velvette felt the Sinner that was inside her curl his hands around her thighs.
"Did the cunt hurt you?" he asked the spat-upon Sinner.
"She got blood all over me, this shirt is new!" he said, spitting on Velvette.
Blood dripping from her mouth, in agony beyond description, Velvette said nothing. She just glared.
Her detached arm was still being rubbed against another Sinner's crotch, and she kept her hand curled into a fist, praying that Vox's ring would scratch them somewhere sensitive.
Vox, where are you? Are you dead?
She could faintly hear complete pandemonium around them. It was a miracle that the little circle she was trapped in hadn't been overrun by the riot.
"You think you have any fucking right, to spit on us? You never deserved any of the power you fucked your boyfriends to get. You're just a worthless little hole to be fucked"
Velvette stared at the ceiling and said nothing.
"You fucking bitch. You deserve this, you deserve all of this"
Without warning, the hands on her legs started to yank, and Velvette screamed as she felt her bones snap. Several more hands joined the ones on her thighs, and Velvette nearly choked on blood as she screamed bloody murder.
But there was nothing she could do. Her legs were torn clean off, tossed aside carelessly like they were broken doll parts.
Undeterred by the mutilation, the third Sinner started to grunt, before pulling out of her and aiming for her face. Still screaming in agony, Velvette felt semen splash over her chest and neck.
Unbelievably, the pink haze of her love potion started creeping up on her again. Velvette watched listlessly as blood spread across the floor like so much red paint, letting her head slump onto the ground as black spots danced in her vision.
A fourth Sinner got into position, kneeling carelessly in the blood.
This isn't happening.
She didn’t realise she’d said it out loud.
"Oh, it is, cunt" someone said, laughing, and Velvette tried and failed to recoil as an erect phallus was suddenly shoved in her face "Suck it, or we'll start tearing off more vulnerable parts"
Terrified, Velvette moved her head forwards and let the Sinner push so deeply into her throat that she was almost sick.
"That's it. Be a good slut. Show Hell all that you're good for..."
Velvette made a mewling noise, and let the pain take over, letting herself fall unconscious.
Unconciousness only lasted so long, and Velvette found herself fading in and out of reality, a pink haze around the corners of her vision.
Velvette lost count of her assailants after ten. The pain never got any better, even if she was still able to move her detached limbs.
She could feel the gathered Sinners molesting her legs and arm, could feel their monstrous genitalia rubbing against her detached and bloodied limbs.
She could feel herself being violated, could feel the variety of sizes and shapes that forced their way inside her. She could feel as her hips were hoisted up, allowing her violation to be made complete as she was anally raped on top of every other indignity.
She could feel the range of appendages that were forced into her mouth. Having no way to bite down or prevent the oral assault, she could do nothing but stay down and let the crowd do what they wanted.
One particularly vicious Sinner tore her earings out as he misused her mouth, causing Velvette to scream around his studded phallus. Once he finished, he held her head in place with one massive hand, shoving the earrings into her mouth and covering her mouth and nose until she swallowed the skull-shaped jewllery.
Her throat was torn to pieces as they slid down, before being torn apart all over again as her stomach rebelled and she vomited over herself. She had no idea where the earrings ended up, and by that point she didn't care.
She'd lost track of how many times her assault had made her vomit, all she knew was that her hair was soaked in it, and her stomach and throat burned beyond description.
It said something about the sheer horror of her ordeal that the love potion served only to keep her mind hazy, any synthetic arousal had vanished mere minutes after being forced to drink it.
She tried to block it out, to let her mind drift away to somewhere safe. But the pain and degradation was impossible to escape. Every throb of pain, every splash of a stranger's bodily fluids against her skin (she was sure that a few of them had even urinated on her, or maybe she'd urinated on herself, she couldn't tell), and the jeers and comments couldn't be tuned out.
...and the cameras.
Velvette didn't want to survive the ordeal, because she didn't imagine she'd have anything to live for once it was over. She was ruined. Her reputation was never going to come back from this.
...and you know that Angel Dust put up with this, and worse, every single shift he worked at Val's studio. You know that until Val hurt you too, you were happy to turn a blind eye to what you couldn't stomach, and fondle yourself to the depravity you did like. Alastor's right, you are a hypocrite.
She was so lost in pain, disgust, and self-loathing that it took her a few moments to realize that her assault had paused and nobody was touching her. She opened her eyes slowly. She was still circled with Sinners and still lying in pieces in a pool of bodily fluids, but she was no longer the center of attention.
In fact, the riotous din around them had shifted in tone. Several Sinners were running away from Velvette and her assailants, almost as if they were fleeing...
That was when she heard it, several gunshots being fired in their direction. Velvette was helpless to do anything but watch as several of her attackers dropped to the ground with bullets in their heads and their brains splattered everywhere.
The Sinner that had bottle-fed Velvette looked alarmed, turning to leave, but before he could take one step away from the carnage something metallic blurred in the air near his neck. He collapsed onto the floor, his decapitated head rolling away from his body in a shower of blood.
Carmilla Carmine stepped into Velvette's field of view. Her hair fell long and flowing down her back, and she held a Sinner's head in one of her hands. She looked like a goddess…
...and her expression was more horrified than Velvette had ever seen it be before.
She dropped to her knees immediately, one hand over her mouth as she slowly reached out and touched Velvette's hair. Her touch was gentle and reverent, and Velvette could’ve melted into it’s sweetness after her ordeal.
There were several more gunshots, but Carmilla didn't react.
"Oh? You think these are for fucking show? This is what Carmine sells these babies for, you worthless cunts!" Valentino was screaming "I don't need to be an Overlord to fuck you up!"
Carmilla stroked back Velvette's hair, and Velvette was stunned to see tears brimming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry" Velvette croaked out, and between her assaulted throat and her missing teeth, she was completely unintelligable "I tried. I'm sorry. S-so sorry..."
"Don't speak, just rest. It's all over now" Carmilla said.
I'm an Overlord, and I let myself be raped and degraded in my own home, on my wedding day. I'm a failure. I'm disgusting.
She heard the familiar sound of dress shoes clicking against the ground and she immediately panicked.
"No. No. Vox. No see. Vox no see!" she pleaded brokenly with Carmilla, who nodded and got to her feet, shielding Velvette from sight.
"Velvette?" Vox called out, his voice still warping, but sounding stronger than it had before.
"Vox, she doesn't want you to see her like this. Stay back. I'll look after her" Carmilla said, and Velvette saw her take a step forward with her hand held out.
"Like hell you will. Get out of my way, that's my wife!" Vox said, and Carmilla couldn't move fast enough to stop him from pushing past her and stepping into Velvette's line of sight.
His screen was still cracked and glitching, and his tuxedo was ruined, but he was alive and in one piece. It was far more than Velvette could say for herself.
Vox stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Velvette, and she screwed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the disgust on his screen.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" she lisped toothlessly, feeling blood trickle down her chin to join the mess of bodily fluids that she was soaked with.
That was when Vox sounded like he'd exploded, his heels clicking harder against the floor as he ran towards the fleeing crowd.
"I WILL FIND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES! YOU ARE DEAD! YOU ARE ALL FUCKING DEAD!" he screamed, his voice warping so badly he was nearly unintelligable.
Velvette sobbed bitterly, feeling more wretched than any Sinner to have ever landed in The Pride Ring.
"Easy, easy there..." Carmilla said softly, kneeling down and placing her hands either side of Velvette's head "I can make the pain stop. Do you want me to do that? It'll be fast, and painless"
Velvette didn't hesitate before nodding.
"I'll see you on the other side, Velvette" Carmilla said, before she swiftly twisted Velvette's neck to the side.
Velvette stared at the other side of Valentino's studio, watching as Tom Trench tried and failed to console a sobbing Katie Killjoy, sitting on a sofa and clutching her microphone with trembling hands. Mascara was dripping down her face as she and Velvette locked eyes across the room.
You too, huh? her expression said.
"Her neck can't be snapped. She's a doll" a familiar and unwelcome voice spoke up, and Velvette tried to flinch away as she heard Rosie's heels click towards her "Try this. It'll be nice and quick"
Velvette went to turn her head back towards The Overlord of Cannibal Town, but-
BLAM!
Velvette woke up surrounded by an endless sea of white. At first, disorientated and displaced, she had a single mad moment where she thought she’d woken up in the middle of the Arctic.
But it only took a few blinks of her eyes before reality set in. She was lying in a feather-soft bed, bundled up in white blankets and lying in the middle of a monochromatically white room.
She slowly sat up, taking in her surroundings. The room resembled an especially sterile-looking (but very comfortable) hotel room. There was even what looked like an information pamphlet on the nightstand.
She felt so at ease. It was as if the very air she was breathing was laced with peace and love. The horror show her wedding had turned into felt like nothing but a bad dream.
She stretched with a peaceful yawn, admiring the way the golden morning sunlight illuminated her skin.
Wait…
Sunlight?
Actual sunlight?!
Velvette’s head snapped up, and she stared in disbelief at the window. At her vantage point, all she could see were blue skies, fluffy clouds, and a rainbow.
Oh no. No. This isn’t possible.
Panicking, she grabbed the pamphlet from her nightstand, her heart sinking as she read the cheerful header.
Welcome To Heaven, Sinner!
To Be Continued...
Notes:
You made it through! I can’t promise that this will be the last time something absolutely horrifying happens in my AU, but I can promise that the next chapter will be a calming reprieve. Thank-you to everyone who stuck around, and no hard feelings towards anyone who skimmed the chapter or decided to bail.
Author’s Notes!
1. Tell me, Helluva Boss fans, is there any canonical basis for the 'Uncle Ozzie' thing I see floating around Re: Charlie and Asmodeus? I like it, which is why I've included it in my AU, I'm just curious.
2. Mack The Knife is a great song; I wouldn't mind my death rattle getting aired right after it.
3. "I can't empathize but I can sympathize" is a sentence I first saw in Breaking Dawn, and it's always stuck with me as being a good turn of phrase. Yes, I'm a former Twi-Hard, bite me. (...but can my loyal followers and readers guess what #team I was, hmm...)
4. I can't see Canon!Charlie ever indirectly victim-blaming someone for their abuse, buuuuuut Lepidopterophobia!Charlie is currently waiting to see if her father has been executed or tortured, and one of her friends just ditched her for people who've always been antithetical to her hotel's mission statement. She's hurting and saying stupid, OOC stuff.
5. The wedding/welding mix-up in Eelijah's speech isn't my joke, it's stolen from The Office. But did Eelijah make the same mistake that Michael Scott did or was he making a deliberate reference (that went over everyone's head). You decide!
6. Carmilla Carmine's daughters have names (Clara and Odette), but lolz. Velvette doesn't have time to remember lame shit like that. What is she, an aspiring step-mother?
7. “More teeth than the Osmond family” is a joke from Red Dwarf, it’s also become a trope name on TV Tropes.
8. Even if Velvette had spent this entire fic kicking puppies and stealing candy from babies, she still would not ‘deserve’ what happened to her. I’m making that crystal clear here and now, no matter what she thinks, or what any other character might say.
9. Please check out my chapter update post on Tumblr for more information about the future of The Lepidopterophobia AU!That’s all for now, stay tuned…
-Jesse xx
Chapter 24: Thanks To My Being Respectless
Notes:
I know I said that this chapter would be all fluff, no filler, but it ended up being something like a post-mortem of the previous chapter. Nothing graphic happens, and Velvette is safe and gets some much-needed comfort and hugs, but the horrors of Chapter 23 linger. My apologies.
ALSO! Just a reminder that prompts for Lepidopterophobia AU one-shots are OPEN. Check out my chapter update post for Chapter 23 for more details!
Just a reminder, however, that I won't start work on the one-shots until this fic is done.
...and now, the biggest question on everyone's mind...
Will I get the final edit and read-through done before the SDCC Season 2 announcement? As I write this, It's currently 24/7/2025, 2:45am GMT -7, cast your votes now...
UPDATE:
-wha?! I made it before the announcement! Go me! Now settle in, and please enjoy this chapter. I'm going to be glued to my laptop, my eyes peeled for a trailer...
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Are you happy with yourself, Dolores? An innocent little girl is dead, and now you're spending Christmas behind bars! I am so ashamed of you! You deserve Hell, and that's what's coming for you"
"Fuck you, Dad. I'm going to go to Heaven. Saint Peter will get it, that fucking skank had it coming!"
"You? In Heaven? Don't make me laugh"
It had been years since Velvette had experienced real sunlight, her existence in Hell having been illuminated solely by artificial light and the perpetually red glow of The Pride Ring. As she stared, struck dumb with shock, at the pamphlet in her hands she couldn't help but enjoy the alien sensation of sunshine soaking into her skin.
She stared at the little slip of paper until her vision blurred and doubled, finally letting it slip from her hands and onto the bed. Still stunned, she just sat there, staring at nothing as the sun continued to beat down on her through her window. She relished in the unfamiliar warmth, despite the circumstances.
It wasn't that Hell was cold, but she'd been without the sun's warm glow for years. She could've spent hours sunbathing, and that from a woman who'd spent her life too scared of melanomas to ever enjoy lying in the sunshine.
Finally, she focused her gaze, taking in what she was wearing with her hyper-critical seamstress's eye. She was clad in an impossibly silky nightgown, the sort of thing that Vox would've gleefully dressed her up in, fluttering and ethereal with very unnecessary underwiring pushing up her cleavage.
Looking up again from her nightgown, she stared around her all-white room, as though an answer would jump out at her from the monochromatic decor.
This can’t be right… how the fuck am I in Heaven? I’m a horrible, horrible person. Even if I wanted redemption, Heaven would never take me in...
Slowly, her every motion cautious, she got to her feet. The bedsheets slipped away from her like water as she moved; she'd never felt such soft material before in her life. The comfort they provided was heavenly.
Taking small, hesitant steps, she made her way to the window and peered out. She wrinkled her nose at the saccharine scene before her; a fluffy meadow made out of clouds and rainbows, complete with a unicorn cantering around while a little girl with a halo around her head chased it, giggling.
Ew.
Velvette went to lean out more, to try and get a better view of her surroundings. But that was when she realized her window was barred, iridescently shimmering bars blocking her from leaning out.
Or climbing out.
Huh.
Confused, Velvette pinched her wrist.
Ow.
Okay. I’m not dreaming. But… this doesn’t make any sense? Am I in heaven under some sort of… probation? However many days of good behavior and I get to experience eternal paradise? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some boring old theologist talking about this...
But that’s still impossible. I’m fucking reprehensible. How would I ever end up in Heaven, even under probation?
Velvette tapped one of her fingers against her lower lip, stepping away from the window and looking around the room yet again.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed something shimmering on the other nightstand, the twin to the one her pamphlet had been lain on. She took a few steps closer, realizing that she was looking at-
No. That's impossible.
A gold nameplate necklace with Dolores spelled out in twirling cursive sparkled up at her.
That's completely impossible. That necklace was taken off me when I was arrested. It should be in a box in HMP Holloway. Not here. Not in fucking Heaven of all places.
"What the fuck is going on..." she reached out, gently touching the necklace.
It felt the same as she remembered it feeling. Cold and smooth, the edges slightly smoothed from frequent wear. She traced her former name with her index finger, and that was when she realized she was missing her bracelet and her rings.
She panicked, running her right hand over her bare left one, her heart hammering in her chest. She'd only just gotten her wedding and engagement rings, and she'd been wearing Val's bracelet for so long that she felt exposed without it.
But slowly, steadily, her panic ebbed away. A new theory started to occur to her, one that made no sense and too much sense all at once.
Was everything... just a bad dream?
She ran her hands over herself briefly, her palms running over smooth skin and not snagging on any doll-like joints as she did so. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean anything as her doll-like attributes came and went, but in that moment it felt significant.
She felt fine in herself, too. Nothing hurt; she certainly didn't feel like someone who'd been gang-raped and torn to pieces. Slowly, she smiled to herself.
It was just a dream. Just a bad dream. All of it.
Not just her assault. Everything. Waking up in Hell, meeting Vox and Valentino, worming her way into The Vees, ruling over The Entertainment District, using and abusing her long-suffering souls, the rivalry between The Vees (mostly Vox) and Alastor, her assault at Valentino's hands, the complete nightmare that had unfolded from that, and then...
...her wedding. The riot. The gang rape.
It was all just a bad dream.
Velvette grinned to herself, breathing out a sigh of relief.
Everything that had seemed so all-consuming mere moments ago floated away from her like a feather in an updraft. She was fine. She was safe. Everything she'd suffered in life was behind her; one strange dying dream later and she was in Heaven, and soon enough she'd be able to enjoy eternal paradise.
It sucks that Vox and Val don't exist... it was nice, being so in love. But if that means I never had to suffer the way I did... I'll take it.
She twirled, allowing her heavenly gown to spin around her ankles as she giggled to herself...
...and that was when she froze, her tongue brushing up against something horribly, horribly familiar in her mouth.
Her fangs.
Her face crumpled, and she felt like a thousand tons had just dropped on her at once.
It happened. It really happened.
The room was perfectly temperate, but Velvette shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. She was completely alone, as safe as safe could be, but at the realization that her suffering hadn't just been a nightmarish dying dream it felt like she was surrounded by a hundred phantom hands that were pushing against her, touching her, probing her. It felt like she was on the floor of Val's studio again...
She shivered again, looking around the room. Everything was monochromatically white, without a trace of color to be seen. There wasn't a single beeping red light, and yet Velvette could feel eyes on her, as though she was still being leered at and filmed.
She thought about all the cameras that had been pointed at her, and wondered what had happened to the countless videos of her defilement.
They were probably the top trending videos on Sinstagram by now.
The thought of their virality made Velvette feel too exposed, too vulnerable, too seen.
Still feeling countless invisible eyes and hands on her, Velvette moved back to her bed, climbing under the covers and cocooning herself in them. She sought comfort in the heavenly softness of her bed, curling up on her side with her head resting on one of the overstuffed pillows.
...and then she started screaming.
She hadn't lost control so badly since her nervous breakdown in the limo, after Alastor had forced Vox to disgrace himself at the hotel. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed, thrashing under the covers and clawing at her face as she wailed.
Her talon-like fingernails drew blood, leaving cuts all over her face, and then all over her chest, stomach, and arms as she moved her assault over her body. She couldn't bring herself to stop screaming, even when her throat started to cry out in protest.
She didn't stop, she couldn't stop, not until a strong hand slapped her across the face and a familiar voice called out-
"VELVETTE!"
-bringing her back to reality and grounding her enough to keep hysteria's claws from pulling her away again. Slowly, she opened her eyes again.
The endless white of her room was speckled red with her blood, bleeding into the bedsheets as she stared up at the man that had slapped her, wisps of the pink part of her hair falling into her eyes.
(...actually, it was one of those things everyone got wrong, herself included. She'd color-matched her hair in her studio once. The 'pink' part of her hair was desire-red, while the 'purple' parts were actually navy-blue)
"If you're going to keep ripping yourself to shreds with your nails, I'm going to stop paying for your manicures, you know" Vox said, with no real heat behind his words.
The TV Demon was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking guilty as he examined her face. He'd managed to avoid scratching her when he'd slapped her, but her cheek still stung.
"Ow" Velvette said with a theatrical pout, her voice a scratchy shadow of it's usual self "...that's not the cheek you're meant to be slapping on your wedding night, you know"
Vox smiled weakly down at her, before reaching out, smoothing back Velvette's hair before resting his large hands on her shoulders. Velvette could tell he was restraining himself from pulling her up and into his arms, and she wasn't sure if she was grateful or annoyed by his consideration.
"It's good to see you... back to normal" Vox finally said, his expression melancholic "You were in pieces, even the angels that examined you weren't sure if you'd pull yourself back together"
'Pull yourself back together' was one of Velvette's favorite things to scream at her assistants. Her lips quirked at the dark irony.
Vox squeezed her shoulders gently, his pixelated eyes full of concern as he looked down at Velvette.
"...you must be very confused. We're in Heaven" he started to explain.
"We are?!" Velvette feigned shock, gasping.
Vox rolled his eyes.
"So. We're in Heaven. Why? What the fuck is going on? Where's Angel and Val?" Velvette continued, her voice growing stronger by the word "...and where the fuck did that necklace come from?"
Vox glanced at the necklace.
"I was wondering if that was yours. I'm afraid I have no idea; it was here when we were first escorted into this room" he said.
"It was mine" Velvette said "My Dad gave it to me as a birthday gift"
"Oh"
Velvette shrugged, before tilting her head to the side and kissing the tip of one of Vox's claws.
"I like the jewelry you've given me more" she whispered, smiling genuinely up at him, before she grimaced "I'm sorry. I think those earrings are a write-off"
"It's okay. I can get you new ones" Vox promised.
A memory, unbidden, swum to the forefront of Velvette's subconscious.
Vox, apoplectic with rage, slapping her so hard that her earring was torn out...
...is he really any different to the monsters that raped you? He constantly lies to you and manipulates you, he stole your soul, and yet you're stupid enough to trust him and love him. You’re stupid enough to feel safe with him. He's as much of a rapist as Valentino, he's just smart enough to fuck you less obviously…
Oblivious to the poisonous whispering in her head, Vox let go of Velvette with one hand, gesturing around himself.
"I'll try and explain what's going on. Honestly, even I'm not completely sure, this is just what I've been told; we're honored guests, Heaven needs to talk to us, so the rules have been broken to allow us to stay up here for a few days. Once we've answered all of Heaven's questions, we'll be sent back home" he explained "Hopefully in one piece"
Velvette stared at Vox in confusion.
