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Chapter Text

Cherri Bomb cheers as Charlie drops a pile of cash into her hands to pay for everyone's night out while she and Vaggie are up in Heaven, and Angel says "I happen to know the perfect place! 'Bout as far from the Entertainment District as it gets…which is actually perfect, no damn way we're seeing Val tonight! One of the Makeup girls told me about it while she was fixing my face up between shoots, called The Sunken Melody."

Cherri Bomb socks him in the shoulder, saying "I've heard of that place! The owner's low-key famous! Keeps to herself for the most part, guarded sort, but super smart. Only thing is…it's hidden away in the Doomsday District. Just gotta find water there, apparently."

Charlie and Vaggie head through the portal that opens up, Charlie yelling for everyone to have fun as she does, and they all head out.

Angel curls himself around Niffty to try and shield her from the impact of them both hitting the ground, trying not to land on top of her as he does - the entire room suddenly goes icy-cold and brighter, though, and Angel can see his breath mist in the air a heartbeat later. And then the singing starts, the same voice from up on the stage - but no words, this time, just a sound that fills his ears and makes everything go foggy for a moment before clearing. The voice is still singing, though the owner - a woman with dark blue skin, inky black hair moving around her head like she's underwater, two colorful fins emerging from behind her ears and at her shoulders, and iridescent scales highlighting her shoulders, collarbones, and her dark blue eyes.

When Angel glances over at Val, wondering just why he hasn't done anything more, he sees…Val's eyes are completely glazed over, and his expression has gone slack like he's staring into a bright light.

And then, moving as if he's incredibly drunk, Val snaps his fingers, the damned contract Angel's regretted signing like nothing else appears…and, without a second's hesitation, Valentino rips it in half.

Doesn't even blink as he does it, 

There's something cold and triumphant in the gaze of Angel's brand new hero as she finally stops singing, and a watery current sweeps the ripped contract away before it can even hit the floor while Valentino gets trapped up to his neck in a thick layer of frost.

It takes him a solid minute to recover from whatever trance the singing had put him under, but by then the entire club is whispering to one another. "Oh, what the fuck?!" He starts swearing in Spanish, swinging his head back and forth because he can't move anything below his neck, and the mystery woman eventually makes him stop by creating a layer of ice over his mouth.

"You're not welcome in here anymore, Vee. Get out, and never come back. Because, the next time you do, I'll do far more than this." Two large forms emerge from a nearby water channel covered by a grate, cleverly hidden away under the fog layer that covers the floor solidifying into giant golem-like forms covered in ice-armor. Those golems then pick Valentino out, carrying the immobile Overlord out as the crowd parts to make way for them.

Cherri Bomb bounds over to the mystery woman as soon as Valentino is out of sight, excitedly saying "Bitch, that was awesome! You freed Angie and you shut that dickhead up, you are awesome!"

Angel Dust picks himself and Niffty off the floor, still holding onto her even now, and they head to a deserted corner of the club before he says "Thank you, really. I'm Angel Dust. Well, Anthony. Angel Dust is my stage name."

The dark-haired woman, who's hair is slowly lightening to a navy blue with cyan and silver strands starting to emerge even as the lighting slowly goes back to normal and the sound of waves crashing slowly subsides, hums a note or two then says "Sirenna Océane, though please don't go spreading that around. Do yourself a favor and don't shack up with Overlords anymore. The lot of them are nothing but trouble, especially the Vees." Yes, she put up a silencing effect around them - she's worked hard for her anonymity

Angel nods, whipping out his phone to black Val's number before he can call, and says "Yeah, don't need to tell me twice. But…are you going to be alright? Val won't take losing me lying down, much less the public humiliation."

Sirenna waves him off, saying "I can handle myself. If he's so stupid as to come back here after tonight, he deserves what's coming to him. As for the other Vees, TV's short circuit with water and Velvette is a brat who cares too much about her precious hair to get it wet."

Angel, Cherri, Husk, and Pentious all burst out laughing at that.

After he calms down, Angel gets a napkin and a pen, saying "If you need some help, I'd be happy to try. Really, I can't thank you enough."

Sirenna hums, eyes having turned the same navy blue as her hair with silver fleck catching the light every now and again, and says "You'd be better off writing down your address, I don't have a phone. Couldn't even if I wanted to, what with all the water." And, gods does she not want to. Not with that manipulative tv-headed Overlord controlling them all.