"Heaven wants to talk to us?" she said "Why?"
"Lucifer's on trial, and they're trying to get every side of the story" Vox said "Who would've thought it, Heaven has a fair justice system"
"Or maybe they're just trying to damn Lucifer as thoroughly as they can. It's not like our testimony is going to help King Pretty Boy" Velvette said, shifting against the sheets a little, shivering as another unnatural wave of cold ran over her.
Vox looked down at her, obviously concerned. Velvette felt her eyes irrationally start to water.
Stay strong. Stay strong. Stay strong-
"...I'm sorry. I stepped out to get coffee. I shouldn't have left your side" he said "How are you feeling?"
"How do you think I'm feeling?" Velvette said "I was gang-raped on my wedding day, and it was recorded for every freak in Hell to see. I was torn to pieces like a lump of meat on a butcher's slab, and it was recorded"
Vox shuddered.
"Velvette..."
"Fuck off" Velvette snapped.
Vox sighed, letting go of Velvette and leaning back, smoothing down the front of his suit as he did so. He was dressed differently than usual, wearing a blue suitcoat lined with pink silk. The coat was held in place with a purple belt, and rather than a bowtie, he was wearing a crisp white shirt with a pink tie done in a Double Windsor.
He looked good, but he also looked like...
"Is it Pride in Heaven?" she finally teased, recognizing the Bisexual Pride colors.
Vox looked confused, before looking down at himself and chuckling.
"Ha. Look at that. No, it's just a coincidence. I'm trying to look my best for my interrogation. I've been reassured that Heaven holds no ill-will towards us for Lucifer's misbehavior, but it can't hurt to look good"
Velvette wrapped her bloodied sheets around herself and shifted forwards on the bed. She hesitated; she desperately wanted to reach out and touch Vox again, but she could still feel phantom hands running all over her body and...
...and it was too much. It was all too much. She craved touch, but she also feared touch. She felt like she was in rushing water and Vox was an anchor that she was too scared to reach for.
"Vox" she said, and she wasn't sure what she was going to say, because what came out next was "I am so, so, so sorry"
She was completely safe, lying in a soft bed in Heaven, with nobody around her but her new husband. But in some ways, she felt like she was still lying on the floor of Val's studio, like so many poor whores before her. In some ways, she didn't think she'd ever feel like there weren't hands all over her, or appendages being forced into her from every angle.
In some ways, she would never feel clean again.
She could only waylay the inevitable waterworks for so long...
"Velvette, don't" Vox said, holding up a finger and wagging it "There's nothing I can do to change what happened, but what I can do is refuse to let you blame yourself- oh, darling, don't cry..."
"Why the fuck are you bothering me with this?" Velvette was sitting at her desk, glowering at one of Valentino's ill-fated 'employees' as the terrified girl stood before her, tears running down her face "You're the dumb whore that sold her soul to Val, this is what you get for being such a silly bitch"
"Please, please, Miss Velvette. I'll do anything. Just ask Valentino for my contract. I can be a model; I'd be such a good model! I'll do anything! You can touch me however you want, I'll- I'll eat you out every morning!" the Sinner pleaded.
Velvette looked at the Sinner, feeling surprisingly warm as she realized... yes. She could do just that. She could treat the terrified young woman like a sex toy and nobody would bat an eye.
...but as quickly as the thought occurred to her, she brushed it away, feeling sick. She didn't want to. She also didn't want to get in-between Valentino and whatever sick games he was playing with the girl.
"Go back to Val and just be grateful that I won't tell him about this stunt. Understood?"
"You're my husband, you're lying to me to make you feel better. This is all my fault. All of it. I deserve this" Velvette sobbed, tears welling in her eyes and running down her cheeks as Vox stubbornly shook his head.
"Velvette, how many times do I have to tell you that none of this is your fault"
Velvette shook her own head.
"I couldn't... I couldn't fight them off. I swear. I tried everything. But I couldn't do it. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Oh God, but it's karma, isn't it? It's my punishment. Oh God, I'm so sorry..."
Her emotions were a maelstrom, and even she couldn't quite pin down what her primary misery was being caused by. Was it guilt over her past actions or guilt over not fighting off her rapists? She didn't know.
Vox's expression was horrified, and he dithered, holding one hand out towards Velvette. It was an offer of physical comfort, and one that she didn't take. Finally, he cleared his throat.
"Velvette, please listen to me. You have nothing to apologize for. You were drugged, over-powered, and gang-raped on what's supposed to be the happiest day of your life. There's nothing you could've done, no part of it is your fault, and you sure as fuck didn't deserve any of it"
Velvette looked at him, tears still running down her face.
Vox sighed, shifting his weight and leaning in closer to her.
"What can I do? To help you feel better?" he asked gently "I will do whatever it takes, I promise"
Velvette continued to stare tearfully at him.
"What do you need? What do you want?" Vox asked, reaching out and touching the side of her face gently "Talk to me, Velvette. It's just you and me here, nothing you say has to leave the room. We can be as sickeningly sentimental as you like"
Velvette avoided Vox's gaze, feeling her cheeks warm up.
"Anything?" she finally said.
"Anything"
If Velvette was in her right mind, she never would've said it...
“I just want my Dad to look after me” she said in a tiny voice.
Vox’s expression was warm and sympathetic.
"You know, when I found out what a fucker your father was, I contacted I.M.P. I told them that if they could track him down on Earth and bring him into my clutches, I'd pay them very well. I also said that if he was already dead, all they had to do was point me in his direction and I'll pay the same"
"That's sweet of you, Vox" Velvette said.
"I was envisioning a year of no-questions-asked blowjobs, Vel" Vox joked, his eyes flicking down as Velvette nonchalantly rested her hand over one of his "...but unfortunately, Val had been bickering with Prince Stolas on Sinstagram, and that jumped-up little Imp Blitzo refused me service for insulting his boyfriend- or whatever the fuck is going on there"
"The 'o' is silent, Vox. Ugh. What a fucking nerve, refusing you service" Velvette said, disgusted.
"To be fair, I have said some... reasonably racist things about Imps in the past" Vox said.
"Reasonably racist?"
"Oh, come on. It's hard enough being trapped in The Pride Ring, having a sub-species that even the lowliest Sinner can look down on is fucking fantastic"
"I'm sure you were delightful in the Fifties" said Velvette, squeezing his hand.
"Actually, I marched against segregation. Did you march against segregation, dear?"
Velvette raised the hand holding onto Vox's, tapping her skin with her free hand and raising her brow in a sardonic expression.
"...right. I'll shut up. Anyway, maybe it's for the best that I didn't exorcize him, if you miss him so much"
"No, that's not what I mean" Velvette lowered their hands again "I don't want my actual Dad to care for me, he never did, and he never will. I want someone to be my Dad and care for me"
Vox blinked, clearly confused.
What do I have to lose? I'll just spit it out.
"Vox, I want you to be my Daddy. Just for now. Please?" she asked, blushing deep red and avoiding eye contact with Vox.
Vox stared at her, and in Velvette's peripheral vision she could see several error messages flicker on and off his screen before his expression cleared.
“You’ve had an extremely traumatic experience, Velvette. I don’t think you quite know what you’re asking for, and I’m not going to embarrass you by going along with it” he finally said, smiling awkwardly "Not that I wouldn't be so proud of you if you were my daughter"
Velvette looked back at his screen in disbelief.
"You made it fucking weird" she said.
"You're the one that wants to call me Daddy!"
Velvette let go of Vox completely, crossing her arms and looking away sulkily.
Vox sighed, shifting a little closer to her.
"Okay, okay. I'm shocked, my dear, that's all. So, what is this all about? Do you want to call me Daddy while I fuck you? That's not... too bad, I suppose" he said hesitantly, before he grimaced "Or do you want to do the whole... thing. Pacifiers and diapers and everything? It's not going to make me hard but if you desperately want that..."
"No! No. Not like that" Velvette said quickly, feeling a rush of gratitude that Vox was willing to try something he was so obviously not into, just for her "...and don't lie to me, you wouldn't last five seconds watching me suck on a pacifier before you cream your tighty-whities"
Vox made a disgusted noise, before laughing.
"Well, you're very sexy, Velvette. I don't think I'd be that turned off by changing your diaper, either" he joked "We already know you'd fucking love changing mine, you freak"
"With our age-gap, I'm sure I'll have to get used to changing you eventually" said Velvette, pretending to squirm pleasurably as she sat up "Mm, I'm getting wet just thinking about it"
Vox and Velvette stared each other down, before they burst out laughing. Still giggling, Velvette shuffled closer to Vox, smiling as he took her hand again, reaching out with his free hand and starting to smooth back her hair.
Velvette closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation.
"Daddy" she said, rolling the word around in her mouth before grimacing "That's... ugh"
"Yeah. Maybe we won't go that far. But I'm more than happy to act fatherly towards you, if that's what you need"
Velvette opened her eyes again. Vox was smiling warmly at her, and Velvette couldn't help but offer him a warm smile of her own.
Maybe she wasn't sure what, exactly, she was craving. But she'd been through Hell, at the very least she deserved some pampering.
(Even if she knew Vox was going to taunt her until the heat death of the universe over her daddy issues, once all of this had blown over)
She shifted a fraction closer to Vox, still holding onto his hand with one of hers. Her eyes smarted with tears she still needed to shed.
"...Vox?" she said softly.
"Yes, darling?"
"Please hold me"
Vox didn't hesitate, moving closer to Velvette and wrapping his arms firmly around her. Velvette buried her head against the shoulder of his coat- taking a moment to appreciate the luxurious feeling of it against her cheek- and burst into tears. She clung to Vox, feeling his clawed hands rub comforting circles into her back.
"I'm so sorry... I wanted it to be you... I wanted it to be you..." she babbled, nearly unintelligible through her tears.
Vox just held her and let her cry, somehow knowing the exact right words to whisper to Velvette, to make her feel just a little less desolate as she wept.
"It's okay, my darling girl, I'm here. I'm here..."
Velvette sat cross-legged on the bed, facing the pillows while Vox methodically raked his claws through her hair, detangling her voluminous curls and humming a comforting melody.
Neither of them had a name, or a plan, for what they were doing. But it felt nice. Periodically, Velvette sniffled, wiping at her stinging red eyes with the hem of her nightgown.
After some more detangling, Vox spoke up again.
"You know, I did this for a lot of my girls when I was alive. Taking care of them, being a father figure to them. They were scared, cut off from everything they know-"
"-because you cut them off-" Velvette interjected, Vox ignored her.
"-so they clung to me, they clung to my stability. I can look after you, better than any father could care for his daughter, my beautiful princess"
A pleasurable shiver went down Velvette's spine.
"Just shut up and keep playing with my hair" she finally said.
"Your wish is my command"
Vox kept combing out her hair with his claws, and Velvette kept shivering at the sensation.
"Can you promise me one thing?" Velvette suddenly asked.
"Anything"
"Never tell Val about this. He will be so creepy about it"
Vox laughed, and Velvette turned her head in time to see him nodding in agreement.
"It'll be our little secret" said Vox, before he obviously regretted his choice of words "No. Wait. What I meant was-"
"Vox!" Velvette pulled away, laughing into her hands and falling back onto the bed, giggling. She regained her composure quickly, sitting up again, her lips twitching as she watched a red blush stain Vox's screen.
"Where is Val, anyway?" she asked, looking around as though expecting to see Val awkwardly hiding his oversized frame behind one of the nightstands.
"He's currently being poked and prodded by a small army of Angels. Everyone up here is curious to find out what, if anything, Lucifer's potion did to him. Let me tell you, those wide-eyed twits don't know what they're dealing with, I'm sure Val will have half of them under contract before they're finished" Vox said.
Velvette crawled closer to Vox, reaching out and resting her hand on his shoulder. The fabric of his suitcoat really was luxurious, and Velvette resisted the urge to rub her face against it again.
"...so, what did I miss, while I was busy getting flipped inside-out?" she asked casually.
"Velvette, you don't need to hear-"
"Trust me, Vox, nothing you can tell me will be worse than what I experienced. Go on, I'm curious" Velvette smiled encouragingly.
Vox looked skeptical but nodded.
“…I thought I was dead, once the riot started. I was on the ground being attacked from all angles without a helping hand in sight, and I just resigned myself to my fate. But the next thing I knew, I was being dragged to my feet and Angel was screaming in my face. He was yelling about how-"
“VELVETTE GOT DRAGGED INTO THE CROWD! VOX! WE GOTTA SAVE HER!” Angel screamed, shaking Vox so hard that The TV Demon's screen flopped back and forth at an alarming rate.
Vox looked like Hell, pun intended. His screen was cracked, his clothes were torn, and the gunshot wound in his shoulder was dripping blood everywhere.
It was a miracle that Angel was as unscathed as he was, asides from a few superficial cuts and bruises (and the speckling of Vox's blood that stained his hair, body, and clothes), he looked relatively untouched.
It was even more of a miracle that Angel had made it to Vox, let alone dragged him out of the swarming mass of bodies that had been crushing him.
But adrenaline lets you do amazing things.
Angel Dust had felt his heart skip several beats when he saw Velvette be swallowed by the crowd. He'd only seen her for a brief second, being held above the crowd like an angel sitting atop a Christmas tree, before the angry crowd had swarmed like termites and pulled her into the chaos. They’d also delivered a few painful-looking blows to Valentino while they were at it, but Angel couldn’t have cared less about him.
Husk's hand was curled around his wrist, and under any other circumstance Angel would've been delighted. Husk gave a shit about him; Husk was touching him. But he was too terrified for his friend's safety to care.
Angel Dust knew what happened to women in riots, especially women who had posited themselves as untouchable.
He couldn't- he wouldn't- let Velvette be violated again.
Angel looked around at the chaos that surrounded him, making calculations in his head. Reaching Velvette would be impossible, he couldn't even see where she'd been dragged off to. But there was someone he could see though the chaos, someone with a cracked and glitching flatscreen tv for a head...
Experiencing the sort of adrenaline rush that let housewives lift cars off their children, Angel has pulled away from Husk's grip without a word and plowed through the crowd like a bowling ball, pulling Vox to safety and promptly screaming in his face and shaking him.
When his initial assault didn't get a reaction from the glitching Overlord, Angel tried again, shaking Vox even harder and raising his voice several decibels.
"VOX! YOUR WIFE IS IN DANGER!" he screamed "Do you have any fucking idea what those creeps will do to her?! VOX!"
Vox stared at Angel, his screen glitching several times, the spider-web-like cracks that fractured his perfectly polished screen shimmering in the chaotic light. Several lamps had been smashed, while fires had been set all over the studio. The flames flickered in Vox's broken screen as he stared blankly at Angel.
"Vox, would you snap out of it?! Velvette's opinionated, mean, disruptive, disrespectful, bitchy, cruel, and she's a woman. Everyone hates her more for being half as bad as you and Val because people are kinda fucking sexist jerks! She's going to be torn to pieces out there! We have to help her!"
With a noise like a computer rebooting, Vox's expression became horrified as he shook himself out of his fugue state. He looked out at the rioting crowd, clearly trying to spot his new wife. But the wall of people was too thick to see through, and neither he nor Angel could see so much as a swirl of white hair.
"We have to find her" Vox said, holding his hand up against his bleeding shoulder and snapping his fingers, causing a crackle of electricity to run over his gunshot wound and neatly cauterize it.
Angel had to admit, it was the most hardcore thing he'd ever seen Vox do. With a humorless grin, he pulled an arsenal of guns out of... somewhere, turning to the crowd with his teeth bared.
"ALRIGHT YOU FUCKERS! TIME TO SHOW YOU WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF-" he started to scream, before several Sinners lunged at him, dragging him into the-
"-into the crowd. He was swallowed up by it, just like you'd been. I was actually worried about him"
Velvette was sitting on Vox's knee, his touch gentle but deliberate as he rubbed iodine into the scratches that marred her perfect skin. The pungent liquid stained Vox's handkerchief as he cleaned her up, leaving the faint scent of medicine lingering in the air.
Velvette hadn't noticed when he'd smoothly pulled her onto his knee, she hadn't even noticed when he'd leaned over her to grab the iodine from the nightstand's drawer. His voice, steady and soft, had lulled her into a comfortable trance as she listened to him.
Her nightdress, previously so white and clean, was now stained with both blood and iodine. She could feel it clinging to her skin, but she couldn't bring herself to take it off.
She felt safe in Vox's arms, but not safe enough to remove the last barrier between herself and the outside world, and not safe enough to stop herself from interjecting with a horrified cry when Vox described Angel being dragged into the crowd the same way she'd been.
"Angel was raped?" Velvette said, horrified "Again? Right after we made him an Overlord? Oh... Angel..."
"No, no, no. He's made of tougher shit-" Vox started to say, before he looked instantly apologetic "I didn't mean-"
"It's fine, Vox. Angel's a badass and I'm the stupid whore who was raped on her wedding day" Velvette said, her voice sounding broken.
"If you're a stupid whore for that, then I'm the even stupider whore who was routinely raped for decades. Don't be so hard on yourself" Vox said, tapping Velvette's nose affectionately with one of his claws.
Velvette shrugged, waving one of her hands dismissively.
"So, what happened next?" she asked, clearing her throat and forcing a smile "I'm sure those perverts wanted to do bad things to Hell's favorite porn-star"
"They did! They managed to feel him up and they got his skirt off, but they hadn't completely disarmed him" Vox said.
By the time Vox made it back to Angel, the newly-minted Overlord was covered in blood and brains, holding a shotgun in his upper set of arms and scowling as he pulled his glittery pink skirt back up with his lower set.
"Where's Velvette?" he asked, and Angel looked even more annoyed.
"I'm fucking fine, by the way. I don't know, I can barely hear a thing in this..." Angel gestured at the riot around him, pulling a face and shooting a goatish Sinner's face off when they got too close, while Vox nonchalantly fried a Sinner that resembled a crocodile with a green mullet when they tried to grab his arm.
The crowd was swarming more and more by the second, but they managed to stay on their feet, looking around for so much as a sign of Velvette. As the riot pulsed around them, Angel grabbed onto Vox's arm for stability.
Vox looked down at the hand holding onto him, and Angel almost laughed at how strange this all was. He'd pulled away from Husk to come cling onto Vox, and all he was worried about was that Velvette- the biggest bitch in Hell- was safe. He could hardly believe it.
The crowd pushed up against them again, and Vox actually reached out and wrapped a steadying arm around Angel's waist, holding him close.
They looked at each other, before the riot crushed into them, pushing them together and forcing them to hold tightly onto each other as the sea of bodies moved them through the room.
Powerless to do anything else, Angel wrapped his arms a little tighter around Vox, and buried his head in the other's neck as they-
"-Vox! I wanted to know what I missed, not how hot Angel is" Velvette said, keeping her eyes closed as Vox dabbed iodine on the scratches on her face.
"I'm just adding some flavor to the story"
"You're half-hard" she said, opening her eyes and squirming against him to prove her point.
"That's just because I have the best ass in Hell pressed against my dick" Vox said, his voice gaining a lascivious quality.
Velvette stilled, feeling awkward. She glanced away from Vox and pursed her lips together.
"Velvette? Sweetheart?" Vox gently combed his claws through her hair again.
"...I really wanted you to fuck me in that dress, you know" she said quietly "I feel like I've cheated on you-"
"No, no, no. Absolutely not. Don't waste your time thinking that" Vox said quickly.
Velvette swallowed dryly, looking back at Vox.
"So. You two were being dragged through the riot, what happened next?" she said.
Vox went along with the abrupt change of subject without question.
"The riot wasn't just contained to Val's studio. We made a huge mistake, letting the tower get so crowded. We basically filled our home with gunpowder, and all Alastor had to do was drop a match"
Velvette closed her eyes again as Vox kept dabbing at the scratches on her face, focusing on the relaxing timbre of his voice.
"So, the entire tower had been overrun, and it was being torn to pieces. Our employees were being slaughtered, and it was only the ones that hid or turned on us that were spared. Eelijah was smart enough to barricade himself in Angel's room with that pet pig of Angel's, but... a lot of my people are gone. VoxTek might never recover"
"What about my girls?" Velvette asked.
Vox hesitated, and Velvette grimaced.
"That bad, huh?"
Vox sighed.
"I'm so sorry, Velvette. I think most of them are dead. You're very lucky that you're still an Overlord"
Velvette felt a pang of... something... jab at her heart. She couldn't put a name to it, but it was something.
They were airheads, but they were mine...
"Go on, the tower was being torn apart and you and Angel Dust were being dragged through the riot, clinging to each other like a couple of horny queens"
"Velvette"
"What? It’s the truth"
Vox chuckled.
"So, Angel and I didn't realize it at first, but we'd actually been dragged out of the studio. By the time we managed to start pushing back against the crowd, we were in one of Val's storage rooms"
"So, that's why you couldn't hear me screaming" Velvette said levelly, opening her eyes again.
Vox's expression was horrified.
"You were screaming for me?" he said.
"I thought... I thought if someone could hear me, they would come save me and they'd make it stop" Velvette said, before quickly continuing before Vox could say anything "It doesn't matter. What happened?
If Angel Dust hadn't been so busy with fighting for his life he'd have laughed in shock at the situation he was in.
He was literally standing back-to-back with fucking Vox, facing off against a seemingly endless hoard of angry Sinners, while Charlie had abandoned him.
They'd managed to clear a tiny circle around themselves. There wasn't room to swing KeeKee, but there was enough room for them to stand their ground.
Angel could feel the back of Vox's screen pressed against his shoulders, could feel the other's body heat seeping through their clothes-
"Angel and Vox, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-"
Vox flicked Velvette's nose, making her laugh.
Angel had to admit, he was impressed with Vox's ability to hold his own. He'd known for a very long time that The TV Demon was extremely dangerous, but that didn't change the fact that he was built like a novelty straw with a smartphone strapped on top, Angel would've expected him to have snapped like a twig within a few minutes of the riot starting.
But he hadn't, Vox was still standing, and he was still fighting with the sort of fury that Angel associated with Valentino after his card gets declined.
"WHERE IS SHE! WHERE IS SHE!?" Vox was snarling, clawing the face off one Sinner. It felt like they'd been struggling for hours, but the hoard hadn't thinned out in the slightest, and Vox hadn't lost even a fraction of his ferocity.
The ground under Angel's feet started to shake, and he turned quickly, only to feel his heart leap into his throat when he saw the cause of the seismic tremors.
A Sinner roughly two times Vox's size had shoved his way through the crowd, glaring down at Vox and running a jagged tongue along his fangs. Vox wasn't cowed in the slightest, the air around him buzzing with static.
"Where the fuck is she?!" he yelled up at the brute, and Angel had to grab him to stop him from launching himself at the hulking Sinner. He quickly used his shotgun to blow the Sinner's head off, shooting Vox a quick look as blood rained down on them and the Sinner collapsed to the ground (squishing several smaller Sinners and Imps as they did so).
"Getting yourself killed won't help Velvette, you know" Angel said.
"Watch your fucking tongue, you useless fucking wh- oh" Vox had the grace to look ashamed of himself.
Angel Dust sneered, but he patted Vox's shoulder.
"I'm worried about her too, but for now, we just need to focus on making it through this" he spun his shotgun on his shoulder, taking out a Hellhound's head without even looking behind himself.
"You were the one freaking out when she was dragged into the crowd"
"Yeah, I was freaking out and I am freaking out. But I've been through way more shit down here than you have" Angel snapped "Sometimes you just gotta be pragmatic. If you truly want me to be a part of your team, you're gonna take me seriously and listen to my advice. We can't help Velvette at all if we're dead... and I can't believe I'm saying this, but don't you give a shit about Val?"
"Valentino is a bully that preys on the weak, but trust me, he can hold his own against most of Hell. He's more powerful than he looks" Vox said dismissively.
"He ain't an Overlord anymore, Sparky. Are you so sure about that now?"
Vox's screen, still cracked, glitched and sparked. Before Angel could do or say anything else, Vox turned back to the mob and launched himself at it.
There was a flash so bright Angel had to briefly hide his eyes, and by the time he looked back in Vox's direction, his view was clouded by smoke. He could faintly see sparks illuminating the gloom, like lightning strikes in a thunderstorm, but he couldn't see a thing beyond that.
Angel could hear Vox screaming "Val! Vel!" as if either of his fellow Vees had a chance of hearing him. He took a step forwards, intending to help, but as he peered into the impenetrable chaos of smoke, sparks, and flashing cyan claws, someone grabbed his shoulder with a growl.
"All by yourself, slut? Bad move"
Angel turned, smirking sardonically as he recognized one of the wolf-like Demons under Valentino's employ.
...well, previously under Valentino's employ.
"Do you have any fucking idea who you're messing with?" Angel asked, grinning wide enough to show off his gold tooth.
"Yeah, a dumb little whore who's gonna be the belle of the fucking ball in a few minutes" the wolf responded, cracking his knuckles.
Angel grinned more.
"Hey, tell me, why did you sell your soul to Valentino? Was it for money? Power?" he asked innocently.
"Easy access to sad little whores like you to fuck" the wolf responded.
"Yeah, I was Val's little whore. But unlike you, I was smart enough to use that position to get a leg up. Val's the sad little whore now, and so are you" Angel said, relishing in the confusion on the wolf's face before he held his hand up and yanked the wolf forwards by a smoky red chain that formed around his neck.
A thousand different things went through Angel's head, countless one-liners to cut the wolf down with, to make him feel as weak and as powerless as Angel had felt for so many years.
But before he could say anything, a blade of Angelic Steel suddenly sprouted over the wolf's heart, blood splattering everywhere like someone had thrown a glass of red wine over Angel.
Angel stared in blank shock as the blade was pulled back, watching as the wolf slowly crumpled to the floor with one last whine of pain.
Standing behind where the wolf had been and looking remarkably unbothered by the pandemonium was Rosie. She primly wiped the blade off on her sleeve.
"This is quite the wedding reception, Angel" she said, grinning at Angel, who stared slack-jawed at her in shock.
"Why the fuck did Rosie switch sides? She was very clear about wanting to see us get put in our place, and she's been Team Alastor since before you even met the old-timey fuckface" Velvette said, sitting on the edge of her dresser and kicking her legs in the air.
Vox had moved her so he could change Velvette's blood-and-iodine-soaked bedding. He laughed at Velvette's comment, bundling dirty laundry into his arms.
"She wanted us dead, Velvette. But as nasty as Hell can be, everyone has a line that they won't cross, and it turns out that Rosie's one was crossed by the rioters"
Rose hummed thoughtfully to herself, looking at the chaos around her as if it was a particularly fascinating diorama.
"You know, darling, I don't particularly like The Vees. I'm Alastor's friend, after all. But there's something I dislike so much more than Vox's little clubhouse"
"W-what... what's that?" Angel asked, glancing away as a massive spark of electricity from the skirmish Vox was in caught his eyes.
"I'm like Alastor in this respect; I abhor rapists" Rosie said, before making her way over to the smoke and sparks that enveloped Vox and his assailants, the Angelic Steel blade held tightly in her hand.
"At least something good came of me being treated like a fuck-toy for all of Hell to see" Velvette said dryly.
Vox grimaced.
"Nobody knew what was happening to you at that point, darling. It was what happened to Katie Killjoy that drew Rosie and Cannibal Town's ire. While you were dragged under the crowd, Katie was pulled over it. She was being held in mid-air while they-"
"I don't want details. Move on. So, everyone could see what was happening to bitchface Killjoy and that caused Rosie and Cannibal Town to switch sides?"
"It did. But I'm sure Rosie would've turned on the rioters with twice the ferocity she did if she'd seen what was happening to you, my dear" Vox said with a winning smile, smoothing down the bed as he finished laying clean bedding down.
Velvette eyed off the clean sheets longingly. Her nightgown was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second, clinging to her body as it dried.
Slowly, she reached down, curling her hands around the soft fabric before she braced herself and pulled the whole thing off over her head. The underwiring snagged on her breasts, and the glossy fabric proved hard to pull off without doing an awkward wriggle, but she soon had the garment off. She tossed it aside without a care, clearing her throat and meeting Vox's eyes.
Vox ran his eyes over her, his cyan pupils dilating.
"...please tell me you haven't been put off sex forever" he said lasciviously.
"With you? Absolutely not. The whole time I was being raped, all I could think was how inferior their dicks were to yours" Velvette pretended to simper.
Vox rolled his eyes, and Velvette kept her blush to a minimum as she continued.
"...I'm only half-joking. You do have a fucking fantastic dick, Vox, and you know how to use it" Velvette said softly, before leaning back in mild alarm as Vox approached her, her back hitting the cool surface of the mirror.
Vox paused, holding his hands up like he was approaching a shying horse.
"I'm just getting you a new nightgown out of the dresser" he explained, and Velvette let out a minute sigh of relief.
"I'm not made of glass, you know" Velvette covered her anxiety with attitude as she crossed her legs under her, getting them out of the way so Vox could open a drawer and pull out a fresh nightgown. She took it, pulling it over her head before holding out her arms pitifully.
Vox smirked.
"You look adorable"
"You look like you're about to get my foot through your screen. Take me to bed" she demanded.
Vox pretended to salute, before picking her up under her arms like she was a child. He cradled her against himself, rubbing her back as he carried her back over to the bed.
Velvette was glad her head ended up being pressed against his lapels, because she knew her face was burning.
This is sick...
Vox lay her down in bed, tucking her in attentively and smoothing back her hair. Velvette smiled up at him, in spite of her embarrassment.
Vox sat down on the edge of her bed again, continuing to stroke back her hair with one hand while his other held her hand. The position they were in was comfortingly familiar by that point, and Velvette relaxed into her bed's heavenly softness.
"Go right ahead, Daddy, continue the story" Velvette said.
Vox choked on thin air, before continuing.
"Alright, alright. So, there I was, buried under a dozen angry rioters; I had no idea that we'd gained new allies until-"
"Heya Voxxy! You look like shit" Angel said cheerfully as Rosie dragged The TV Demon out from under a pile of recently exterminated Sinners.
Vox had certainly seen better days, the cracks on his screen had spread and spider-webbed out to the corners of his display, his lovely new tuxedo was now completely ruined and soaked with blood, and his antennae were crackling in a particularly concerning way. He sneered at Rosie as she cheerfully brushed down his shoulders.
"Vox, darling. It's so nice to be on your side again, after so long" she said, pinching the side of his screen affectionately.
Vox didn't share her jubilation.
"What the fuck are you playing at?" he said "Where's Vel and Val?"
"We'll be getting to them next, my dear, sparky old friend!" said Rosie cheerfully "The other Cannibals and I had a change of heart. We're on your side, now"
Vox narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. Look around you! We saved your flat little behind, and I'd appreciate some more gratitude, young man!" Rosie motioned around herself.
The room was slowly but steadily starting to clear out, throngs of angry rioters being methodically replaced with piles of bodies as Cannibal Town showed just why they weren't a force to be fucked with.
Vox looked around himself, his skepticism slowly ebbing away.
"What changed your mind?" he finally asked, still suspicious "You were practically soaking your knickers thinking about killing us"
"She did" Rosie pointed.
In a newly-cleared corner of the room, Katie Killjoy was huddled in the corner, clutching her blazer closed around herself and weeping. Angel stared at her, before his eyes flicked down and he gasped in shock.
Blood was running down the anchor's long legs, pooling around her heels and-
"Skip. Skip. Skipskipskip-" Velvette started pleading, holding her hands over her ears and squeezing her eyes shut "Why the fuck did you think I wanted to hear about that?!"
Vox moved his hand up Velvette's arm, rubbing her forearm comfortingly.
"Oh, darling..."
"Fuck you!" Velvette snapped.
The room fell quiet, and Velvette's shoulders shook as she struggled against the urge to cry.
The silence was only broken as a ding! sound went off from Vox's speakers. Velvette opened her eyes in time to see a tiny lightbulb flash on his screen.
She snorted.
Vox's nature as a Sinner meant that Looney Tunes sound effects liked to follow him around. It was goofy, but Velvette also found it endearing.
Clearly, he'd just worked out a way to cheer her up.
"You don't have your rings, or your bracelet" he said, standing up.
Velvette looked down at her bare left hand.
"Huh. I don't"
"You must feel so naked without them. They were put aside for safekeeping. Hang on" Vox approached the dresser again, digging around in another drawer before turning to face her with a triumphant grin, holding Velvette's rings and bracelet in one hand.
Velvette held her arm out, wriggling her fingers as she looked up at the ceiling.
"To recap: Katie Killjoy and I both got flipped inside out and the Cannibals turned the tide of the battle, what next?" she asked, not bothering to watch as Vox reverently knelt by the bed and returned her bracelet to her wrist, slipping the rings back onto her finger.
Vox made his way back into Val's studio by punching an unfortunate Imp so hard that his entire face collapsed around his clawed fist, blood splattering everywhere.
"VALENTINO! VELVETTE!" Vox screamed, shoving the Imp's body aside and running into the studio.
Angel was too preoccupied to follow him in, staring numbly at Katie Killjoy as the few rioters left behind were swiftly dispatched by a motley crew of cannibals and those few remaining Vees loyalists.
He was completely terrified for Velvette's safety, and he sort-of cared about Val's too (okay, he cared a lot), but unfortunately his kindness was his undoing. No matter how apathetic he tried to act, he gave a shit. The same empathy that had caused him to befriend Velvette was now causing him to slowly start walking towards his least favorite television host.
Vox was running to Velvette's and Valentino's rescue, but nobody was coming for 666 News's abrasive anchor.
Katie Killjoy had slumped against the far corner of the room; her arms wrapped around her legs as she trembled.
As far as Angel could see, nobody was approaching her, and nobody seemed to care about her. Not even Rosie, who'd been so appalled at her rape that she'd switched sides.
Angel Dust fucking hated Katie Killjoy, most of Hell did. Even her own co-anchor despised her. The animosity was for good reason, too. If you looked up a certain word that rhymed with shunt in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of Katie Killjoy next to it.
...but he couldn't just walk away and leave her crying and bleeding on the floor. Not when he knew what that felt like, and not when he knew from Velvette what it felt like for such a proud woman to be dragged down into the filth like that.
He kept walking across the room, crouching down when he was about a foot away from her.
"Um..."
It had been easier to talk to Velvette, back before they became friends. Sure, Velvette was also a rhymes-with-shunt of the highest degree, but she was far more likable than Katie Killjoy.
Or maybe Velvette's British accent just softened her mean-spirited nature, while Killjoy's voice grated. It was hard to tell.
"Hey... Katie..." Angel said awkwardly.
Katie Killjoy stiffened, her neck snapping up with a crack that made Angel wince.
"Fuck off" she snarled.
Angel narrowed his eyes.
"Wow. Fuck me for giving a shit" he said, feeling his sympathy slowly start to ebb away.
"I'm not that simpering little whore that Vox and Valentino like to fuck, you can't just swoop in while I'm vulnerable and undermine me like you did her!" Katie snarled "Stay away from me!"
Angel shot her an unimpressed look.
"Undermine?" he said flatly.
"You heard me. You hate that little bitch, you just cozied up to her while she was vulnerable so you could claw your way up to a better position in Hell. I'm not judging you for it, it's the smart thing to do, but don't you fucking dare try and pull that shit on me"
Angel set his mouth into a flat line.
"Just because you're a heartless bitch doesn't mean everyone is. Do you want my help or not? Because I'll happily leave you here, I've got way better things to do" he said "...and anyway, why the fuck would I need to use you to improve my position? I'm already an Overlord, and a Vee. I'm your fucking boss, moron"
Katie glowered at him, before she slumped slightly, looking defeated. Angel's logic had triumphed over her own acerbic nature, and she obviously needed help.
"...I just want to sit down somewhere that's not the floor" she finally admitted, her voice softer than he'd ever heard it be before.
Angel nodded, before offering Katie one of his hands and standing up. Katie took his hand, her manicured grip worryingly weak. He ended up having to drag her to her feet, quickly supporting her with three of his four arms.
"Come on, lean against me. I'll find her majesty a throne" he said.
Katie didn't say anything, she just leaned against Angel and let herself be escorted out of the storage room and towards Valentino's studio.
It was the only place Angel could think to go. The riot was clearing out faster than Angel could walk towards it, and at the very least he could let Katie rest in his dressing room.
As they neared the studio, they gingerly stepped over the corpse of Melissa, lying on the ground with an Angelic Steel dagger through her head.
Poor Melissa...
"-so I threw him across the room and- oh, by the way, Melissa's dead. I'm sorry, I know she was a good assistant" Vox said casually, interrupting a suspiciously self-serving narrative that made him sound like a cross between Rambo and Superman to drop that little nugget of information.
Velvette sighed.
...and just as I was trying to be nicer to her, too. She'll never know what a great person I really am.
"That's a pity... I'll have to find a new assistant. She was good, the other idiots will never be able to pick up the slack..." Velvette said, pouting a little bit.
"Anyway, where was I..."
Katie's heels skidded against the blood-soaked floor as Angel slowly led her back into Valentino's studio. The crowd was dispersing quickly, and Angel had no obstacles in his way as he looked around himself, examining the faces in the fleeing crowd. He jolted as someone called his name.
"Angel! Thank Lucifer, I thought you were dead, Katie!"
It was Tom Trench, bruised and bloodied with his gas mask covered in scratches. He ran towards them with his arms outstretched.
Katie Killjoy pulled away from Angel and took a few steps towards her co-anchor, who held his arms out even wider. It was amazing how emotive a gas mask could be. Tom Trench looked more like a lost dog that had just found his owner than anything else.
Angel looked around briefly for snowflakes as Katie gracelessly collapsed into Tom's arms, sobbing. But there were no snowflakes to be seen, there was just Katie and Tom, holding onto each other as they wept into each other's shoulders.
"Ooookay... I'm just... I'll just be..." Angel jerked his thumb behind himself as he stepped away, letting Tom usher Katie over to a miraculously intact sofa as the crowded room continued to steadily thin out.
With Katie Killjoy in safe hands, Angel looked around anxiously for Velvette. But that was when he heard-
"Oh? You think these are for fucking show? This is what Carmine sells these babies for, you worthless cunts!" Angel Dust would know that voice anywhere "I don't need to be an Overlord to fuck you up!"
"Val" he guided himself towards the source of the voice, shouldering past fleeing Sinners, Imps, Hellhounds, and every other scumbag that had participated in the riot as he did so. The tide had well and truly turned in The Vees' favor and the room was emptying out at a rapid pace, giving Angel a clear view of Val as he approached his former pimp.
Valentino had managed to get his hands on Money Shot, brandishing his beloved gun in one hand while his other three hands were holding shiny-new firearms that looked no less angelically lethal than Money Shot currently was, with its Angelic Steel-tipped bullets.
Angel stopped dead in his tracks as Valentino turned to look down at him.
Val was standing even taller than he normally did, holding four weapons that could easily end Angel's existence and revert the souls Angel had only just acquired back to their former owner in seconds.
Val grinned, but Angel would never know if his life was in danger, because someone else soon caught Val's attention.
"Like hell you will. Get out of my way, that's my wife!" Vox was loudly saying, and Valentino looked over the top of Angel's head, peering curiously at the scene before him.
"Muñequita?" he said, before wincing in pain as Angel pounced, using his multiple arms to none-too-gently disarm him "Angel, what the fuck?"
"Better safe than sorry" said Angel, holding onto Money Shot and the three other guns tightly, before using his upper set of arms to shove Val away from him. He turned, just as anxious as Val to see Velvette.
At first, he was confused by the scene before him. Vox and Carmilla Carmine were standing still, looking down at a puddle of red liquid with-
"I don't want to hear about what I looked like" Velvette said quickly.
"- I WILL FIND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES! YOU ARE DEAD! YOU ARE ALL FUCKING DEAD!"
As Vox stormed off, steam practically pouring out of his vents, Angel slowly approached Velvette. He felt numb from shock and horror, barely cognizant of the world around him as he stared at what remained of his friend.
"Velvette...?" he whispered, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper.
He was so laser-focused on Velvette that he actually let out a horrified shriek when Carmilla accepted a small handgun from Rosie and blew out Velvette's brains with a disturbingly casual air.
"What the fuck?!" he screamed, reflexively aiming all four of his newly acquired guns at her.
Carmilla lowered the handgun again, looking somewhere between rueful and irritated as she turned to glare at him.
"Put those away, you stupid little boy. I've spared Velvette an extremely painful and slow recovery. Any seasoned Overlord would understand" she said disdainfully.
Normally, Angel never would've believed her, not in a million years.
...but he could see the pain and the regret swimming in Carmine's eyes, and he knew that level of anguish was impossible to fake. So, slowly and carefully, he lowered his guns.
"I'm watching you" he said without any real heat, putting his guns away before pointing in Carmine's face with a trembling finger, walking around her so he could kneel down by Velvette's side.
His knees stuck to the bloodied floor, and he grimaced at the sensation. Even if Velvette was unconscious (for lack of a better word), Angel couldn't stop thinking about how uncomfortable she would be if she could feel all the filth that was currently soaking into her curls. Uncaring of the mess getting onto his new clothes, Angel slowly and carefully pulled what remained of Velvette's head onto his lap.
That was when he realized that she was naked, a layer of blood and he-wasn't-going-to-think-about-it all that shielded Velvette's modesty from Hell. He took off his jacket, doing his best to cover her with it.
After a few minutes, the silence broken only by Katie Killjoy's sobbing and hushed whispers that Angel couldn't be bothered trying to decipher, Vox returned. He was heralded by the sound of his shoes click, click, clicking against the bloodstained floor, causing Angel to look up before cowering slightly at the look on his face.
He looked angrier than Angel Dust had ever seen him look before, which was really saying something.
Vox stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Velvette, swallowing thickly before looking up at Carmilla.
"Your work?" he motioned towards Velvette, and Carmilla nodded "Thank-you"
Carmilla shot Angel a brief look, as if to say 'see?'
Vox looked back down at Velvette, tapping one of his clawed fingers against his 'mouth' thoughtfully.
"We'll clean her up, get her tucked into bed. It'll be like everything was a bad dream" he said, sounding slightly manic as he started pacing around the room.
Angel stroked back Velvette's hair, his heart breaking for her.
"...before the wedding, she told me that she didn't imagine she'd be getting married in Hell, in a rush, as a PR stunt. I bet she never imagined this. Poor Velvette..." he said, before frowning as Valentino laughed derisively, sauntering over to the group with his cigarette holder trailing pink smoke behind him.
"Ugh. 'Poor Velvette'. Does that bitch generate some sort of forcefield around her that makes everyone forget what a cunt she is? I love her, but I can still see what a piece of shit she is" he said "Look at you all, you'd think she got Angelic Steel in her pussy. She'll be fine, and hey! Maybe getting gangraped will make her a fucking angel, she could wake up in Heaven-"
Velvette burst out laughing, much to Vox's confusion.