Angel nods, saying "It's the hotel up on the hill in the Morningstar District. Pretty hard to miss, with Smiles' Tower glued to the side. Seriously, you need anything at all - I don't care what it is or what I have to do to make it happen-"

Sirenna shakes her head, saying "Don't. I'm not about to ask you to throw yourself into danger. I'm no Overlord, never will be."

Husk gives her a disbelieving look, but doesn't say anything - she just put an Overlord into a trance and made him destroy a contract, freeing Angel in the process. If she's not at Overlord-levels of power, he'll give up alcohol for the next ten years.

Charlie, meanwhile, is practically vibrating in her seat in sheer excitement even as most the Heavenly Courtroom looks positively terrified - Angel's free, somebody finally stood up to that vile mothman, and Angel did everything on Adam's list!

This meeting just got a whole lot better.

Even moreso because of the look on Adam's face, like he's still half-dazed from the song Sirenna used on Valentino himself.

Vaggie notices almost at once, even as Lute elbows the First Man sharply in the ribs to snap him out of it - that could be useful…if she doesn't turn it on them. She can already tell, just by glancing at her, that Charlie's going to insist on meeting this woman in person.

Probably to give her a bone-crushing hug on sight, shower her with thanks and praise, and then go from there.

Chapter Text

Vox and Velvette step into The Sunken Melody, and Velvette looks around in grudging admiration - the place really lives up to the whole ocean theme, between the layer of fog covering the floor just enough to hide anything she wants hidden, the steady sound of water flowing, the Bioluminescent glow in the upper walls and ceiling, the Mother-of-Pearl counter and tabletops, the blue lighting that looks like waves…it's like they've stepped out of Hell and into an underwater fantasy.

Vox sighs internally - of all the days to find a place like this…it had to be on a Victoria kind of day. A day where he's reminded of her and how damn good things were with his wife. She never threw tantrums or got kicked out of clubs, she was the one who sang at the clubs, taking center-stage and drawing in the entire crowd. She was wicked-smart, generous, passionate, fun…made him feel alive like so few things in his life actually did.

There's not much he misses about his life, and relatively few days in his afterlife - compared to how long he's been down here, anyway - that he misses them, but Victoria Cox is the biggest and most frequently missed part. She could always make everything better, be it a headache after a long day in the office or something else, just by humming a tune while rubbing his shoulders or temples.

And, right now? Gods, does he miss the way she never gave him even an ounce of trouble but always helped make it vanish. She'd love this place, he muses as he glances around for the woman Val described, Victoria always did have an obsession with all things oceanic. Singing was her first love ever since she was five, the oceans second after a class project at ten, and he was third by virtue of having come into her life after the first two.

Giving himself a mental shake, reminding himself his wonderful, warm-hearted wife is up in Heaven where she belongs, where she deserves to be, Vox mutters "Let's get this over with, Vel." Time to figure out what to do about the source of all the rumors and wild stories on all the online boards - made him rip a contract apart with nothing but her voice, according to all of them.

No video footage of it happening, but all the stories on all the boards they've searched since Val got back to the Tower swearing and cussing like a Spanish sailor say the same thing - she sang, he went still, then he destroyed the contract in front of everyone.

Velvette hums, one hand on her hip and the other holding her phone, and asks "Again?" He's missing his wife again? He gets like this sometimes, when Val's being extra-bitchy or there's a massive project deadline coming up. Usually ends up staring at his sharks for a few hours if they can't snap him out of it.

"Yeah, again."

Velvette sighs, but doesn't say anything - not like Val would. Val has absolutely no regard for things like love or family, they're just tools for him to get more people on his chain. Velvette may spend her time crafting posts and mocking people, but she had a family once to. Siblings she adored, once upon a time, who become her first viewers when she was still alive and had just discovered social media.

She knows Vox's pain better, sympathizes with it while Val would just tell him he's being overdramatic and maybe have some filthy sex after everything's said and done.

Finally, finally, he spies two figures in the room, partially hidden behind the dark bar counter - not actively out of sight, but not rushing to nervously greet them either like most Sinners would.

Instead, she's talking to a bat-like Sinner who's gone completely stiff as they stare at the two Overlords. Right up until she says something that has their head snapping towards her, mouth moving in what's clearly a question. She nods, they leave…and she doesn't turn around, still clearly waiting for them to come over as she eats a salad of some kind.

"This is ridiculous," Velvette mutters, "c'mon, Vox."