"It's funny. He was right" she said, gesturing around herself.
Vox smiled too, in spite of the irritation in his eyes as he recounted Valentino's behavior.
"I didn't find it so funny at the time"
"Oh, Voxxy, what did you do?" Velvette smirked, already having a good idea of the answer.
"-come on, don't look at me like that. The little cunt's heart grew three sizes after I gave her a proper fu-" but Val didn't get to finish his sentence.
Angel Dust knew that Vox and Valentino didn't have a healthy relationship, but he never thought he'd see Vox beat the living daylights out of Valentino.
Vox moved so swiftly and so suddenly that nobody had a chance of stopping him. He launched himself at Valentino, propelled by a shower of sparks that skittered across the floor.
Valentino was too shocked to move, staring at Vox with his jaw hanging open and his cigarette holder held limply in his grasp. It fell to the ground with a clatter and a scattering of ash as Vox landed on top of him, knocking him to the blood-soaked floor and adding to the mess as he swiped Valentino across the face with his claws, blood splattering everywhere in a shower of freckle-like droplets.
Val snarled in anger and pain, trying to shove Vox off himself, but his efforts were to no avail. Even though Val was physically stronger than Vox, Vox now had the Overlord advantage. He kept Valentino pinned down through a combination of electric shocks and binding wires that snaked out of the edges of his suit, a malicious grin on his face as he continued to scrape deep gauges into his lover.
The few remaining people in Valentino's studio could only stop and stare. Everyone in the room was well aware that Vox and Valentino's relationship wasn't a fairytale but seeing the two men brawl like that in plain view was a whole different story.
(Personally, if he wasn't so worried about Velvette, Angel would've pulled up a chair and popped popcorn)
Finally, Carmilla had enough, gritting her fangs together as she strode towards the two men. She was easily able to drag Vox off Val, wrapping her arms around his waist and hoisting him into the air like he was a squabbling child.
"STOP IT!" she ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Vox tried and failed to wriggle free, snarling in heavily-distorted rage before he finally simmered down, his screen dimming as he slumped in Carmilla's arms.
Carmilla sneered down at him, shooting Valentino a look of pure loathing as she kept her arms locked around Vox's waist.
"Do you really think this is helpful? You're acting like children, and you're both grown men a dozen times over!" she snarled, dumping Vox onto the floor so hard that he crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes, gesticulating towards Velvette "She doesn't need this! Valentino, you're not an Overlord anymore, you will learn respect and humility. Vox, sheathe you claws or I'll clip them off"
Angel snickered at the affronted look on Valentino's face, sticking his tongue out when Valentino glared at him.
"Thanks for the help, you useless fucking whore" Val spat.
"You're the useless whore now, slut" Angel taunted.
Vox glowered up at Carmilla, before he waved one of his bloodied hands at her with a sardonic expression on his screen.
"I can't sheath these, you stupid fucking bitch"
Carmilla curled her lip.
"Watch it, Vox. You're on extremely thin ice"
"Better me than you, your fat ass would break through pack ice, you overgrown fucking whale-"
"Oh my God! Vox!" Velvette giggled "I can't believe you said that!"
Carmilla just raised a brow, looking unamused.
"I'm sure Velvette will be delighted to hear that you refer to other women in such a charming way" she said coldly.
"Velvette's never been a girl's girl, or a bra-burner, she'll probably just laugh it off" Vox said with an eyeroll.
"You're a pig" said Carmilla, watching through narrowed eyes as Vox got to his feet, brushing himself down.
"Pigs are smart, and loyal, I'll take that as a compliment" Vox sneered.
"Eres un dolor en el culo" Carmilla muttered under her breath.
Valentino staggered back up to his own intimidating height, leaning against an upturned piano and sticking a cigarette in his mouth, lighting it as he waved vaguely in Carmilla's direction.
"No te quejarías si Velvette fuera un dolor de cabeza" he said, gesturing towards Velvette "Es sumisa, pero sin duda sabe usar un consolador. Pruébalo alguna vez. Lucifer sabe que no es ninguna mojigata; mira todas las pollas que se ha follado"
Carmilla looked homicidal with rage, while Vox rounded on Valentino, pointing threateningly at him.
"¡No intentes esconderte detrás de la barrera del idioma conmigo, Victorino!" he snarled "Say one more word about Velvette and I'll rip your cock off and feed it to you, am I understood?!"
Valentino glared, taking a long drag of his cigarette before blowing smoke in Vox's direction.
"...maybe it's lucky we were interrupted, I was very close to getting the gelding sheers" Vox admitted, making Velvette giggle again.
"Uh... hi?" spoke a newcomer, their voice uncertain and unfamiliar.
Everyone assembled in Valentino's studio turned, including Angel.
As they saw the newcomer, standing in the doorway of Valentino's den of sin, a strange ripple went through the assembled Sinners. Everyone clearly wanted to grab their weapons, but at the same time, they were all wary to do so.
After all, it wasn't every day that an Angel wandered into Hell's most infamous porn studio.
The uninvited and heavenly guest smiled awkwardly as she stepped into the bloodied and brutalized studio, taking a calming breath before speaking again, obviously nervous and out-of-her-element.
"So. Um. Hi. My name is Emily. It's really nice to meet everyone here. I've... never been to Hell before. So this is exciting!" the angel said, fiddling with the edges of her gloves as she looked around "Um. So. This is... interesting. Is this a... studio? Or a church? What happened here, was there a... party?"
The Sinners exchanged looks. In the blink of an eye, they had gone from an extremely disparate force to united against the Heavenly invader.
No matter how chipper and sweet the Heavenly invader seemed.
"It's none of your business, angel. Who are you?" Carmilla said, her tone clipped and cold.
"You know who I am, Carmine!" Angel said with a theatrical pout, earning himself a withering glare of disapproval from the older Overlord.
With a tittering laugh, the angel answered Carmilla's question.
"My name is Emily, I'm a seraphim"
"Great start. Now tell me, Emily The Seraphim, what the fuck are you doing in Hell?" Vox asked, smoothly taking a few steps until he was blocking Velvette from Emily's sight. Angel followed his cue, carefully resting Velvette's head on the ground before standing to hover beside Vox.
There was no need for Heaven to know about Velvette's misfortune.
"We don't normally see your kind down here, not unless they're trying to kill us" Carmilla said, suspicious and clearly on her guard.
Angel frowned, looking closely at Emily. Her name had rung a bell, and it took several seconds for him to realize why.
"I know you! Well, I know of you. You met Charlie and Vaggie when they were up in Heaven pleading our case, right?" he said.
Emily's eyes widened with delight, and she took several steps towards Angel.
"Yes! Yes, that's me! I'm so happy to meet you, Angel. Charlie told me- and showed me- so much about you!"
"All good stuff, I hope?"
Emily's smile became slightly frozen.
"Well... she thinks you're great!" she said enthusiastically.
"I'm sure she did, back then. But it's kinda ancient history now. Toots and I aren't really on speaking terms anymore" Angel admitted.
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that" Emily said, looking genuinely crestfallen.
"Who gives a shit about your friendship breakup, Angel?! What's going on, Emily?" Vox spat, frustrated and glaring at the seraphim.
"Right! Yes" Emily cleared her throat "Lucifer Morningstar is currently on trial in Heaven, and I have been sent down here to collect three key witnesses to give testimony. I was reliably informed that this is their..."
Emily looked around the trashed studio.
"...abode" she finished, clearly doing her best not to look too judgmental.
Angel knew from what Charlie had told him that Emily was a sweetheart, but he didn't blame her in the slightest for being taken aback by Hell. Especially by Val's studio. Especially by the condition it was currently in.
Valentino didn't share his charitable sentiment, he curled his lip, folding both sets of arms.
"We can't all live on a fluffy cloud, and there was just a fucking riot in here, wipe that look off your face. You're acting like we're living in a pigsty down here, perra tonta!"
As if on cue, that was when Eelijah slowly opened the door to Angel's dressing room, allowing Fat Nuggets to trot out into the studio while the long-suffering assistant peered out with a terrified look on his face.
"Is it over?" he asked in a terrified whisper.
"Oh, look who it is, Sir Lancelot" Vox spat venomously "You can come out, coward, the danger's passed"
Looking ashamed of himself, Eelijah crept out into the studio, hanging his head.
"Fat Nuggets!" Angel said, running over to his pet with his arms outstretched, dropping down onto the ground and scooping the little pig up into his arms "I was so worried about you!"
"...okay, asides from Angel's weird fucking taste in pets, we're not living in a pigsty!" Valentino said, seemingly developing amnesia as to who gave Angel his pet in the first place.
Emily looked slightly ashamed of herself.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be judgy! I'm just... this is all really new for me" she tried to explain herself, before pulling a tiny list out of her pocket and reading it hurriedly, her eyes scanning across the page as she chewed on her lower lip "Would... Vox, Valentino, and Velvette please identify themselves?"
Vox's screen glitched, and he glanced at Valentino, who looked no less alarmed.
"I promise, we're not angry with you three. We just want to talk... uh... you're Valentino, right? I saw you, ages ago, you were at a club and... you weren't being very nice to this one" Emily's smile turned into a frown as she glanced at Angel "No. You weren't being very nice at all"
"Oh no, was the mean old demonio not being very nice? Did I upset your angelic sensibilities?" Val sneered "Yeah, I'm Val. This fucker here is Vox"
Vox glared as Valentino pointed at him.
"Well thanks for giving me up so easily, you fucker. Are you secretly French or something?"
"No, he's not French" said Emily matter-of-factly, before continuing "Okay, great start! Where's Velvette?"
"Fuck you. You can stay the fuck away from her" Vox snarled, glaring down at Emily, his eye spinning behind his cracked screen.
But his powers had no effect on her; she just smiled apologetically up at him.
"I promise, we mean you no harm"
"Fuck. Off" Vox said, taking a step towards Emily and flexing his claws dangerously "Don't make me hurt you, you jumped up little-"
In the blink of an eye, Vox had been thrown across the room, slamming against the wall and sliding to the ground with a whine of pain. A Vox-shaped imprint was left in the wall of the studio, and his screen looked even more cracked as he gingerly touched the side of his head, looking dazed.
Valentino winced, before taking an alarmed step back as Emily turned to him.
"Velvette!" he pointed at the gory mess on the floor without hesitation "That's Velvette"
"Coward" said Angel, petting Fat Nuggets' head as he glowered at Val.
Emily approached the Velvette-shaped mess on the ground, looking confused.
That was when realization crossed her adorable features, and she went an alarming shade of green.
"You know, I'd never seen an angel throw up before. You experience new things every day, don't you?" Vox said, while Velvette snickered.
Emily wiped her mouth, slowly turning back to the assembled Sinners. Vox had managed to get to his feet again, and he limped back to Velvette's side with impressive speed for someone who'd just been slammed into the wall, standing in front of her again.
"She's not going anywhere. She's suffered enough because of Lucifer fucking Morningstar" he said "You're not dragging her back into his bullshit, not now, not after what happened"
Emily's expression was soft and sympathetic; Angel was more and more reminded of Charlie by the second.
"What happened here? What happened to her?"
"My wife was gangraped on her wedding day, that's what happened. So if you'll excuse me, and my coward of a boyfriend, we'd prefer to stay home and care for the woman we love"
Valentino glanced briefly at Vox, something between surprise and remorse flitting over his face as Vox referred to him as 'my boyfriend'.
Emily looked appalled, looking back down at the blood on the floor before meeting Vox's eyes again.
"Vox, we can help her in Heaven. It's the best place to be. She can rest, and recover, and it'll be like none of this ever happened" she said.
Out of nowhere, Valentino regrew his spine, glowering at Emily.
"Fuck off. We're staying here. This is our home, no matter what the scum of Pride tries to do to us. If they couldn't drag us away, some cunt with wings can't" he said, pulling another cigarette holder from his ruff and slipping it into his mouth.
"That's not a very nice word, Valentino. But you're not a very nice man, are you? I know what you are, I know what you'll always be" Emily said with surprising darkness.
Vox sneered on behalf of his lover, while Valentino simmered with rage, his hands shaking as he put a cigarette into the holder and patted himself down for a lighter. Normally, Angel Dust would've been trying to put as much distance between himself and the pimp as he could.
But circumstances had changed. He had nothing to fear from Val, not anymore.
"Val, don't embarrass us in front of Heavenly company" Angel said patronizingly, scratching Fat Nuggets' head.
"Fuck y-" Val started to say, before catching himself, seething even more as he produced a lighter from his pocket and lit his cigarette.
He glowered at Angel with nothing less than homicidal rage, blowing a heart-shaped smoke ring in the spider's direction.
"Fuck you" he turned back to Emily.
"...please. I know you must all distrust Heaven, but we mean you no harm. All we need is for you three to come give testimony..." Emily hesitated "...and maybe... we need to run a few tests..."
She looked sheepish, cringing as Val laughed scornfully.
"HA! I knew it. This is just a ploy to get us up there so they can fuck us, and not in a fun way"
"Angel Goes To Heaven was a best-seller" Angel Dust commented "Some of my finest work"
Emily sighed, before looking at Vox pleadingly.
"Don't you want her to wake up with the sun on her face? Just this one time? We can give her a reprieve that she will never have in Hell" she cajoled, sounding desperate.
Clearly, Emily wanted to impress someone upstairs.
Vox went to say something, before his expression cleared and he looked thoughtfully down at Velvette.
"...the sun?" he said, looking back at Emily.
"The sun. Real sunshine! Imagine it! She can sunbathe, and ride unicorns, and sleep on a cloud- whatever you want. It'll be like the best holiday ever! Just for her!"
"The fuck am I? Chopped liver?" Val commented to Angel, who nodded in agreement with a malicious grin "Oh fuck you"
Vox slowly looked back down at Velvette.
"...you'd look so beautiful in the sun..." he whispered to himself, audible only to the Sinners around him.
Carmilla, who'd stayed quiet for most of the discussion, cleared her throat.
"Vox... I trust Heaven as much as you do... but if there's even a chance that you can give Velvette that sort of reprieve..."
Velvette turned her head at an impossible angle, staring at Vox, speechless with shock.
"...I love you, Velvette. After what you went through, I just wanted you to wake up somewhere better than Hell" Vox finally said.
"You fucking idiot! You got us all trapped in Heaven! Who knows what they're really planning!" Velvette snapped, even as she made no motion to pull away from Vox.
"I know, darling, I know. Lucifer only knows what'll happen to us... I just couldn't stand the thought of you waking up under the pentagram moon again. I just wanted to give you some sunlight. Just this once"
Velvette narrowed her eyes.
"I know that if the positions were reversed-" Vox started to say.
"If you were lying on the floor with your ass flipped inside out and a hole in your head? I'd have told Saint Emily to get fucked" Velvette said "We've got plenty of sunlight in The Pride Ring. We've got red, slightly lighter red, and slightly darker red. It's practically a whole bloody rainbow. I would've been peachy"
Vox smiled affectionately at her.
"...good point. Pride's 'sunlight' is really flattering on you. I didn't realize how old you looked- ow! Ow! Fuck! Velvette!" he cried out as Velvette grabbed his hand and bit it, hard. She only relented when Vox finally squeaked out "I'm sorry!"
Velvette let go, giggling.
"I love you, Vox" she said, licking her lips and savoring the battery-like tang of Vox's blood.
Cradling his bleeding hand, Vox smiled affectionately down at her.
"I love you too" he said, no less sincere in his affection than he had been before Velvette had bitten him.
That was when the door slammed open, causing Vox and Velvette to jolt, sitting up in alarm.
The sight that greeted them was no less alarming, and Velvette felt Vox drag her into his arms protectively.
But there was nothing that could protect Velvette from who just walked through the door, splattered with ichor and with a broken handcuff dangling off one wrist.
Velvette's blood turned to ice in her veins as she stared in shock and horror at Lucifer Morningstar. His clothes were torn and bloodied, and he had a manic glint in his eyes that made her shrink even further back into her husband's embrace.
For whatever reason, Lucifer was holding a pill-bottle in one hand. He rattled it as he stepped into the room, slamming the door shut behind himself and grinning a rictus grin that his boyfriend would've been proud of as he faced the two cowering Sinners on the bed.
"Sorry for the sudden interruption!" he said with forced cheer "Hi, honey! You look great, sorry I missed the wedding"
"Stay the fuck away from her!" Vox snarled.
Velvette was too terrified to move, frozen as Lucifer walked slowly and deliberately towards their bed.
"Oh, Vox, don't worry your sparky little head. I'm not going to hurt Velvette, why would I hurt the woman who's carrying my baby?"
Velvette cringed, not daring to look at Vox as she felt his grip on her freeze in shock. Her scalp tingled as he angled his screen down to stare at her.
That was when Velvette noticed Lucifer's choice of words.
"Your baby?" she said "What the fuck?"
"Your baby, Velvette. Didn't you get my message, or were you too busy playing Daddy's Little Princess to pay attention?" Lucifer sneered.
Velvette felt herself go scarlet, but she held her head up as she wrapped her arms around Vox's, leaning back into his embrace.
"Yeah. I got the message. The fuck do you mean, your baby? It's our baby, mine and Vox's"
"What?" Vox said, his voice little more than a shocked gasp.
Lucifer's expression flickered, before it softened, his tone more sympathetic when he spoke again.
"...no, Velvette. I mean my baby... actually, it's not really a baby at all. It's an abomination, and we need to get rid of it before it can grow any stronger"
Holding up the bottle of pills with a twisted grin, Lucifer shrugged apologetically, taking another step towards the bed.
"What the fuck are those?" Velvette asked, shrinking back more into Vox's grip, her courage evaporating like a snowball in Hell.
"I'll explain everything later, just lie down and say ahh. This won't hurt a bit..."
To Be Continued...
Notes:
Author's Notes:
1. Does the weird red light of The Pride Ring feel like sunlight on the skin? For the purposes of this fic, no.
2. Heaven slightly bores me, so I've put... minimal effort into learning more about the existing Heaven canon in the Hellaverse. However, I will do proper research for ~*SPOILERS*~ later on in the AU.
3. His/Her Majesty's Prison Holloway was the largest women's prison in England prior to it's closure in 2016. It's where suffragettes like Emmeline Pankhurst were held.
4. I feel I should mention that if someone is having a hysterical fit, slapping them isn't actually a good idea. Vox is just very old-fashioned (as little as he'd like to admit it).
5. Apparently Vel's hair is red and blue. I was shocked too.
6. Why yes, Vox's Heaven outfit is based off his Pride 2025 outfit! Because us Bisexuals are ~*heavenly*~ 🩷💜💙
7. One thing I always fret about is Velvette's characterization in this. I try and stay true to what little of her we've seen in canon, while also staying true to the fanon I've made up for her, while also staying true to the condition I think she'd be in after everything she'd been through. Any and all feedback re: Lepidopterophobia!Vel is always welcome.
8. Insert the usual "blah blah blah I haven't seen Helluva Boss blah blah blah tell me if I got something wrong". I'm treating Valentino's old Voxstagram-era habit of arguing with Stolas online as canon.
9. I can only apologize for how uncomfortable Velvette's Daddy Kink has gotten.
10. Whether or not Vox has 'used' Angel's services, I would bet good money that he finds Valentino's favorite starlet hot.
11. To be clear, Velvette is not a great person, she's just being a narcissist. Anyway, RIP Melissa, I'm sure Canon!You is a completely different kettle of fish to what I had going on here.
12. If any Spanish speakers are reading this, I can only apologize...
13. ...I would also like to apologize to the people of France.
14. "Say ahh" is an in-joke I have with one specific person. If you ever make it this far, hey boo 😘...Stay tuned...
-Jesse xx
Chapter 25: One Thing I'm Startin' To Suspect Is
Notes:
Holy guacamole, this chapter was a B E A S T to finish.
Just a heads-up, this chapter is two things: mostly flashback, and mostly porn. But hey, at least Velvette gets to have a good time! (...for the most part)
ALSO! Are we all hyped for Season Two of Hazbin Hotel or WHAT?!?!?! As I've mentioned on my blog, once the season finishes airing I'm actually going to go through this entire fic and do some editing, so I can keep my silly little au at least somewhat grounded in canon.Content Warning: This chapter contains homophobic language, a brief reference to eating disorders and self-harm, and explicit discussions of pregnancy loss and abortion.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
You could say a lot of uncharitable (and true) things about The Vees.
You could say that Valentino was a nymphomaniac, a violently abusive rapist, dangerously possessive, and kind of a fucking moron.
You could say that Vox was manipulative, egotistical, obsessive, and a snake-oil salesman.
You could say that Velvette was bitchy, narcissistic, disrespectful, and a pillow princess.
But nobody in their right mind would even imagine saying that The Vees couldn't sing. Music was highly regarded in Hell, thanks to Lilith's own passion for it, and everyone who's anyone in The Seven Rings could carry a tune. The Vees were no exception.
At the height of her influencer fame, Velvette had released a single that had charted quite well for a lazy and heavily autotuned cash-grab. She was also quite confident in her ability to sing without electronic assistance, having once made Eelijah get all misty-eyed when he overheard her singing Nothing Compares 2 U while putting the final stitches on a corset for Val.
Vox and Valentino, meanwhile, could sing like a pair of demonic canaries. Velvette wasn't sure if it was a skill carried on from their lives, or if they'd learned it while in Hell, but they could sing and there was no sound in Hell that Velvette loved more than the sound of them harmonizing.