They start walking over - stalking, more like, in Velvette's case - and finally she turns around to look at them.

Vox stops mid-stride as soon as he sees her face, feeling like he's just done that stupid ice bucket challenge that was all the rage a few years ago - what is Victoria doing down here?! As much as he wants to deny it, wants to say it can't be his wife…he knows his wife, made sure to save every memory of her in his data banks multiple times, back them all up in three different servers and an external backup drive for good measure.

She looks a little different now, true - scales, colorful fins behind her ears, navy blue skin - but not nearly so different that he can't recognize her in a fucking instant. Same face, same cheekbones, nose, jawline…all of it.

Different expression, though, cold and closed off, as if she's already made up her mind about all of them when he remembers her being so damn warm and open to pretty much everything.

"Velvette," he rasps out, not even daring to blink in case Victoria just vanishes, "let me handle this."

Velvette looks at him oddly, and asks "You good, V?" Clearly not, his fans have gone into overdrive already and his screen is glitching every few moments before he forces his screen back to normal…except it's not. The neon lines are too sharp, there's a staticky sound coming from him, and he's just adjusted his suit, rolled his shoulders, and is now fiddling with his cuffs. She's seen this plenty of times…just not on Vox.

Vox doesn't get nervous, doesn't just stop and completely abandon the script they've used for literal decades now - the two of them are the unofficial cleanup crew for whenever Val makes a mess, quietly fixing whatever it is he did. Be it with intimidation, bribes, paying for whatever it is he broke, or Vox's hypnosis - whatever it takes to protect the Brand.

Until now, until Mr. Perfection and PR is suddenly going on the fritz altogether, shoulders heaving like he's suddenly forgotten he doesn't actually need to breathe and the act was all for show, for their image.

Vox nods, screen brightness dipping and flaring as he swallows at the icy gaze fixed on the two of them, and says "Get a drink or something, Vel. I need to talk to her alone." This is Victoria, this is his wife, the woman who loved to sing and swim, who tried to convince him that a massive aquarium with all kinds of fish would be a fantastic idea for their tenth anniversary.

What is she doing down here?!

How is she down here?! She never did a damn thing wrong in her life!

And what happened to her? She never had that ice in her gaze, that mistrust and disgust - he can't remember her ever having anything remotely similar in the entire time he knew her.

He walks the rest of the way over, smile just slightly too tight, like he's forcing it and overshooting just enough - interesting, Velvette thinks, whoever this woman is…she can rattle Vox to his very bones just by existing. Why, she doesn't know, but she's sure she's about to find out.

Vox makes his way over to Victoria, telling himself the ice in her gaze will melt as soon as she realizes it's him, but before he can even think of what to say she stops him in his tracks. "You don't belong here," she says in a voice even colder than her dark gaze.

Swallowing a few times, Vox asks "You…really don't recognize me?"

Victoria scoffs, hair going inky black - just like it was when she was alive, even if it only moved like it is now when she was underwater - making the vibrant, Iridescent fins behind her ears stand out even more, and says "Of course I do…Vox. The CEO of VoxTek, Ringleader of the three most manipulative, power-hungry, influence-grubbing Overlords in the Pentagram. Your face is plastered across every single damn billboard throughout your gaudy Entertainment District, and I've been down here long enough to know all the rumors about you and your bug that was here last night. I've heard how you and yours treat the souls unlucky enough to be owned by the three of you, I've heard about the shows, the porn movies, the products, the endorsements, all of it. Yes, I know who you are."

Vox swallows nervously, that's…not good. That's not good whatsoever.

How long has she been down here, exactly?

Trying again, feeling his panic start to slip out of control despite his best efforts, he reaches for her hand and catches her wrist, and says "No, Angelfish, it's me. I know it's been sixty years, but it's me."

Her eyes narrow, even as she tries to pull her wrist out of his grip even as small arcs of lightning dance along his wrist and escape his head, but he can see she still doesn't recognize him - and then he wants to laugh, of-fucking-course she doesn't recognize him, he's got a literal tv for a head, different skin color, even the way his voice sounds has completely changed! Getting an idea, he tries a phrase he hasn't used in sixty years - an inside joke of theirs, about the three things she loved most in life. Music, the ocean and everything about it, and him. "You ever notice the tide changes three times before midnight?"