(Alright, she was also pretty fond of the Notification Alert sound on Sinstagram)
So it was no surprise that while Vox and Valentino had spun each other around Valentino's penthouse while singing happily, jubilating in The Hazbin Hotel being torn apart like Angel Dust's asshole after a forty-eight-hour shift in Val's studio, Velvette had been content to sit on the sofa while filming their antics on her phone.
However, watching them soon gave Velvette a familiar itch, and it wasn't long until she couldn't stand staying in t he metaphorical bleachers. She moved quickly, popping up in-between Vox and Valentino while grinning up at them so widely that her cheeks hurt.
Vox and Valentino returned her smile, wrapping their arms around her without hesitation before bending down so that they were all roughly at eye-level with each other.
“The future of Hell belongs to The Vees…” Vox and Valentino finished, before all three Overlords started laughing with diabolical glee.
Alastor had very publicly had his flat ass handed to him, and The Antithetical-To-Everything-The-Vees-Had-Worked-So-Hard-For Hotel was still standing, but only by the grace of Lucifer.
Princess Morningstar's Daddy only had so much patience when it came to cleaning up his daughter's messes. How long until he gave up on her ridiculous little pet project?
Not to mention, even if redemption was the stupidest fucking idea a Morningstar had come up with since "just eat the apple. It'll be fine", it was now as clear as day that something had changed in the status quo of Heaven and Hell. Hell had stood up to Heaven's Exorcists, and won.
Celebration was ringing out across The Pride Ring, if not across all of Hell, and Pentagram City was gripped by upheaval and uncertainty. The whole Ring was ripe for a power grab, the sort that made Velvette a little weak in the knees to think about. The future of Hell...
Well. Like Vox and Val had said, if they played their cards right, it could belong to The Vees.
A thousand diabolical plans were running through The Vees' minds, and now was the perfect time to start plotting...
...however, it was also the perfect time to engage in a little celebratory fun.
Vox might've been averse to PDA, but behind closed doors he was capable of being as much of a sex pest as Valentino. Velvette could see a sizable erection straining against Vox's fly, and she wasn't surprised at all when he let go of her and pounced on Valentino, making out with the taller man like he was dying of thirst and Valentino was a gallon jug of sweet tea.
(Or whatever the fuck a middle-aged man from the Fifties would drink that wasn't just alcohol. Vox rarely drank anything that wasn't booze; Velvette would be worried if he wasn't already dead)
Velvette felt herself salivate at the sight of Valentino's manicured claws squeezing Vox's backside through his elegantly-tailored trousers, their erections rubbing together as they made out. Not wanting such an erotic sight to go to waste, she stepped away from the love fest before playfully snapping a selfie, making sure that she got the lovebirds in the background.
Drool was starting to smear over Vox's screen and drip onto Val's ruff, their freakishly large tongues intertwining like writhing snakes. Velvette felt the warm heat of desire rush through her, but she stayed composed as she opened Sinstagram and started to compose a caption for the creepshot.
She nearly dropped her phone when Valentino's hand grabbed the back of her dress and yanked her over. She found herself leaning backwards, her phone still in her hands as she looked innocently up at her boyfriends, now grinning down at her.
“Do you need something, fuckers?”
"Post that and you won't be able to sit comfortably for a month" Vox said with a digital wink, his screen glossy with pinkish saliva.
"But it'll get me so many likes, Voxxy. Everyone wants to see the big bad TV Demon getting nasty" she said, smirking.
Valentino grabbed her phone and tossed it onto the sofa without a word, and both men laughed at the spitting cat noise Velvette made.
"My phone!"
"If it's broken, I'll buy you a new one" Vox said "Now relax and take your clothes off, we're celebrating"
Velvette simply conjured her phone back into her hands, smirking up at Vox as she waved the device in his face.
"Overlord powers, bitch"
Vox grinned a little wider.
Velvette could only gasp in horror as her phone died in her hands with a spark and a sad whining noise.
Vox leaned down, his screen warming her face with the hum of static.
"That's cute. I have Overlord powers too, bitch"
"Call me a bitch again and I'll neuter you" Velvette threatened, tossing aside her broken phone as she glared without any venom up at Vox.
"Can you two stop bickering like sorority girls and take your fucking clothes off?" Val whined, unfolding his wings from around himself to reveal the lingerie he was wearing underneath. His erection strained against a lacy pair of black panties, the gusset already damp with pre-cum.
Velvette straightened up Vox's bowtie, her doll-like articulation allowing her to reach him while Valentino still held onto the back of her dress. Vox's grin softened into a smile, and he cupped his own erection through his trousers with a groan.
"Fuck... did you see Alastor fucking whine in pain? Fuck" he said, squeezing himself, before shooting Velvette a brief look "You were fidgeting a lot, darling. Did you see something you liked?"
Lucifer. Lucifer. Lucifer. Lucifer. Oh my God Lucifer.
"It was nice seeing that stupid hotel get it's shit wrecked" Velvette smiled sweetly, and Vox grinned in a way that made her uneasy.
"You know, it was nice seeing our king out and about. He's been so reclusive since his wife left. Do you remember Lilith, Valentino? God, she was hot. So tall, and elegant, and built like a real woman. But I prefer pretty dolls" said Vox with a lascivious note to his voice "The King of Hell is a pretty doll; his type isn't going to be himself"
You fucker.
"Oh, I don't know Vox. He is the Sin of Pride after all" Velvette kept the sweet smile on her face.
She knew what Vox was doing, dissuading Velvette from her crush on Lucifer, while building himself up as a better object of lust. It was adorably insecure and pathetic.
It was also hypocritical; Velvette hadn't been the only one drooling when Lucifer showed up in his snazzy little battle outfit.
"...I don't know what the fuck is going on here, but it's boring. Come on, I'm horny, let's start humping!" Val whined "Muñequita, ven aquí que te haré tener un orgasmo..."
Velvette hummed and pulled herself out of Val's grip, taking a few steps away and crossing her arms, feigning uncertainty.
"I don't know, boys. I did clearly hear you two say "that leaves room for you and me". You weren't talking about "you and me and Velvette"" even as she spoke, she pulled down the neckline of her dress to expose one of her breasts, running her thumb along her nipple "I can keep myself occupied"
Vox's antennae sparked, and Valentino chuckled. Valentino's voice was quite sonorous at times, and his derisive laugh washed over Velvette like a wave. He sauntered towards her, and Velvette only had a split-second to wonder how someone as thuggish as Val was capable of sashaying around so delicately, before Valentino was bending down until he was practically nose-to-nose with her.
Velvette smirked cockily at Valentino, not even flinching when he suddenly let his freakishly long tongue loll out of his mouth and run along her cheek.
The aphrodisiac spittle stung her skin, but Velvette just smiled.
Finally, Valentino rolled his tongue back into his mouth and spoke.
"La princesita de papá... be a good girl and get on your knees" Valentino said, and Velvette stuck her much smaller tongue out at him.
"Fuck off, mate. The only sort of princess I am is a pillow princess" she said, not paying attention to what Vox was doing.
Big mistake. Huge.
Velvette shrieked when Vox's clawed hands suddenly grabbed her waist and forcibly turned her around to face him, revealing that he was kneeling before her with a toothy grin filling the bottom of his screen. The height difference between them meant that even kneeling, Vox's screen was level with Velvette's torso and not anywhere more interesting.
But Vox was a very good businessman, and he could adapt in the face of adversity.
One of Velvette's breasts was still exposed, and Vox didn't hesitate to let his own unnaturally large tongue slither out and run over it, static buzzing against Velvette's nipple and making her moan. He used his claws to rip the bodice of her dress open-
"VOX!" she screamed, making Valentino chuckle as he knelt down behind her and started to undo the back of her dress.
-before lavishing sparky attention on both of her breasts.
Velvette could feel heat continue to curl inside her, making her moan and melt into her lovers' embraces. Valentino finished undoing her dress, shimmying it down her body while Vox used his claws to rip off her stockings-
"VOX I SWEAR TO GOD"
-before more carefully pulling off her shoes.
Breathless with arousal and over-stimulation, Velvette watched Vox's bent antennae twitch as he stood up and tossed her clothes aside without a care. She would've complained about her precious clothes being treated so blithely, but truth be told tossed aside without a care was how most of her clothes ended up at the end of the day.
Vox turned back to Velvette, leering down at her, and Velvette couldn't help but feel very naked as his digital eyes ran over her naked body.
She glanced to the side, quirking a brow at the sight of the very large and very public windows just a few feet away from them.
"I'm surprised, this is pretty public for you, Vox" she said breathlessly "You're the biggest fucking prude I've ever met. Your screen was red for hours after Val slapped your ass during- oooooh!"
While Velvette had been talking, Vox had knelt back down again before striking while she was mid-sentence, tilting his screen at an uncomfortable-looking angle before slipping his large and buzzing tongue inside Velvette without any warning.
Velvette made a noise she would never admit to in a thousand years, her hips bucking and her entire body shaking as Vox pushed his tongue deeper and deeper inside her. Moaning indecipherable noises of pleasure, Velvette felt full in all the right ways, and she couldn't help but make more embarrassing noises as her legs kicked involuntarily.
"Mm... you sound like a star, querida. I'd make a fortune off you..." Valentino purred into her ear, kissing her cheek before scooping up her legs with his lower set of arms, helping her wrap her thighs around Vox's screen while his upper set of arms groped her roughly.
Despite the bruising way he was feeling her up Velvette was grateful for Valentino's multiple arms, if it wasn't for him, she would've collapsed into an over-aroused puddle on the floor.
As Velvette continued to moan in incoherent desire, Val leaned over and slipped his tongue into her mouth, sending aphrodisiac drool down her throat.
"The windows are tinted" he whispered as Velvette's vision went pleasantly hazy and pink...
Velvette whined, her backside rubbing up against the (tinted) windows with a rhythmic squeak, squeak, squeak as Valentino held her up with both sets of arms while he fucked her.
Valentino hadn't even waited for Velvette to recover from the orgasms (she'd counted at least two) that Vox's tongue had given her before he'd scooped her up and pinned her against the glass. Velvette had put up a token resistance-
"Oh no, don't fuck me with your monster cock!" she'd simpered.
-but Valentino had just snickered, and Velvette had seen stars as a just right amount of Valentino's length was pushed into her with no resistance.
While Val fucked her, Vox stood on a footstool behind his much taller boyfriend. His screen was smeared with Valentino's saliva and Velvette's slick, and his trousers and belt were undone and halfway down his legs. His debauched appearance was completed by the extremely graphic flashes of his inner thoughts that flickered across his screen as he fucked Val, unlubricated asides from his own possibly-radioactive saliva.
(Velvette never paid attention to Vox's horny subliminal messaging, she'd learned her lesson after having her orgasm ruined by seeing a glimpse of Alastor's deer ass one time too many)
Vox was lucky that Valentino was both a sadist and a masochist, because if Velvette were in Val's position she'd have tapped out after a single thrust. If Val was wincing in discomfort, the pain had to be something else...
Despite the aroused discomfort he was clearly in, Valentino was behaving himself with Velvette. He was dutifully careful with his own thrusts, only allowing as much of himself as Velvette could take to thrust in and out of the much smaller Sinner, but with Vox's added pressure from behind he kept being pushed just that tiny bit further into Velvette with every thrust.
It made Velvette feel like she was being split in half, and in all the right ways. As yet another wave of pleasure washed over her she buried her head in Val's ruff and moaned wantonly.
She couldn't see Vox at her angle, but she could feel one of his clawed hands reach around Valentino to rub her thigh soothingly.
"Fuck it, Val. Bottom out in me, I'm a big girl, I can take it" she moaned, drooling into Valentino's fur "Come on, I can take it, I'm not a fucking bitch"
"Velvette, you're not a big girl. That's the problem" Vox said, his voice glitching on every other word. He leaned in and stage whispered into Valentino's ear "If you try it, I'll never touch you again"
"Please, you'd be in my lap within the fucking week. You love me too much" Valentino taunted.
But he didn't push any further into Velvette, keeping the pain at a very manageable (and not all that unpleasant) ache.
Velvette let her head fall back, staring up at the ceiling as she felt the cool glass of Valentino's penthouse press against the back of her scalp. As another thrum of pleasure ran through her she moaned, her body trembling.
"What are you thinking about, Velvette?" Vox asked.
"...I'm thinking about what we're going to do to that hotel. Mm... oh fuck, fuck, fuck... God, I love you boys. All those fossilized cowards- too scared and decrepit to try a real power grab- we're better than them, we're going to bring that fucking shithole to its knees. That's the sort of shit that Overlords are supposed to do, not endless fucking meetings and rules and regulations and sitting around with our dicks in our hands..." she sighed blissfully "Nobody is going to dare fuck with us after this... we're going to... ah... hmm... crush that fucking hotel like ants under our thumbs and... ahh... oh my God!"
She could feel an orgasm building inside her, her face contorting in a way she hoped was attractive as she continued staring at the ceiling.
"...we're going to make every fucker in this whole fucking city rue the day they died. We're going to make Princess Nepo Baby... ah... we're going to make her get down on her knees and beg us for mercy..."
Valentino chuckled darkly, and Velvette coughed as a wave of pink smoke washed over her. She hadn't even noticed Val light up one of his signature cigarettes, but she could see him waving his cigarette holder around in her peripheral vision, and she became slowly aware that she was now being held up by three hands and not four.
"Oh, she liked the thought of that" Val said "You want the pretty princess on her knees for you, hm?"
Vox laughed, sounding delighted.
"Velvette, you naughty girl. I didn't know you were such a dyke"
Panting like a bitch in heat, Velvette let her head fall forwards until it was once more buried in Valentino's fluffy ruff. Sweat and drool continued to soak into her lover's fur as she reached blindly around his back, smiling to herself as she felt her other lover's clawed hand curl around her own.
Her ass continued to polish the glass with a rhythmic squeak-squeak-squeak sound. Normally, she would've been embarrassed, but Valentino was involuntarily emitting his own insect-like squeaks so loudly that she didn't think either of her boyfriends were even aware of the noises she was making.
"Ugh, Vox, you are such a fucking man! I'm not, anyway. Princess Perfect-tits and her stupid fucking hotel just annoy me so much that thinking about them both being reduced to dust... mmm..."
"You've always been hot under the collar for power grabs, too" Vox said affectionately "My little psycho-bitch"
Velvette sunk her nails into his hand, making him hiss in pain.
Undeterred by Vox's blood dripping over her fingers, Velvette nuzzled against Valentino's fur, sighing blissfully as slick started to drip down her thighs with every thrust Valentino made.
"...I'm going to ruin that chipper little bitch. I'm going to spread every nasty fucking rumor I can get away with. I'm going to make her a laughingstock. I'm going to make her enemy number one and then I'm going to make myself squirt to the footage of her crying"
"Jesus Christ, Velvette, and I thought Val was bad..." Vox whistled, sounding impressed, and uncaring of the fact that his blood was starting to drip over her knuckles.
"What sort of things are you going to say?" Valentino asked curiously.
"Mm... I'm going to tell everyone that her hotel is a scam and she's endangering us all for the sake of feeding her delusions" Velvette said.
"That's not a half-bad idea; there are so many ways we can spin it..." Vox said.
While he mused on his scheming (and continued to fuck Valentino), Val blew out another gust of pink smoke and let out another one of his trademark diabolical chuckles.
"You know what would be good? We could tell everyone that Charlie and her Papito are far too close..." he purred, tilting his head and running his tongue along the side of Velvette's face.
Vox laughed breathlessly as he continued to thrust.
"Ha! Nice one, Val. That's the sort of cloud that The Morningstar Family will never escape from, if we can make it convincing enough. That fucking twink is too obsessed with his daughter, I've always said so... in private. I don't have a death wish"
Velvette moaned, pressing her face even more against Valentino's ruff, her hips starting to shake as her orgasm finally crested.
"Oh, you like that, do you?" Vox purred, his voice reverberating in Velvette's ears.
Velvette had some morals, she'd swear on her shoe collection that she did, she just... didn't have a lot of morals.
As Kitty painstakingly wiped cum and sweat off the window, the Vees finished off half a dozen bottles of champagne between the three of them. While Velvette had drunk the least, she'd ended up no less tipsy thanks to her smaller frame, and that was her extremely valid excuse for why she'd agreed to Vox and Valentino's insane idea.
"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck! I'm so sorry Daddy! I just couldn't resist how strong and handsome The TV Demon is..." Velvette simpered, her breath coming out in pants as Vox thrust in and out of her with little mercy.
Velvette was keeping herself precariously balanced against Valentino's breakfast bar, her knees resting atop two barstools while she braced herself against the countertop.
"Ha! She's not sorry at all. The Princess of Hell is a fucking slut for me" Vox said, his voice warping as he leaned over and licked the side of Velvette's face in a surprisingly Val-like move.
Velvette smirked in a very un-Charlie-like manner, before blowing away several strands of blond hair from her face as Vox's thrusts disarrayed the wig she was wearing.
Prior to the roleplay's commencement Velvette had, with a snap of her fingers, dressed herself in a perfect replica of Charlie's red suit. The top half of her cosplay was still near-perfect, but the bottom half was a different story, with her red trousers torn to pieces and scattered around the kitchen.
But even that wasn't the most depraved part of what The Vees were doing.
Vox had used two VoxTek drones to create a (slightly imperfect, but still good enough) hologram of Lucifer. The King of Hell's flickering image glowered at Velvette as he watched Vox fuck her, tapping his apple-topped cane against one of his hands as he sneered.
"This is no way for a Princess of Hell to act, young lady" he scolded.
...with the benefit of hindsight, Velvette's daddy kink shouldn't have been a shock to Vox...
"I know Daddy. I'm sorry Daddy. I can't help how irresistible I find The TV Demon! Oh fuck, he makes my cunt fucking ache! He's just so fucking sexy!" Velvette simpered, and she could practically feel Vox's dick swell inside her as she stroked his ego.
Vox reached around Velvette, groping one of her breasts through 'Charlie's' jacket and shirt, before leaning down to whisper in her ear.
"I'll have that hoppity-skip little bitch moaning for me soon enough..."
"If you rape Charlie Morningstar, I'll never talk to you again" Velvette whispered back.
"Who said anything about rape? I'm very seductive" Vox groped her again, before coughing as another cloud of pink smoke washed over them both.
"That's it, Princess. Moan for your Papi" Valentino purred, leaning against the other side of the counter and resting one of his lower hands over the top of one of Velvette's. His thumb started to rub across Velvette's knuckles, and Velvette would have to be waterboarded before she admitted that she found the gesture comforting.
What was less comforting, however, was how Valentino's other lower hand was occupied; stroking his monstrous erection with the tip aimed right at Velvette's face. It felt like the porno equivalent of being held at gunpoint.
"Yes, sweetheart, moan for your Daddy" 'Lucifer' said as he ran his jaundiced red eyes over Velvette, making her shiver pleasurably...
...but she seethed, grinding her teeth together, as she heard Vox and Valentino snicker at her wanton behavior.
"If anyone hears so much as a whisper of this, I'll castrate you both" she threatened, before giving in to her desires and moaning loudly as Vox thrust into her at just the right angle to make her legs shake and her arms give out as she came. She ended up slumped over the counter with her cheek pressed against the cool marble and copious amounts of synthetic blonde hair in her mouth.
As Velvette's body was wracked with her orgasm, Valentino leaned over to whisper to her like Vox had.
"Trust me, picardias, if this gets out Lucifer will castrate us himself" he said, before straightening up and continuing to masturbate himself "Esto da un nuevo significado a "el tipo de sexo que haría que Lucifer se aferrara a su rosario""
"Forget Lucifer, I kinda want to clutch my fucking rosary" Vox joked.
Velvette moaned again, nodding dazedly. Valentino had a point, and not just about the Megan Fox quote. The Vees were very, very lucky that they had a private place to act out their sick fantasies.
Nothing would've led to The Vees' destruction faster than the scene of Vox thrusting into Velvette-as-Charlie and growling "Tell your Daddy how hard I make you squirt, Princess Morningstar" while Valentino ejaculated thick ribbons all over Velvette's Charlie cosplay being leaked for all of Hell to enjoy.
Sure, Hell was full of perverts, but there were some lines it was better not to cross. At least not where Lucifer's little Princess was involved.
"How the fuck are we still fucking around?" Vox groaned, his claws wrapped around Velvette's waist as she rocked herself up and down his erection, her back pressed against his chest as they sat naked on one of Val's sofas.
"We've both got enough of Val's spit and smoke in our system to kill a horse, and this shit is marketed as potent for a reason" Velvette said breathlessly, holding up the (Limited Valentine's Day Edition) rosé-flavored bottle of Love Potion that she and Vox were sharing.
Vox shrugged, grabbing the bottle and taking a swing.
"Even so... if you want to keep going, I'm going to need a little blue pill after this" he said, sounding more breathless than Velvette.
"You are such an old man" Velvette taunted, bouncing herself a little more and smirking at every pathetic noise she was wringing out of him.
All the Vees were naked, with Valentino currently pre-occupied with Vox's overstuffed Radio-Demon-themed body pillow-
Velvette had never asked, and Vox had never told.
-he was straddling it on the floor, the tip of his erection rubbing against the printed image of Alastor's face as he slowly rocked his hips against it.
"Be nice to our viejo, muñeca bonita" Valentino purred, looking up at his lovers with a predatory grin "We wouldn't want anything to break..."