Now, finally, he sees recognition in her gaze, sees the way the fins behind her ears twitch and shift as she sucks in a sharp breath, spreading out slightly along with the ones at her shoulders. Shock and horror flits across her expression, even as Vox brushes some of her hair out of the way with his free hand…and accidentally brushes the nearby fin, breaking the moment entirely.

She jerks her head away from his claws at once, and a sudden sharp stinging sensation has him automatically letting go of her wrist, only to find a layer of frost coating his palm and another fin on the outside of her forearm.

When he looks back at her, the disgust and disdain is back in her expression tenfold. "Victor?" At his nod, rubbing at his stinging hand, her voice goes even colder. "This is what you've become? A manipulative, power-hungry, influence-grubbing, arrogant, abusive, stereotypical corporate asshole of an Overlord? You shacked up with that vile bug?"

Vox opens his mouth to defend himself, but she snaps "No, don't try and say otherwise! I've seen the movies, heard the rumors, listened to people talk about your endless breakup-makeup cycle! I know how he treats his souls, what his reputation is - he's a damn pimp, for fucks sake! Even looks and acts the part, the self-centered, spoiled, selfish, arrogant pimp with no regard for anything or anyone but himself! Yet you somehow thought that he was a good choice for anything at all, much less a relationship!"

Vox shakes his head, saying "I'm still your-"

"My what? My husband?! The man that I loved wouldn't be standing next to a vile pig like Valentino, wouldn't produce his porn where the actors don't look sober enough to actually consent to anything, wouldn't have thrown away everything he was for power. For money. Because that's all that matters to you, Vox. Your damn money."

"Victoria, Babe, it's not what it-"

"Cut the crap, Vox. How long do you think I've been down here?"

Vox shakes his head, saying "I thought—fuck, I thought you’d be in Heaven. I thought you made it." His voice cracks, a broken laugh falling from his lips, and he adds "You—You weren’t even supposed to be here, you know? I never—I never thought I’d fucking see you again."

Sirenna icily says "Ten years, Vox. Ten years watching everything, learning the rules of this place. Hearing every rumor, every story, reading every porn film title, seeing everyone around me go incredibly still whenever that eye of yours starts swirling on one of your damn broadcasts - you think I didn't figure that one out? Your little hypnosis trick doesn't work on me, and now I guess I know why."

Vox tries to speak, to say something - Victoria's never been this angry at him, this hurt, he's not sure what the hell he's supposed to do - but it all comes out as a buffering, stuttering mess.

And then a familiar voice exclaims "Uh-oh, the Tv is buffering!" Vox snaps his head around to the source of the voice, and feels his stomach drop to about his ankles when he sees none other than Alastor leaning against a nearby column.

The air suddenly goes cold enough Vox can see his own breath, and Velvette shivers as the lighting in the room changes, the fog thickens, and they hear water start splashing almost ominously despite there being no visible water anywhere nearby. The humidity in the room rising removes the 'almost' from that assessment - definitely ominous, how strong is Victoria's power over water?

"How did you get in here," Victoria asks, fins extending outward even more, "because you for damn sure didn't use the door."

Alastor's grin widens, eyes alight with mischief, and he says "I have my ways. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Victoria, quite a pleasure!"

"I can't say the same," she flatly says, "and it's not Victoria anymore. And, no, I'm not saying what I go by now. I have no interest in giving information to any Overlord, no matter which one it is or what they come here for." She strides to behind the counter, taking out a glass and filling it with some kind of clear liquid before taking a sip of it. "If you two want to fight, take it outside. The door's that way."

"Mm," Alastor says, leaning on his cane as he examines Victoria from head to toe, "you certainly have a casual disregard for an Overlord's power. Why is that, I wonder?"

"Not quite," Vox can't quite believe his audio ports, really, but his disbelief is currently warring with the desire to claw Alastor's eyes out to get them off his wife, "I acknowledge your power. I just want nothing to do with any of you. Not when you're all like them." She jerks her head in Vox and Velvette's direction for emphasis on just who she means.

Alastor's eyes narrow slightly, even as Velvette indignantly asks just what that's supposed to mean, and Vox says "Don't invite her to tell you, Vel. Vika will, trust me on that." Even in life, she wouldn't hesitate to give someone exactly the piece of her mind they were asking about when she got all fired up.

Now? With this new ice coating her personality and disdain for anything and everything related to Overlords? She'll rip Velvette to pieces with nothing but words, and he has no guarantee that she can fully control that voice of hers.