"Yeah, and something's definitely going to break if I keep trying to get it up without any chemical help..." Vox said, even as he slid his hands up Velvette's waist, cupping her breasts and playing with them gently.
"I'll stop if you stop first" Velvette said, whining as Vox slid one of his hands off her breasts and down between her legs, the tip of his claw very carefully rubbing her over-stimulated clit.
"...we should really be focusing on our plans..." he murmured, not sounding very convinced even as he said it.
"Mi amor, we are focusing on our plans!" Valentino said, pressing Alastor's face a little harder against his leaking erection "This is a business meeting; we're working out the best way to fuck The Radio Demon"
"Vox, are you sure you want sloppy seconds? I mean, we all saw Alastor get fucked hard by that fat angel" Velvette said nastily, before turning her head 180 degrees to press a kiss against Vox's lips.
"I hope you know how freaky that looks, you sexy little marionette" Vox murmured, his glowing screen making Velvette's skin tingle as he kissed her back.
"Look who's talking" she said.
"Touché, my deer. Fuck... just thinking about fucking that smiling freak..." Vox groaned, and Velvette rocked herself against him, making him whimper unmanfully.
"Alastor isn't the only thing we need to fuck, we need to bring Angelito's shitty little hotel down too. We can't have the sluts on the street thinking there's a better option out there than selling themselves to us" Val said, taking a drag from his omnipresent cigarette.
"I hate to say this, babes, but Valentino's making a good point. If there's a better show in town, one that supposedly offers our clientele Heaven? Big yikes. If people start believing in Charlie Morningstar's stupid dream we're fucked. Nobody will put up with our shit anymore" Velvette said, running her fingers lightly against the root of Vox's erection and making him whimper again.
"Please don't make me ejaculate on the word shit" Vox pleaded.
"Ha. Scared I'll awaken something in you? It's always the uptight prissy fuckers that like literally eating shit" Velvette taunted.
Even Val made a disgusted noise at that, but Velvette just laughed at her boys' repulsion. She whipped her head back around and continued to bounce herself up and down, sighing contentedly as Vox started groping her breasts again.
"...we need to have a meeting, a proper meeting. We need to... ah... fuck" Vox groaned, and Velvette could feel his radioactive semen start leaking into her vagina, making the whole area tingle and sting.
"Can we eat first? I'm starving" Velvette asked, sighing as more and more of Vox's Chernobyl-strength semen dripped into her.
"Sure" Val grabbed his phone nonchalantly, as if he wasn't currently humping a body pillow while watching his partners fuck on the sofa "Do burgers sound good?"
Vox was trembling and unable to answer coherently, so Velvette spoke for him.
"Sounds great!" she grabbed her own phone, snapping a picture of the mess between her legs as Vox's semen started to leak out of her, staining the sofa "With extra fries, pretty-please"
With a few swipes of her finger, she added a cutesy filter around the smutty picture and posted it to The Vees' group chat.
📱💋The Backbone You Fuckers Can't Live Without💋📱: Good thing I can't get pregnant, LOL!
Katie Killjoy was breathlessly continuing her post-mortem of the failed mid-year exorcism, the broadcast approaching its seventh hour as she rambled on. The ratings were fantastic, but Velvette could tell Vox was getting annoyed at the free publicity that his network was giving The Hazbin Hotel. He watched Killjoy's broadcast with a dark look on his screen, eating his burger with more menace than was strictly necessary.
"...so, Vox. You were saying that the little cockroach thing could be useful?" Velvette asked conversationally, taking a bite of her own burger. She was sitting on the floor between Vox and Val's legs as her partners sat on the sofa, all three of them gorging on greasy take-out and watching television together.
If it weren't for the nudity and the semen stains all over the sofa, it would've been quite the domestic little tableau.
"...maybe. I have so many ideas running through my hard drive..." Vox said, taking a sip of soda.
Velvette looked back at the television just in time to watch Killjoy gesture so enthusiastically that one of the overtaxed buttons on her blazer popped off.
"If her tits fall out on-air again, I'm going down to that studio and fucking her live. Qué puta!" Val said.
"Gross. Katie Killjoy, really?" Velvette whined. She didn't see the guilty expression on Vox's face, or the knowing way that Val grinned at his boyfriend "...hey, boys, hear me out..."
"Don't worry. Those are very good tits. I'll let you join in with no judgement" Valentino purred, patting Velvette's head.
"Fuck you, not everything is about sex, you overgrown pervert!" Velvette whipped her head up, trying and failing to bite Valentino's fingers, much to his amusement.
"Fine, fine. What's your boring idea about, then?" Val wrapped his arm around Vox, and Velvette felt warm as she watched Vox smile adoringly up at Val.
What could she say? She loved her boys, and she loved the way they loved each other.
"Well. Why don't we just cozy up to her?" she pointed as an image of Charlie flashed up on the screen "We could be her best friends, push Alastor out of the picture while he's weak, and destroy the hotel from the inside"
"Oooh, that sounds fun..." Valentino said, shoving onion rings into his mouth without a trace of decorum, continuing to speak with his mouth full and dribbling bits of fried batter onto his ruff "I'd like to cozy up to that pair of tits..."
"What the fuck is with your tit obsession today?" Velvette asked, curling a self-conscious arm across her modestly-sized breasts.
"You know, my dear, a lot of Sloth's less moral surgeons like to come up here to prey on self-conscious Sinners. If you're so shy about your cup size, I can have it doubled. I certainly have the money for it..." Vox offered, trailing a claw down Velvette's arm.
Velvette pulled her arm away.
"Give yourself implants if you want them that badly. I prefer being natural"
Valentino laughed as he brushed batter out of his ruff, while Vox tugged on a strand of Velvette's hair hard enough to sting.
"You're a doll, cutie-pie"
"I'm a doll in mint condition, fuck-face. Anyway, what do you think of my idea?"
Vox hummed non-committedly, taking another bite of his burger.
Velvette waited impatiently for him to finish, glaring up at him.
"Um. Hello?" she finally snapped.
Vox swallowed, wiping his screen with a napkin before grinning.
"Sorry, sorry, you're just too cute when you're angry. Alright, my honest thoughts?"
Velvette nodded.
"Befriending Charlie isn't a bad idea, but even that dippy little brat knows I hate both her pet project and her smiling freak hotelier. Besides, even if Valentino hadn't decided to drool all over her arm, someone at that hotel has very good reason not to trust our intentions. That someone will make sure that neither Val nor his nearest and dearest are getting anywhere near Charlie's good graces" Vox said, eating a fry and glaring at Valentino.
"Huh? Who's that?" Val asked, genuinely confused.
Velvette picked up a fry herself, dipping it into her milkshake before eating it. She looked up when she felt Vox's claw tap her shoulder.
"Uh... Velvette. What the fuck?" he said, his screen making a weird glitching motion that was the digital equivalent of scrunching his nose in disgust.
Velvette just stuck out her tongue before dipping another fry in.
"Didn't you die in the Fifties? Wasn't that era all pop shops and milkshake bars? Dipping chips into a milkshake shouldn't be that weird to you" she said.
"Niña tonta, you're thinking of what my era thought the Fifties were like. It wasn't all Grease" Valentino said.
"That's hilarious, because you're all grease" Vox taunted, raising a skeptical brow as Velvette got to her feet and offered him her shake-soaked dry.
He took the fry, chewing it slowly before swallowing. His expression cleared, and he shrugged.
"Huh. That's not so bad. Val, try it out"
Valentino blinked owlishly, but he didn't resist when Velvette offered him his own dairy-soaked fry, taking it and swallowing it more eagerly than Vox had.
"Oh, that's nice" he purred, licking his lips clean.
Velvette dropped back down onto the sofa, sitting between her two lovers.
"I have an idea..." Valentino said, grinning devilishly down at Vox and Velvette.
"Fuck my life... here we go..." Vox groaned "Val, we can't fuck The Hazbin Hotel into submission"
"I wasn't going to suggest that! I was going to say; why don't we just raise an army against the hotel" Val said, dipping another fry into his own milkshake, before casually sliding off the seat and onto the floor. He looked up at Velvette with something calculating in his eyes "You have influence and power that most bitches would kill for, Voxxy is a hypnotist, and every fluid in my body makes bitches kneel for me. That's not even getting into how many souls we own already"
He ran one of his hands up Velvette's thigh, and she smirked, spreading her legs as she watched Valentino pick up his remaining fries and clutch them like a bundle of sticks.
"That sure is a dramatic idea, but it's also one that involves declaring open war on Charlie Morningstar- and by proxy, her father. We don't want to be smote" Vox said, finishing his burger.
Valentino winked up at Velvette, holding the fries a little tighter in his hand, and Velvette nodded eagerly.
Vox dusted off his hands, moving to stand up.
"Right, shall we get dressed and head on over to the meeting ro- Valentino! Get your fries out of Velvette right now!"
Velvette could only gasp, her head falling back as everything down south tingled to a painful (but not intolerable) extent as Valentino used his remaining fries like a dildo on her.
"What? You told me it was nice?" Val said innocently, before picking up his milkshake and pouring it over Velvette's labia without asking. He dipped his head down between her legs, and Vox facepalmed with a familiar clink, squeeeeak noise as the moth made exaggerated moaning noises while eating the milkshake-soaked fries straight out of Velvette.
Velvette went red, burying her head in her hands and moaning. But there was no denying that she was enjoying every second of the disgusting act, and judging by the way Vox's dick was twitching she wasn't the only one.
"...and then, while Princess Morningstar is crying on live TV because we shot her childhood pet, we dump a bucket of piss over her!"
The Vees had discussed a lot of wild plans, but Valentino's latest scheme was certainly the most degrading. Velvette could hear Vox facepalm-
...clink, squeeeeak...
-as Valentino finished explaining it.
"Cool it, Val. None of us feel that vindictive towards Princess Morningstar herself"
"Speak for yourself, she ruined my shoot!"
"You ruin plenty of your own shoots!"
"At least I don't black out the whole Pentagram when I pitch a bitch fit!"
"Oh, fuck you!"
Velvette couldn't say anything, as she was currently on all-fours on Valentino's bed while Vox's erection was in her mouth and Valentino had sheathed himself as much as he could into her vagina.
The bedding under her hands and knees was slick from a blend of semen, sweat, and drool. Velvette had to concentrate so she didn't slip and fall into the mess underneath her.
"...fuck, you're hot when you're angry..." Val moaned, and Velvette felt a pang of what some of the newer Sinners called FOMO as she heard her two boyfriends start to sloppily make out.
They broke away with a loud smacking noise, and Velvette hollowed her cheeks, relishing in the moans she could hear from above her.
"Mm, she's good, isn't she? It feels like being exterminated every time she puts her mouth on you..." Valentino purred while one hand caressed Velvette's backside.
Velvette felt a rush of smug pride in her fellatio skills, before she stilled as an idea of her own struck her.
Oh... that's a good one...
She awkwardly pulled her head back, kissing the glowing tip of Vox's penis before looking up at it's owner. His screen was almost half-red from all the digital 'drool' running down his face, and his eye was lazily spinning from overstimulation.
"You could have Killjoy spread the rumor that 'redeemed' is just a nice way of saying 'exterminated'? You know. Say that what the hotel actually does is slaughter their guests and pretend they're been raptured or some shit?" she asked, her voice raw.
"Great idea! But nobody at that hotel has vanished asides from Sir Pentious, and that dumb bitch got himself vaporized in front of my cameras, so nobody with half a brain is suggesting his soul grew wings and fluttered up to Heaven" Vox pointed out "We don't even know if redemption is possible"
"Fuck, I hope it's not" Val shuddered "That's us screwed. Who's gonna star in Ten Cocks Three Holes if there's a better option out there?"
Velvette gasped, a lightbulb practically going off over her head as she affectionately kissed Vox's cockhead again, grinning diabolically up at him.
"Let's start our own redemption service! We'll crush those Hazbin twits through the rumor mill and posit ourselves as the only viable option. It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!"
"That's good, we'll put in on the board. Now keep sucking, dear. I hear it's very good for your hair"
Velvette hated to admit it, even to herself, but things were starting to hurt in a bad way down south. After the threesome on Val's bed she'd gone to pee, only to muffle whimpers of pain with the back of one of her hands as urinating made her feel like someone was holding a match against her vagina.
Even after thoroughly douching with cold water, she could barely stand still as she wrote "Niffty???" on the whiteboard that The Vees had been brainstorming ideas on.
She was still naked, and she couldn't stop herself from whimpering again when Vox sidled up behind her, slipping a finger between her legs and swiping it through her labia like a credit card.
At her whimper, he immediately stopped fondling her, resting his (clean) hand on her shoulder and squeezing it comfortingly.
"Velvette?" he whispered, nonchalantly sucking on the finger that had just been inside her "Is everything okay?"
Velvette glanced over at the sofas. Valentino was lying on his back across the longest one, stroking his erection with one hand and smoking with another while his free hands played with something on his phone.
"...it's starting to hurt" she admitted quietly, before shrugging off Vox's hand "Make yourself useful and get me some ice"
Vox was powerful, and he was older and more experienced than Velvette. However, he would be nothing without her and Val. She liked to remind him of his place from time to time. She was a boss bitch, not some simpering arm-candy for Vox to live out his paternalistic daddy dom fantasies with.
"I'm always useful, try updating your phone without me" Vox said.
"Try surviving the wilds of social media without me"
"I love you too, sugar-tits" Vox said with a snicker, leaning down and kissing her cheek.
"Call me that again and I won't be the only one in pain" Velvette snapped.
Vox snickered more before heading for Val's kitchen, while Velvette continued to scribble down ideas on the whiteboard, shifting her weight from foot-to-foot every few seconds.
Valentino continued to smoke and stroke, oblivious to her discomfort.
Velvette was midway through sketching a crude drawing of Charlie Morningstar fucking the tail of a suspiciously Luciferian snake when Vox returned. She was so wrapped up i n her artwork that she squeaked in shock when an ice pack wrapped in a kitchen towel was suddenly pressed against her labia, Vox wrapping a steadying arm around her as she stumbled.
"You need a break, Velvette" Vox said, kissing her cheek again.
"You need to stop treating me like I'm made of glass" Velvette said, before her eyes alighted on the coffee table, currently littered with sex toys and sexual aids "Stop being such a Nancy-boy and get me that bottle of numbing spray"
"Hm?" Valentino was staring at them with gleeful delight all over his inhuman face "Is muñequita seriously asking for a numbing spray? How rough do you want to go, querida?"
His red gaze landed on the ice pack that Vox was cradling against her, and he looked even more delighted.
"Mm, you're already at your limit, aren't you? But you're such a naughty little puta that you don't want to stop, you want to keep going... harder... and harder..." he purred, drool dripping down his chin from excitement "Have you ever tried fisting? You'll love it"
"I will, and I know I will, because I've already tried it. Just not with you" Velvette said with a cheeky wink.
Valentino sat bolt upright, staring at Vox in betrayal.
"I didn't try it with him, either" Velvette giggled "Influencer parties can get wild, boys, you'd know that if you weren't so old"
With a scoffing laugh, Valentino got to his feet, scooping up the bottle of numbing spray as he sauntered over to Velvette and Vox.
"Maybe I don't know what an influencer party is, but I do know how to fist someone until they see stars. How many holes do you want numbed? I'll make you see Heaven, amada"
Velvette grinned up at Vox, who just looked worried.
"You know I'd fuck you for an entire financial year without stopping-" he started to say.
"Please, with your old man dick? Don't make me laugh" Velvette scoffed.
"-but I think we're taking it too far. You're so much younger and smaller than us..."
"Ugh, stop being such a gaylord, Vox. Val, I want you to drench me in it; my throat, my pussy, my arse..."
Valentino laughed darkly, grabbing Velvette by the shoulder and pulling her out of Vox's grip and into his own, one set of hands holding her head in place while the other set got the spray ready.
"Say ahh, muñequita..."
Vox just facepalmed, shaking his screen in disapproval.
"...don't come whining to me when you can't feel your toes..." he muttered.
"I can't feel my toes..." Velvette whined, lying face-down across Valentino's chest and clinging to him as Vox thrust in and out of her asshole. The three of them were back in Valentino's bedroom, illuminated by the red fairy lights as they fooled around on top of Val's half-dried bedsheets.
"I told you not to come whining to me..." Vox panted out, running his claws through Velvette's hair.
For all that Vox had protested Velvette's desire to go extreme, he'd had no qualms about joining in. Once the numbing spray had kicked in, both he and Val had taken turns seeing how far their monstrous claws could fit inside her (both anally and vaginally), while taking care not to scratch her open from the inside out.
The risk had been part of the thrill, and Velvette had come twice from the stimulation, clinging to whoever wasn't currently fisting her while making noises like an alley-cat in heat.
Finally, bored of using Velvette like a glove, Valentino had flopped down onto the bed. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he'd gently guided Velvette over to suck his dick, while Vox lined himself up and started to fuck her anally with a borderline-painful lack of lubrication.
After a few minutes, Valentino had ejaculated a surprisingly weak load down Velvette's throat before going completely boneless, allowing Velvette to slump over his chest while the two of them waited for Vox to finish.
Despite Vox still going and going like some sort of horny, demonic Energizer bunny, Velvette and Valentino were over it. Valentino was chain-smoking and watching something on his wall-mounted flatscreen while Velvette clung to him and whined at Vox.
"Just hurry up and cum already, I'm tired!" she complained.
Vox made a faux-concerned noise in his throat, cupping Velvette's face with one of his claws before gently angling her head up so he could look at her face.
Velvette only had a split-second to register that Vox's eye was spinning dangerously before her mind went blank.
"Orgasm" Vox ordered, his command becoming the center of her world for a split-second.
That split-second was all it took.
Vox rarely used his powers in the bedroom, his pride demanded that he do everything the hard way, just to prove he could. But on those rare occasions that he did give his partner a hypnosis-aided orgasm, the results were so intense they were almost painful.
Velvette screamed and clung to Valentino as her body went into uncontrollable convulsions, something wet soaking against Val's thigh as her hips bucked.
"F-f-fuck y-you!" she gasped out, blushing and furious.
Vox just laughed, and after a few more minutes he pulled out of Velvette, ejaculating a frankly pathetic amount onto the sheets with a satisfied groan.
Still trembling, Velvette snuggled more into Val's chest, not caring about the sticky mess that stained his bed.
"That was fucking amazing" Vox said, his voice warping on 'fucking' as he crawled across the bed, maneuvering himself until he was sitting on Val's pillow with the moth's head in his lap and his blue legs curled over his shoulders. Valentino rubbed Vox's legs, staring up at him with reverent adoration.
Velvette adjusted her own position, leaning up and peppering kisses along Vox's foot, before moving so that her head was sandwiched between Val's shoulder and Vox's thigh.
Without a word, Valentino handed Vox his cigarette and Vox took a drag, blowing out a puff of red smoke.
Velvette rolled off Valentino, pushing aside Vox's leg so that she could lie on her back and watch the puff of smoke as it dissipated.
"So, how's your vagina feeling now?" Vox asked casually, handing Velvette the cigarette before crawling out from underneath Val, flopping down onto the bed next to her.
Velvette blew out a smoke ring, watching as it drifted around the room.
"It's stinging like a bitch, and my ass doesn't feel any better, but I don't think I've ever had so many orgasms in a row before..." she said, a little dreamily.
"You know, it's nice to see you drop the prissy act and just give in to your desires, mi hermosa muñequita" Valentino said, taking his cigarette back from Velvette and slipping it between his fangs.
"Fuck. You guys blew enough loads in me to fill up an Olympic swimming pool. I really did give in, huh? I feel fucking filthy. But... you know. In a good way"
Valentino blew out a heart-shaped smoke ring, eyeing off Velvette lustfully.
"Dirty girl... mmm, Papi likes-" he started to roll towards Velvette before Vox shoved him back, his annoyed expression marred by the little charging logo in the corner of his screen, and the spare charging cable now sticking out of his head.
"Uh-uh. Sleep. We can play more tomorrow, after our meeting" he said firmly, pulling Valentino's blankets over himself and his fellow Overlords, ignoring the messy state they were in "Oh, I can't wait to fuck Alastor together..."
"I bet you can't..." Valentino murmured sleepily, settling back down again.
"Love you, boys..." Velvette said, sounding just as exhausted.
Soon, the room was quiet but for the sound of snoring.
Velvette was trapped in a void; she could see nothing but nothingness itself, and she could hear nothing but the sound of someone singing to themselves. The melody and lyrics were indecipherable, garbled by sobs of pain that the singer couldn't help but emit.
If Velvette were a more empathetic person, she would've felt sorry for the singer. They sounded like they were in agony, both physical and emotional.
But she wasn't, so she didn't care. She was just confused, her confusion only growing as a second voice called out, interrupting the singer mid-sob.
"Is anyone in here? Hello?" they asked.
The singing and sobbing abruptly ended, and even though she couldn't see, Velvette could palpably feel the tension between the singer and the second voice.
"Hello? I know you're in here. Can I come in?"
A stifled sob, but nothing else.
"Oh for the love of- you're being childish. Look; there's a trail of blood leading right to you, I know you're in here and I know what happened. Just tell me, how deep is the cut?"
"What cut?"
"Look, buddy, I've had a really long day and I'd appreciate it if-"
"It must be exhausting to spend hours primping yourself like a peacock every day, my sympathies. Now leave me alone, I'm fine"
"Sure you are! That's why you were sobbing like a little bitch-"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I'm coming in!"
"No, don't- this is a private domicile!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Wow. This place is a dump, I think getting it trashed actually improved it. Now, come on Bambi, show me those fluffy A-cups. I'll fix you up"
"There's nothing wrong with me. Stay away from me! Please! Don't- don't look!"
"...is there something I'm not supposed to see?"
A short silence, one so filled with unseen and unspoken anxieties that you could've cut it with a knife.
"You can't... you can't see it?"
"See what?"
Again, there was a tense silence between the two voices.
Finally, the first voice decided to lie. Even Velvette could tell the voice was lying.
"Uh... you can't... see how... unsightly I am"
"Unsightly? Maybe you need glass over both your eyes. There's nothing wrong with you, not from where I'm standing" the second voice kindly said nothing about the lie, opting for flattery instead.
"You have a warped perspective"
"I'm an eleven out of ten. No, I don't. Stop squirming, let me see"
"I said stay away!"
"Look, I'm not going to touch you without your consent, I promise. But I'm not going to leave you here to bleed out. So let me see... oh dear, it's okay, it's all okay. No matter how bad it is, I can fix it with a snap of my..."
Velvette could hear the first voice start sobbing again, the sound broken and badly stifled.
"Oh... hey. Don't cry. Don't cry. It's okay, everything's okay..."
"You can't fix this. You can't fix me"
"I can, actually"
"The superficial wounds, maybe, but..."
"But what?"
"Nevermind. Just fix it. Please"
"Please? Did I hear manners? Wow, it must be getting cold in here. Okay, pretty boy, give me a titty show and I'll fix it all up"
"You're crasser when you're away from your daughter"
"You don't know the half of it, now just-"
Velvette couldn't take the confusion anymore.
"Hello?" she called out, her vision still a sightless void "Who's there?"
But she received no answer.
"Hello?"
That was when she felt two clawed hands, warmer and sharper than Vox and Valentino's, rest on her shoulder. Someone or something leaned down, their weight pressing against her as they whispered into her ear with sickly-sweet words.
"Weren't you listening to me?" it was the same voice that had been comforting the sobbing voice. It was familiar, but impossible to place, at least not until...
...Velvette's vision cleared so fast it was like someone had flicked on a light switch. She blinked as she was visually bombarded with pinks and reds, trying to make sense of what she was looking at, her knees trembling at the weight of the hands on her shoulders.
That was when she realized-
"Oh my God! No! No!"
-and she couldn't stop screaming, trying and failing to pull away from the clawed hands as she screamed and thrashed.
She was staring at Valentino's bedroom, the red fairy lights flickering as they illuminated what remained of Vox and Val. The two men Velvette loved more than anything in Heaven or Hell had been eviscerated in a way that would make Jack the Ripper proud, with their entrails decorating the room like holiday garlands, and their bodies split open like sausages as they lay sprawled out on Val's bed.
That was when the clawed hands forcibly turned her around, and Velvette's knees buckled as she found herself looking up at Lucifer Morningstar, clutching an Exorcist's spear in one hand as he towered over her.
He grinned ghoulishly down at her, dripping with blood that she knew belonged to her boys.
"Weren't you listening? If you mess with my daughter, I will fuck you" Lucifer snarled, and before Velvette could react, the spear was plunged through her middle with a stab of pain that burned and froze all at once.
She screamed, but the sound tinkled like the laughter of fairies. As she collapsed to the ground with everything going black around her, the fairy-like laughter warped and distorted, until she slipped into the darkness with Alastor's laughter ringing in her ears.
"Mmm... fuck... naughty girl, such a naughty fucking girl... tan caliente..."
Velvette stirred, her brow creasing in confusion. She could hear a wet, slapping noise, and she could feel a sharp finger probing her labia.
"...what's... what's..." she slurred, slowly opening her eyes.
She could hear the faint hum of Vox charging to her side, a tinge of blue light from his screen clouding the corner of her vision as she stared up at Valentino.
Val was leering down at her, one of his hands rubbing his leaking erection while another probed her folds, his cigarette holder dangling from his lips with pink smoke trailing from it's tip.
"Naughty girl" he purred, plucking the holder from his mouth before blowing smoke all over her "You really wanted to show me how dirty you are, hm?"
"Val? What the fuck are you talking about?" Velvette groaned, batting weakly at his hand "Get off me..."
"Don't get all uptight now, slut. You couldn't resist showing Papi what a bad girl you are while you were sleeping..." Valentino purred, pressing his finger a little deeper inside her.
"I said get off me!" Velvette screamed, and Vox was sitting up and wrenching out his charging cable within seconds, looking furious and worried all at once.
"Valentino, what the fuck are you doing?" he snarled, grabbing Valentino's arm and pulling him forcibly out of Velvette.
The abrupt removal of Val's finger was uncomfortable, but preferable to the unwanted probing. Velvette grimaced as she sat up, glaring at the moth.
"Oh, don't give me that fucking look. She wanted it, just look what she did" Valentino said, gesturing.
Velvette rubbed at her eyes, not bothering to look at whatever Val was pointing at. Valentino took anything and everything as an excuse to force himself on someone else, even if he was rarely stupid enough to try it on his fellow Vees-
As far as she knew, anyway.
-so it didn't matter what he was pointing at. It was probably something stupid anyway.
Vox, however, did look. While Velvette rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, Vox sucked in a shocked hiss of breath, static buzzing between his antennae.
"Oh. Shit. Velvette..." he said, sounding concerned and caring and everything in between "Valentino, this is why we take it easy on her!"
"Maldito hipócrita" Valentino spat.
"¡Ella no, Val! ¡No es como yo! ¡No le hagas esto!" Vox spat back.
"Ugh, what are you two queens bickering about now?" Velvette groaned, lowering her hands to glare at them both.
Vox smiled slightly, his digital expression now somewhere between concerned and amused.
"Watch your language. I know you have a hilariously obvious fetish for gay men, but we wouldn't want you getting cancelled" he reached out and squeezed her shoulder "Come on, I'll help you shower and then you can go back to sleep. Val, deal with this"
He snapped his claws at the bed, and Valentino sneered.
"She can clean it up herself" he said.
"Hey, fuck you!" Velvette complained, sleepily rubbing her eyes again "You two are the perverts that got cum everywhere. You deal with the bedding"
At her comment, Valentino laughed.
"Shall I tell her, or will you?"
"Tell me what?" she snapped, glaring at him "What's going on?"
Vox smiled awkwardly, opening his mouth to say something before Valentino interrupted.
"You gave me a golden shower, naughty girl" he said, leaning back so that Velvette could see a wet patch on his wings.
Velvette stared at Valentino, speechless, before she allowed her gaze to drop to the bed.
The sheets underneath her hips were soaked through, and Velvette felt her face start to burn as she realized they weren't wet with sweat or cum or anything less mortifying to wake up in a puddle of.
"...it wasn't me. It must've been one of you two" she finally said, crossing her arms.
"No, it was definitely you. I woke up in time to see you do it, naughty little girl" Valentino cooed, running a fingertip along her face. Velvette slapped it away, recoiling.
Vox shifted closer to Velvette, wrapping an arm around her.
"Hey, hey, hey... easy now. Look, it happens to the best of us-" he started to say, before crying out in pain as she took advantage of their proximity to ram her fingers into his cyan-colored gills as hard as she could "HEY! Those are sensitive!"
"Just be glad I didn't do it to your freaky little USB port nipples" Velvette spat, hunching up on herself and staring down at her lap.
Velvette slapping his finger away had changed Valentino's tune, and he blew out a plume of smoke through gritted teeth, seething.
"I told you she was too young to be a Vee, didn't I? But did you listen to me? No! Of course not! Now our bed is soaked in piss. Betsy-Wetsy strikes again" he said, sneering down at Velvette.
"Don't call her that"
"It's accurate"
"Five seconds ago you were thrilled that she pissed all over you, Val. You're as changeable as your fucking accent" Vox said "Velvette is a child compared to us, yes, so maybe that means we go a little easier on her"
At 'Velvette is a child', she buried her head in her hands, the reality of what had happened sinking in.
She'd wet the bed. In front of Vox and Valentino.
"Oh my God. This isn't happening. This is not fucking happening" she groaned, humiliated.
Making a sympathetic clicking noise with his tongue, Vox wrapped his arm back around her, gently guiding her to her feet despite her weak protests.
"We'll be in the shower. Clean this shit up" he ordered Val.
"I know you think less of me because I don't speak the same way you do, Vox, but I'm not your fucking maid" Val spat "KITTY!"
As the customized Robo Fizz slid into the room, Velvette lowered her hands in time to watch Vox lean in until his screen was inches away from Val's sneering face.
"I think less of you because you're rapist scum" he said coldly.
"Oh am I? What do you think you are, Saint Peter? I could tell muñequita some stories..."
"Try it, see if the bitch cares" Vox spat, straightening up and guiding Velvette out of the room without another word, slamming the bathroom door shut behind himself.
He didn't look at Velvette as he ran the shower, sitting down heavily on the lid of the toilet and rubbing at his screen as they waited for the water to heat up.
"Velvette... I know better than anyone else that Valentino's annoying, but don't ever do that again. You're lucky I can think fast" he said quietly, sounding exhausted "Pissing on him got him hard this time, but next time he might just wake you up by putting his fist through your face"
Velvette's face managed to burn even more.
Not only had she wet the bed, but wetting the bed was such a childish thing to do that Vox was in denial that she'd done it unintentionally.
"I didn't do it deliberately" she snapped, storming over to the shower and getting under the warm spray "I pissed the bed, Vox. It's as simple as that!"
Vox followed her in, leaning down to hiss in her ear.
"You're a grown woman, Velvette. Be serious"
"I am being serious! I didn't do it deliberately!" Velvette turned to Vox, tears pricking at her eyes "But thanks for making me feel a million times worse!"
Vox stared at her, his screen looking like it was frozen.
"I had a nightmare. That's why we all woke up covered in piss" Velvette turned back to the spray, letting her hair get wet.
"...I'm sorry. I didn't think-" Vox started to say, sounding genuinely remorseful "Velvette-"
"I'm sorry. I know it's childish. It won't happen again" Velvette said in clipped tones.
"Velvette-"
"Fuck you" she said, grabbing the soap and lathering up.
Vox sighed, but did as she asked, and the two of them silently showered together for a few minutes until Vox cleared his throat significantly.
"So... what was your nightmare about? Did you dream you were wearing double denim?"
"Oh ha, ha, ha. No. It was even more stupid than that. I dreamed that Lucifer was mad we'd fucked with his little princess, and he'd torn you and Val into pieces and was about to split me in half next"
"Not in the fun way?"
"If that was the case I would've soaked the bed in a different way. I'd kill a lot of people to fuck Lucifer" Velvette sighed dreamily.
"Get in line, I saw him first"
"That's just because you're old... eugh..." Velvette pulled a face as she suddenly tasted something vile on her tongue.
"I'm not that old!" Vox said, offended, before his expression became concerned as Velvette start to outright gag "Velvette?"
Velvette shook her head, soap suds dripping from her curls as she doubled over. It was only Vox's arms wrapping around her that stopped her from collapsing to the floor.
Without warning, she threw up, something dark and viscous splattering against the shower's walls. She groaned, slumping in Vox's grip and whining in discomfort.
"Everything tastes like ash..." she moaned, pulling even more of a face. She wasn't kidding, she felt like she'd been licking the aftermath of Pompeii.
Vox said nothing, keeping one arm wrapped around her as the other splashed water at the vomit, rinsing it away quickly. Velvette must've gotten soap in her eyes, because for a moment she could've sworn that the dark vomit glowed gold...
Velvette idly stirred her gin and tonic with one of her fingernails, her chin propped up by the palm of her other hand.
Vox had scheduled The Vees' 'Let's Crush The Hazbin Hotel' meeting for noon, and Velvette's bedazzled V-Watch read 12:57pm.
Vox was waiting with nervous energy, thrumming his claws against the table in an annoying rhythm as he took tiny sips of his scotch.
So far, there hadn't been so much as a puff of smoke from the third wheel of their evil little tricycle.
Finally, Velvette snapped, slamming one hand against the table.
"What the fuck are we doing, Vox? Just tell me what the plan is and I'll get to work on it. There are thousands of impressionable and vulnerable Sinners and Hellborn all across The Rings who aren't sticking their fingers down their throats. That breaks my heart" she said, pulling out her phone and waving it in Vox's face.
Vox sighed, straightening up in his seat and downing the remnants of his scotch in a single swallow.
"...Valentino will be here soon"
"No he won't. You said that an hour ago, and look around, no Val! Just tell me what you need me to do, and I can get started. Unless you plan on getting under the table and eating me out, this is a waste of my time"
Vox smirked slightly.
"I'll pass for now. I hear you let that beautiful little hole of yours get so fucked out last night that you pissed the bed- AGH!" he cried out as Velvette threw her drink at his screen, glitching several times as he cleaned himself off.
Valentino chose that moment to sweep into the room, looking bored.
"What did I miss?" he asked, barely batting an eye at the sight of Velvette gleefully snapping pictures of Vox while he wiped gin and tonic off his screen, dropping into his seat and snapping his fingers until Kitty appeared by his side with a piña colada.
"Thank fuck you're here, Voxxy is refusing to tell me what the plan is until we're all in attendance, and there's so many pathetic little shits I need to bully into self-harming..." Velvette pouted.
Vox scowled, before tossing his handkerchief down and standing up, motioning at the two other Vees.
"Thank-you for coming. Don't worry, I won't take long. My plan is very simple, and very easy for you not to screw up" he gestured outwards, emulating a great expanse before him "The plan is... we do nothing"
Velvette and Valentino stared.
"We don't have to be the Hotel's best friends, and we sure as fuck aren't going to get friendly with Alastor... but we don't need to actively work against them. We sit back, we focus on maintaining our own power, and we act cordial towards Princess Morningstar and her insane pet project"
Velvette and Valentino continued to stare.
"That means Val, you need to watch how you treat Angel. Do your usual thing, but don't push it so far that Princess Morningstar wants to interfere again- or God forbid, Lucifer gets curious about how his daughter's friend is being treated" Vox turned to Velvette "I'm not expecting you to be all sweetness and sunshine, but try to avoid slandering anything connected to the Morningstar family online"
"Vox... what the fuck?" Velvette finally said.
"Our plan going forwards is business as usual. We maintain our power, reinforce it if possible, and we don't fuck with that hotel. Our guidelines are that we are no worse than catty, and no sweeter than cordial. Got it?"
"I agree with Velvette, what the fuck?" Val said.
Vox sighed, rubbing at his screen.
"Look. You both know how much I fucking hate Alastor, and how dangerous it is that he's enmeshed himself with Lucifer's daughter and her pet project, and what a great opportunity this is for us to take that fucker down once and for all... but unfortunately, he's enmeshed himself with Lucifer's daughter, and her pet project"
"So? Haven't we all agreed that we fucking hate that stupid hotel, and that we want to topple it as soon as possible? Who cares about Lucifer's daughter? Let's bring that fucking shithole down!" Velvette said.
Vox sighed again.
"Listen. Redemption is impossible. It has to be. If it wasn't, there's no way Heaven would be routinely slaughtering us down here" Vox said "The Hazbin Hotel is a stupid little pipe dream, and one day it'll collapse under it's own bullshit. When it does, I have no doubt that Lucifer will bring his little girl back home and kick Alastor out of the fold. Word on the street is that King Pretty Boy doesn't like The Radio Demon very much"
"What proof do you have, of any of that?" asked Val.
"...admittedly I'm guessing. But I'd bet good money that the Hazbin Hotel's days are numbered, as is Alastor's 'in' with Princess Morningstar. With Lucifer hovering around, he won't dare make a deal with her, so that threat has been nullified. Honestly, I would guess that the hotel's lifespan is connected to how long Lucifer can feign interest in Sinners"
"So we're going to sit back and let Alastor regain his strength, and let that stupid fucking hotel enjoy a rush of good publicity, all because you have a vibe about the whole thing" Velvette said, so furious that angry emojis started hovering in the air near her head "You arrogant fucking cunt! You would be fucking powerless without Val and I, you jumped-up little-"
"You're letting Alastor get in your head, Velvette. I might not be the man I am today, but I wouldn't be powerless on my own" Vox said.
Velvette just flipped him off, and Vox smiled ruefully down at her before continuing.
"...I know it's risky. But I've been a businessman for longer than you've been dead or alive, sweetheart, and I know a dud start-up when I see one. The Hazbin Hotel is a fad, and one that won't last that long, and as little as I want Alastor to regain his strength I..."
He looked around the table, looking surprisingly emotional.
"...I would rather face him when he's strong and alone, than to face him weak with people behind him"
"He owns countless souls, he'll always have people behind him" said Velvette.
"I'm talking about friends" Vox said "I know for a fact that I feel stronger with you two by my side than I could feel with every damned soul in Hell at my fingertips"
"Vox, this idea is insane, can you even hear yourself?" Velvette said "We have to act. Now. You're being a bigger bitch than those pussies at Carmilla's stupid meeting-"
"I don't want to see Lucifer slaughter you and Val, Velvette, and that's what's going to happen if we raise one finger against the hotel!" Vox said, his voice distorting and his eye spinning like crazy as he took several strides towards Velvette and grabbed her chair, lowering his voice to a whisper "You know what you really are, my dear, and trust me when I say that you don't ignore a witch's dreams"
"You're delusional" Velvette said, even as she felt a chill run through her.
Vox straightened up again, ignoring Valentino's curious stare as he continued speaking normally.
"It was fun, thinking of all the ways we could bring the formerly Happy Hotel down. I'm going to compile all our ideas into a database, just in case. But I doubt we'll ever need to use them"
Velvette crossed her arms, feeling strangely cold.
Was her dream... a vision?
"But Vox! I was looking forward to fucking that hotel! Literally and figuratively" Valentino whined.
"No. Look. Val-"
As Val and Vox bickered, Velvette opened Sinstagram on her phone, staring blankly at the home page. Fear was making her shiver, and she tried to console herself by sending a few nasty barbs to the most vulnerable of her followers, trying to shove her worries aside.
The Vees would be forever, and The Hazbin Hotel was on borrowed time; it wasn't like Lucifer Morningstar had a good track record of being invested in Sinners.
They would be just fine...
Lucifer, looking very invested in the two Sinners cowering before him, advanced towards Velvette's heavenly bed while shaking the pill bottle ominously.
"Come on, Velvette. Be a good girl and open wide..." he cooed disingenuously.
Velvette curled up more in Vox's grip, trembling in a way she'd become horribly familiar with.
"Stay away from me!" she snarled, unsure in that moment if she was more scared of Lucifer, or of Vox's reaction to Lucifer's 'the woman who's carrying my baby' comment.
As it turned out, she had nothing to fear from Vox.
"...you got my wife pregnant?" he finally said "Well, someone was busy at the hotel"
Velvette felt her scalp tingle as he tilted his screen towards her, and she looked up at him, glaring as she saw the shit-eating grin on his face.
"Fuck off. I'd never betray you. I'm not you" she sneered.
"That wouldn't be a betrayal. I'd be very proud" Vox teased.
"Velvette's telling the truth. She hasn't gone any further than kissing me" Lucifer said, flicking ichor off his sleeve with his free hand, the broken handcuffs clinking as he did so.
"Oh really?" Vox held Velvette a little tighter "I'll high-five you later, my dear. For now, what the fuck is going on?"
Lucifer stopped right in front of their bed, looking down at Vox and Velvette. His expression softened slightly as he stared into Velvette's eyes.
"I'm not going to hurt you" he said, smiling toothily. Even though she was used to men with monstrous rows of fangs in their mouth (hell, Velvette had pretty nightmarish teeth too), something about Lucifer's grin made her wilt "Even though, thanks to you and your little friends, I've spent the past... I don't fucking know how long... imprisoned in a windowless room and chained to the wall. You'd think Heaven didn't trust me or something"
Neither Vox nor Velvette laughed at his joke.
Lucifer sighed.
"I don't know exactly what's happened, but something big has gone down in Heaven. My former colleagues have suddenly become very interested in Sinners, and what's going on in The Pride Ring, and what's going on at Charlie's hotel" he said.
"...does that mean that redemption is possible?" Velvette asked, shocked at the very thought of it.
"No idea. Probably not. What I do know is that I was interrogated for hours about witches" Lucifer pointed at Velvette, who wilted even more into Vox's grip.
"They know Velvette's a witch?" Vox asked, his grip on her becoming painfully tight.
"I don't think so. They were asking very generalized questions, but it gave me the chance to ask some questions myself. It turns out that Heaven knows more about Witches than they ever cared to share before. Do you know what little girls like you are made of, honey?" Lucifer asked.
His tone of voice was slightly frantic, and he kept glancing nervously behind himself as he spoke.
"Sugar and spice, and all things nice" Velvette spat "...and a bucketload of demon cum, at this point"
"You're hilarious. No, I found out why you've been having so many pregnancy scares lately. First Niffty tells you that you're pregnant, but then your period starts, and then I look over at you two fucking in my blood-"
Vox and Velvette had the grace to look ashamed of themselves.
"-and I realize you actually are pregnant. I can see two souls inside you, not one. But then the riot happened and there's no fetus on Earth, Heaven, or Hell that could survive that. But right now? I can see two souls inside you, it's a miracle!" Lucifer couldn't have sounded more sarcastic if he tried.
Velvette held onto Vox's arms a little tighter, feeling something squirm anxiously inside her.
"How do you know about the riot?" Vox asked, sounding as uneasy as Velvette felt.