Victoria - or whatever her name is now, since she apparently won't tell any of them! - meets Alastor's gaze dead-on as she asks "Now, what do you want? You must have a reason for being here. If it's to get a deal out of me, though, you'll be leaving sorely disappointed. I don't do deals, not with Overlords, not with anyone."

"Mm," Alastor hums, "as it happens, Princess Morningstar herself is…extraordinarily interested in meeting you."

Dark blue eyes narrow at him, and she sharply says "You don't strike me as a messenger, or someone's errand boy. Now, what do you want?"

"Came by to see just who could've had everyone else in the Hotel so excited. Imagine my surprise when I find this lovely little reunion." This pot of ancient gold at the end of the rainbow coral, more like.

Vox glares, almost glad to have something more familiar to deal with - almost - and snarls "You fucker, I swear-"

"If you two want to fight," Victoria snaps, a familiar tone from when people were testing her patience back when they were alive, "take it outside! Vox, take your brat of a co-worker and scram, you've overstayed your welcome. As for you, Radio Demon, I don't know how you got in, but you can see yourself out the same way. If the Princess actually sent you, tell her I'll consider the meeting. And, yes, I know where the hotel is. Rather hard to miss when this one throws a tantrum and takes out the electrical grid." She leans against the back wall, ice-cold gaze shifting between Alastor and Vox, clearly done with the conversation and their company.

Alastor chuckles lowly, putting a hand to his chest as it builds into full-blown laughter, and says "Oh, now this is delicious! All that power you so clearly hold, and yet you claim-"

"You finish that sentence," Victoria snaps, "and you can kiss any chance of me going to that Hotel of yours goodbye."

Alastor raises one eyebrow slowly, even as Velvette stares at the woman in utter shock and Vox feels a migraine building, and asks "You do know who you're talking to, right?"

Victoria snorts, and says "Of course I do. Pride's Boogeyman, the Overlord Slayer, the fearsome Radio Demon who strikes fear in the hearts of all those around him…a man that lives for the fear of others, even if he got to it by killing Overlords that trafficked their souls, dealt in kids, and were even worse than that vile bug that was here last night."

Alastor hums, saying "And yet, you speak your mind like I couldn't kill you where you stand." He's not actually going to kill her…he is, however, incredibly intrigued by her attitude and apparent lack of self-preservation instinct.

"If you came here to kill me, then nothing I say will change that. Might as well speak my mind, rather than playing the ass-kissing coward who died groveling." She tilts her head slightly, and says "Besides, you already told me Princess Morningstar wants to meet me. Pretty hard to do that if I'm busy reforming once more."

Vox stalks over to Alastor, snarling "You touch one hair on my wife's head, bastard, and I'll-"

They both jerk backwards when several ice spikes suddenly form between them, and they both look back towards the angry Siren-like Sinner. "Except I'm not," she icily says, making Vox's screen glitch multiple times in a row, "or do you not remember 'Til Death Do Us Part' being in the wedding vows? You died. And, clearly, you moved on to that rapist bug of yours."

Vox shakes his head, saying "Babe, I'm-"

"What, not with him? Not letting him shove his tongue down your throat and drip his poison into you? Not doing his Love Potion the lot of you make or getting it straight from the source? Or do you want to try telling me you think those red streaks are there for decoration?"

Vox frowns, touching the corner of his screen, before shaking his head and saying "He's not. I'm not- fucking hell, Babe-"

"Save it and get out. This conversation is over. Vox."

The way she spits his name like a curse, like it's the foulest word in the human language, cuts deeper than Vox wants to admit even to himself, but Velvette seems to pick up on it and says "C'mon, V. Let's go, we're not going to get anywhere like this."

Ten minutes after they leave, Velvette eyes Vox once more - there's electricity dancing along his arms, arcing between his knuckles. Mr. Always In Control Vox is suddenly not so in control for the first time since she met him and Valentino. 

Keeping her voice light, trying to act like she can't see exactly how off-kilter he is, Velvette says "So, that was rough, huh? Not exactly the reunion you thought possible, huh?"

Vox doesn't answer right away, flexing his claws and straightening his cuffs, then quietly says "I didn't even know she was down here, Vel. Ten years…" Ten years of God-knows-what happening to her, and it must've been bad to turn Victoria's warmth to ice. 

A familiar static-filled chuckle reaches them, and they both whirl around to see Alastor leaning against a half-destroyed wall. Eyes practically dancing with mischief and sadistic glee, no less.