"...an Exorcist you might be familiar with called Lute wanted me to see how depraved 'my' Sinners truly are, so she made me watch it" Lucifer said, and his expression twisted "I'm so sorry, Velvette. Nobody deserves that, nobody"
"Shut the fuck up. That's not important right now. What's going on with me? I have a right to know!" Velvette asked, her voice wavering.
Lucifer sighed.
"Witches, true witches, are extremely mysterious entities. There's no clear set of rules we can use to explain them, and trust me, a lot of people have tried. But there's something Heaven knows that I never would've even guessed at; Witches are incubators for my spawn, but I don't even need to take them out to dinner to get them knocked up"
"I don't understand" Vox said slowly.
"I'll try and explain it in the simplest terms possible; there's a reason that Exorcists target Witches first during Exterminations. Witches are the only Sinners that can fall pregnant, but their unborn child is always mine, even if I've never met them"
Velvette glanced up at Vox.
"See, I told you we should've wrapped it up. You never use smart technology without a screen protector, after all" she tried to joke, but her voice was too weak to make light of the situation.
Lucifer smiled ruefully.
"Vanilla sex won't do it. For a Witch to fall pregnant, they need to be sexually degraded. It doesn't even need to be that extreme for the pregnancy to manifest, some kinky roleplay would be enough to do it-"
Vox and Velvette exchanged a brief, alarmed look.
"-but it takes more than that for the pregnancy to hold, unless the degradation that impregnated the witch is unspeakably horrific, bye-bye baby" Lucifer said with a grimace "The symptoms manifest in different ways; a headache, a nosebleed, vomiting, fainting. Some witches don't even know what's happening to them, you certainly didn't, honey"
Her blood running cold, Velvette thought about her vomiting episode at Forbidden Fruit, and about being sick in her studio the day after Valentino date-raped her at Club Chernobog. She thought about how she'd fainted after Niffty gleefully said "You're going to have a baby!". She thought about her explosive migraine and nosebleed, coming out of nowhere...
Bye-bye baby...
Oh my God. No. Please no.
"No. No. No. Oh my God. No" she gasped out, before groaning in discomfort as Vox's grip became even more painful.
"...Velvette miscarried?" he said, sounding aghast, clearly having worked out the same thing she had.
Lucifer sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed and resting his hand on Velvette's knee.
His handcuff clinked against her thigh, but she didn't comment on it.
"All this time... I've been having miscarriage after miscarriage after miscarriage..." she said numbly.
She had no idea how to feel about the repeated pregnancy loss. She still didn't know how she felt about pregnancy and motherhood in general. But the knowledge that something inside her had been dying, over and over again... it sickened her, it made her feel like she'd been infested with parasites...
But it also made her want to cry.
She'd known for years that Sinners were infertile, but she'd never felt more barren.
Lucifer rested the pill bottle on his knee before cupping the side of Velvette's face with his blackened hand.
"They weren't miscarriages. It was just the pregnancy ceasing to be. That's all"
"That's a fucking miscarriage, you piece of shit!" Velvette snarled, pulling away from Lucifer.
"Velvette, it's okay" Vox kissed the top of her head, leaning back "I'm not angry, it's okay"
Velvette wrenched herself out of Vox's arms, standing up and glaring furiously down at both men.
"What the fuck do you mean you're not angry? You have no fucking right to be angry! It's my fucking body and my fucking baby we're talking about!"
"She's right, you know. It's not your baby, no matter what you did to her" said Lucifer with a smug grin in Vox's direction.
"YOU!" Velvette rounded on The King Of Hell, pointing a shaking finger in his face "You said I was pregnant when you strutted in here uninvited, and then you told me I miscarry every time I get knocked up. What's the truth?"
Lucifer held up his hands.
"Just calm down-"
"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! Your fucking boyfriend got me gangraped! I should be ripping your fucking head off right now!" Velvette shrieked "What's going on?"
"Allow me to reiterate: Witches fall pregnant with The Devil's spawn if they get violated enough. You were gangraped in the most horrifying way imaginable. Congratulations. You're pregnant!" Lucifer said coldly, before looking instantly remorseful.
"...well. There are nicer ways you could've said that" Vox said with a dark look in Lucifer's direction "She's got a point, too. Your fucking boyfriend is the reason she was gangraped"
Lucifer sighed.
"I am so, so sorry about what Alastor did. If it's any consolation, I doubt he thought his machinations would result in you being gangraped, honey"
Velvette just glared, before clearing her throat.
"Whatever. So. I'm going to have your baby; that's a sure thing?"
"...yes and no" Lucifer pulled a face "You're going to have something, but it's not a baby. Like I said, Devil's spawn"
"But Charlie's your daughter, and she's all annoying and cutesy" Velvette said "I can live with that. There are Hellborn kids who need to be marketed to, I could use a little crotch-goblin to model my designs"
She didn't bring up that sad fact that there were Sinner children in Hell. Nobody liked thinking about that fact too much.
Lucifer grimaced.
"This is slightly different. What you are carrying is an abomination, it's not some sweet little baby, it's dangerous and we need to get rid of it. Fast"
He picked up the pill bottle again, shaking it threateningly.
"Wow. Who'd have thought Heaven would have such simple abortifacients" Vox deadpanned "I suppose that settles the debate"
"Oh, these aren't abortifacients, these are sedatives" said Lucifer "That thing growing inside you can't be taken out easily, so I'm going to knock you out and tear it out myself"
"The fuck you are!" said Vox, outraged.
At the same time, Velvette darkly laughed.
"Well, that settles it the other way, then. Who'd have thought Lucifer was so pro-choice" Velvette said.
"You don't get a choice in this. That thing is coming out of you, and it's coming out of you right now. No witch has ever survived down here long enough for this to happen before. I have no idea what you're brewing in there, and I have no idea what Heaven will do to you when they find out about it, but I'm not planning on letting it be a problem for much longer" Lucifer said, standing up and shaking the pill bottle some more "Velvette, trust me, you'll thank me for this"
Velvette took a step back.
"Can't I think about this? I don't know if I want to be a mother, especially not to some angelic abomination, but I sure as fuck don't want your claws all up in my intestines!"
Lucifer shook his head.
"Velvette, I'm the King of Hell, I'm a fallen angel, I'm thousands of years older than you, and I have seen things that would melt your simple little Sinner mind. I will always know better than you when it comes to things like this. Take the pills and shut up" he said, his voice taking on a dark edge.
Velvette took another step back, placing her hands over her stomach.
"Stay away from me"
"Don't make me do this the hard way" Lucifer sighed.
Velvette stared pleadingly at Vox, who looked frozen and unsure what to do.
"Vox!" she begged, taking another step back "I don't fucking care how old you are, Lucifer, you're still a man. You don't know what you're talking about when it comes to my body!"
"I'm more than a man, Velvette" Lucifer said darkly.
"Vox! Do something!" Velvette pleaded "Where the fuck is Val?!"
Neither of her boys stood a chance against Lucifer, but she was too scared to think clearly.
Lucifer laughed.
"Valentino's not coming back, you stupid little girl. Like I said; Heaven has gotten really interested in Sinners and the possibility of redemption, and Valentino is the only known test subject of my so-called 'redemption potion'. They'll be poking and prodding him until the heat death of the universe" Lucifer said casually.
"What?" Vox said, aghast.
He finally managed to regrow his balls, jumping to his feet and running to get in-between Velvette and Lucifer. All Velvette could see was the back of Vox's jacket as she gratefully clung to him.
Lucifer just laughed again.
"Don't be an idiot. I could fry you like an egg"
"You're not going to lay one finger on her" Vox said darkly.
(Velvette made a mental note to blow Vox until he blue-screened as soon as things were back to normal- if they ever were)
"If you care so much about her, you'll get out of my way. Heaven has grown fascinated by Sinners, and Witches, and all the weird shit going on in The Pride Ring lately. What do you think will happen to Velvette when Heaven finds out she's pregnant? You'll never see her again, and she'll be treated like a lab rat until her immortal soul goes mad" Lucifer shook the pill bottle again "Move, Vox, or be moved"
Luckily for Vox and Velvette, they never needed to find out what "or be moved" entailed, because no sooner had Lucifer finished shaking the pill bottle, than the tense stand-off was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching the door.
Velvette clung to Vox even more fearfully, hating herself for the role of simpering stupid bitch that she couldn't seem to shake off lately.
"Angels" Lucifer and Vox spoke in unison.
Velvette peeked out from behind Vox to stare at Lucifer, who looked liked he'd aged ten years in a second.
"Fuck... we're out of time..." he said, looking at Velvette and biting his lip anxiously "Okay... let me think... let me think..."
Velvette swallowed dryly, her heart hammering in her chest.
As little as she trusted Lucifer, she had no doubt that she would suffer for all eternity if Heaven found out about her impossible pregnancy.
Finally, Lucifer snapped his fingers with a spark of realization in his eyes, even as the rest of his face became locked in a rueful grimace.
"Oh. Boy. I am going to get so much shit for this..." he said "Okay. Plan B"
"Plan B, what's Plan B?" Vox asked, before yelping as Lucifer threw the pill bottle at him, catching it mere millimeters away from his screen.
"I'm going to send you both back to Hell, and I expect you to run and hide the second you're back in The Pride Ring, anywhere that Heaven won't think of will do. Once you're safe, I need you to take those pills, Velvette. Vox, put those claws to good use and rip out her reproductive system. Find something inside it that's glowing and smash it up with Angelic Steel. She'll recover, that abomination won't"
"You are not putting those claws anywhere near my ovaries, Vox" Velvette said as Vox made horrified noises of protest.
Lucifer ignored them, looking anxiously at the doorway before hurrying over to the nightstand on the far side of the room, grabbing Dolores's necklace and tossing it at her. Vox caught it for her, slipping it and the pill bottle into his pocket.
Velvette wanted to ask about the necklace, but before she had the chance to speak Lucifer was frantically rambling again.
"I doubt I'll be able to pull this off twice, so don't blow your one and only chance to save yourself from an eternity tied to an examination table. Good luck" he said "Click your heels together three times and say there's no place like Hell"
Everything was happening so fast, Velvette had a thousand things she wanted to ask, and a thousand more things she wanted to scream in Lucifer's face.
But Vox had something far more urgent on his mind.
"Hey, do I get to keep my new sui-" he started to say.
But that was when everything went sparkly and red, like Vox and Velvette had been dropped into a bottle of nail polish.
Once upon a time, Angel Dust never would've believed that the day would come where he would pity The Vees. But things change, and Angel Dust felt nothing but pity as he watched Vox and Valentino follow Emily The Seraphim out of V Tower, Velvette floating between them in a heavenly stretcher, a shimmering blanket concealing her defilement from Hell's prying eyes.
He'd watched their departure from one of The V Tower's many balconies, thrumming his fingers against the railing until he'd looked up at the gentle weight of a hand resting on his shoulder, narrowing all eight of his eyes at the sight of the cannibal that the hand belonged to grinning ear-to-ear at him.
"I'd love to stay and help tidy up, but Cannibal Town needs me. Tootles!" Rosie had said cheerfully, pinching Angel Dust's cheek "Don't be a stranger"
As Angel had seethed, she'd walked away with a cheerful little wriggle of her fingers. Yes, he and The Vees owed her a life debt for what she'd done, but at the same time he really didn't like her.
A friend of Alastor's was an enemy of The Vees.
...fuck. It was weird to ally himself with The Vees, and it was even weirder how natural it felt to take his former oppressor's side.
Following Rosie's departure, it wasn't long until Carmilla Carmine had to return to her own slice of The Pentagram. In her defense, she was far more regretful about abandoning Angel.
"This Hellhole has been swallowed by chaos, and I can't abandon my daughters. I hope you understand. Please let me know if Velvette is okay" she'd said ruefully, standing in the atrium of V Tower and looking down at Angel with a pitying expression on her face.
"I gotcha, Carmine. Go be with your family, and that stockpile of weapons you're probably just as eager to run back to, I'll let you know how your little crush is doing" Angel said, with more than a little venom.
"You care for her too" Carmilla said, her pity easily morphing into disdain.
"You only care for her because you want to fuck her" Angel said, turning away from Carmilla and missing the suspicious look she was shooting in his direction "Go. Shoo"
Carmilla left without another word, though Angel had heard her mutter something about how "absolute power corrupts absolutely" under her breath as the clicking sound of her pointé shoes grew quieter and quieter as she stormed off into the red twilight of The Pride Ring.
Angel rolled his eyes, smirking to himself as he looked around the disaster zone that was once the glossy atrium with a satisfied nod.
"Suck my dick! This is my tower now!" he'd gloated to the empty room, before the smirk slid off his face like Hellhound shit.
Shit. This is my tower...
...time to get a dustpan, I guess.
Being left solely in charge of repairing the carnage done to V Tower, while also doing his best to rally the remaining souls owned by The Vees, was a huge responsibility for someone like Angel Dust.
But so far, he'd been doing a pretty fucking great job of it, if he did say so himself.
Angel estimated that The Vees had collectively lost forty percent of their souls. The hardest hit was Velvette, having lost a little over half of her souls.
The decimated numbers hadn't deterred Angel in the slightest, and he hadn't wasted any time in getting the surviving and very rattled souls back to work, tidying up the carnage and salvaging everything that wasn't beyond repair.
So far, the work had been going smoothly.
With all three sets of his arms crossed, Angel watched as Vox's studio was slowly pieced back together. The desk had been split clean in half, and the rioters had been classy enough to piss all over Vox's chair.
There wasn't enough bleach in the world, sometimes...
"Mister Angel Dust?" Eelijah's whiny voice spoke up, drawing Angel's attention away from Vox's trashed studio.
"What?" he snapped, turning his multi-eyed glare towards the eel.
He was worried for Velvette, single-handedly responsible for keeping the fractured pieces of The Vees' empire together, terrified that another mob would return at any second, he missed his friends at The Hotel- the same friends that had abandoned him to face the riot- and he had a headache.
He wasn't in the mood for Vox's little lickspittle.
"You told me to reboot the systems? Well, there was a little problem" Eelijah said nervously.
"...and? You better have a fucking solution to this little problem, or I'm gonna show you why most people are scared of spiders" Angel continued to glare down at Eelijah, who wilted.
"The systems needed to be completely rebooted. All data from the past twenty-four hours was lost... including security footage"
"Okay, so what?"
"So, that means we can't identify the people who participated in the riot" Eelijah continued, flinching at Angel's furious expression before quickly continuing, his words falling over themselves in his haste to get them out "So-I-went-through-the-footage-before-rebooting-and-made-a-list-of-the-rioters"
He held out a piece of paper with a shaking hand, and Angel snatched it off him, his eight eyes scanning the long list of names before him.
He thought about the riot, he thought about the condition Velvette had been in after the dust had settled, and his eyes started to glow as his soul burned with rage.
"...right. I'm going to find each and every fucker on this list, and I'm going to feed them to Val. When he's done with them, they can sign their soul to me, Vox, or Vel, and live out eternity as our personal bitches" he said darkly.
"That's not the only thing I found. Don't be offended, Mister Angel Dust, but Mister Vox had a whole file on his computer that was just plans he and the other Vees had made to bring down The Hazbin Hotel. I'm sure there's a copy older than twenty-four hours that won't be wiped, but just in case I printed that file out too... maybe you'll need it" Eelijah handed over a thick sheaf of paper.
A million different emotions swirled inside Angel Dust, and he took the sheaf with a numbed expression on his face.
"I'll process how I feel about this file later. For now... yeah, I think I'll hold onto it. Thanks, Eelijah" he said.
"You're welcome, Mister Angel Dust, sir. By the way, my name's not Eelijah. Everyone gets it wrong" "Eelijah" smiled awkwardly.
"You're kidding! Sorry, kid, I had no idea. What is your name?"
"Oh, it's-"
But Eelijah never got the chance to say it.
Angel Dust's head whipped around at the sound of several VoxTek employees screaming and running for their lives.
A cloud of red sparkles had materialized over the top of Vox's bifurcated desk, and before Angel could take so much as a step towards it, it spat out Vox and Velvette with little ceremony.
The two Vees lay sprawled out on the floor, neatly cocooned between the two halves of the broken desk, coughing and dazedly looking around themselves.
Angel Dust didn't hesitate; he dropped the papers he was holding back into Eelijah's arms and ran towards Vox and Velvette with a clatter of heels, shoving Vox out of the way and crouching down to help Velvette to her feet.
She looked unharmed, aside from several shallow scratches across her skin. For whatever reason, she was wearing a fluttering white nightgown that wouldn't have been out of place in a Marilyn Monroe picture.
As Angel wrapped his arms around her, she leaned against his fluffy chest, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs as he rubbed her back.
"Aw, Toots... no, don't cry. It's okay, everything's okay now, you're home. What happened in Heaven? Where's Val?" Angel directed his questions towards Vox as The TV Demon got to his feet unassisted and started brushing down the snazzy new suit he was wearing.
Apparently, Heaven had a great sartorial scene.
Vox's screen looked tenser than Angel had ever seen it look before, and Angel had seen Vox pass a kidney stone. He brushed off Angel's questions with a wave of his clawed hand.
"That's not important right now. Angel, we need to hide from Heaven, we need somewhere safe and private that Heaven will never think to look for us in. Think fast, where do we go?"
"What the fuck have you gotten yourselves mixed up in now?" Angel said, with a laugh that was half-derisive and half-concerned.
"Angel! We're in deep fucking shit, where do we go?"
"Uh... let me think..." Angel said, before his face contorted into a grimace.
There was one place he immediately thought of; it was safe, it was private, and it was the last place Heaven would ever think to look for The Vees in.
But he didn't like the idea, not one bit. He doubted Vox would like it either. Velvette would fucking hate it, he knew that for sure.
But desperate times called for insane measures...
"Don't shoot the messenger, but there's kinda only one place you can go to, if you need all of that; The Hazbin Hotel"
Vox and Velvette stared at Angel and then stared at each other.
Angel wasn't surprised in the slightest when Vox slumped back down to the ground again, slamming his fists and kicking his feet against the ground in a childish temper-tantrum.
"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck..."
To Be Continued...
Notes:
🎶Hello... It's me... I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to read my author's notes...🎶
1. ...you know, there's no sound I would like to hear more than The Vees' getting a song where all three of them sing together in Season 2...
2. As we near the Season 2 premier, I'm curious to see if there's anything I managed to 'predict'. One thing I think could actually show up in canon is Vox/The Vees spreading the rumor that Lucifer and Charlie are too close. What do you guys think?
3. Another prediction I'd like to make is that Vox is being very NSFW with his employees in canon. Oh, to be a VoxTek employee...
4. Chips (fries, to you uncultured American swine) dipped into milkshakes are a delicacy, fight me 😽
5. ...I'm not so sure if 'a delicacy' is the right way to describe what Val does, however.
6. "It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!" is to be read as if Velvette is imitating Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove.
7. I don't think there's any hard proof as to whether or not there are haircare/skincare benefits to semen, but I doubt Vox cares.
8. Pro tip: If your genitalia starts burning during a round of marathon sex, don't just drown the area with numbing spray, cease all sexual activities immediately and seek medical attention. This has been 'Common Sense, And Other Things The Vees Don't Have, With Jesse'.
9. The position that The Vees get into post-coitus is indeed a PolyVees reinterpretation of the 'After The Battle' trading card.
10. I hate, hate, hate, hate, FUCKING HATE feet. But my Velvette muse wanted to kiss Vox's feet, so here we are. Please excuse me while I throw up.
11. In case I was being too oblique, those two unnamed voices Velvette was dreaming about were indeed Alastor and Lucifer, and we all just got the privilege of eavesdropping into the start of their relationship in this AU. Cute, huh?
12. Jesse Quinn Deep Lore: I've been an amateur Ripperologist since I was a child, I think seeing certain crime scene photos at a young age are one of the many reasons I am The Way I Am now.
13. Maybe "She felt like she'd been licking the aftermath of the 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius that buried the Roman city of Pompeii in layers of ash that caused it to become the most well-preserved Ancient Roman city in history" is more accurate, but it's not as snappy.
14. To delineate between Velvette's powers in this AU; her Overlord powers are flashy little spectacles tied to fashion or social media, while her Witchcraft is more like something you'd expect Dark Willow from Buffy The Vampire Slayer to do.
15. ...and that whole flashback, gentle reader, was my way of explaining why whatever The Vees are plotting to do in S2, they abandoned their plans for it in The Lepidopterophobia AU. (I'll probably tidy it up once S2 finishes airing and I have a better idea about what's happening in canon).
16. Well fuck me. Apparently it's just 'V Tower' and not '*The* V Tower'. Oops... I'm of two minds whether I want to go back and fix that one up or not. IMHO, It makes sense for people to use 'The V Tower'. 'V Tower' is more like it's corporate branding. Anyway, give me your thoughts on it in the comments. I'm all ears for feedback 👂That's all folks! (For now, at least)
Not to end this update on a sad note, but I'm in a very dark place right now. I'm not in any danger, but I am struggling a lot with my depression. Life has been very hard, and there's just been a death in my family. But truly, I cannot emphasize enough how much it means to me that people read and love my silly little au. I love you all, and I hope life is being kinder to you guys 💕
God willing, I'll have the next chapter done before October. There's a MASSIVE twist in it that will affect the entire AU, so I hope y'all are ready for it 😉
-Jesse xx
P.S: It's my life, so I'll make jokes about it: The AO3 Author's Curse strikes again!
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