Velvette's instantly on-guard, whipping out her gun and pointing it at Alastor, but Vox just sighs tiredly and asks "What do you want, Alastor? Come to gloat?"

Alastor raises one eyebrow, and says "I'm on my way back to the Hotel. Or did you forget the detail that it's also this direction?"

Yeah, right, he's believing that. Alastor could've just shadowed his way back there. No, he came to pick and poke at the open wound Vox is now carrying, to see just how much amusement he could get out of the situation.

"You never told me your wife was such a spitfire, though, old pal. Though, I don't think that quite fits, given the detail that she can freeze things."

"Leave her alone, Alastor," Vox says, "I mean it."

Alastor rolls his eyes, and flatly says "I thought you knew I have no interest in relationships such as marriage, Vox. No, I'm much more interested in the whole situation, personally. Someone with enough power to rival even the strongest of Overlords, but who actively rejects the very notion. How very entertaining!" And that's to say absolutely nothing about her being Vox's wife, how thoroughly she hates everything he now represents. He doesn't even have to say or do anything, he knows Vox well enough to know he's going to fixate on this until either he loses his mind altogether or she does something drastic in return.

Vox stiffens, Alastor sensed her power to. Great. "You'll break your teeth on her, Alastor. My wife never said anything she didn't mean, even up on Earth."

"Mm," Alastor hums, eyes going sharp, "then you're in a lot of trouble. I'm not the one who just laid my heart at her feet, only to get it kicked to a wall and impaled on an ice spike."

Well, Vox has to admit, he's not wrong.

"I'm just going to be watching with a bowl of popcorn from the sidelines as you finally show all of Pride you're not as perfect as you claim to be. As you self-destruct over a woman who's spent the past ten years surviving under everyone's radar with nobody the wiser, who thinks the worst of every Overlord and especially you and your team."

His grin widens so it's ear to ear, and he practically sings "Oh this will be fun..." 

Vox bristles slightly, but Alastor melts into the shadows with a cackle before he can say anything in response.

Chapter Text

Velvette watches from the edge of the desk as Vox keeps working - he's now just as obsessed about this club and the owner as he is with the Radio Demon, and gods does it show. He's already put a recording of the whole conversation on one of his screens, running facial recognition software after two attempts at picking out any hint of hesitation, of doubt, of anything that would indicate she's not absolutely set in her opinion on him, on them, on Overlords in general.

Velvette couldn't see any sign that she's not completely set in that opinion, then or on the screen, so now he's scanning Hell's database for any record of her. Even a fucking name - because, just like she said, she doesn't go by 'Victoria Ariella Cox' down here. No mention of that name anywhere. Or her maiden name, Victoria Ariella Briand.

He's also got three drones settled on rooftops near the club, watching to see what she does next - they'll follow her at a distance if she leaves, but so far there's been no activity. Most of the rest of the screens are filled with dozens of online boards and forums, which are all blowing up even now about one of the Vees losing a contract - and they're fully expecting the club to be full to the brim tonight, despite the incredibly dangerous location and how well-hidden the club actually is.

Because, yes, it's mostly underground - one of the multiple reasons they hadn't known the place even existed until Val made his way there. Another being, it's in a literal never-ending warzone, where territory between rival gangs is constantly changing.

After the facial recognition doesn't find anything - no records of any deals, no former contracts, nothing - Velvette asks "You think you're gonna get her to change her mind?" She seemed really dead-set on having nothing to do with any of what they'd built, no pun intended. There's also something she caught that Vox didn't - or, at least, hasn't addressed yet. She said once more - she at least implied that she's been killed at least once before they showed up at her doorstep. He's gonna lose it when he realizes it if he hasn't, or he's gonna think of the most convoluted way to find out just what happened if he already has.

And who the fuck knows what he'll do from there.

Vox turns to give her a grin - too tight, too forced, too manic - and he says "Everyone does, Vel. Eventually. Just gotta find which buttons to press in what order."

The last screen shows Val, lounging on his couch and smoking one of his cigarettes, and Velvette says "I promised I wouldn't tell him who she is. And I won't, we both know how the piss-baby is. But you gotta get ahead of whatever he's planning, that's his seething-scheming face."

Vox nods, and says "Keep an eye on the footage for me, Vel. Vika steps foot outside that building, follow her - from a distance, she was always too perceptive to keep a surprise from for long." He then zaps himself through the monitor and into Val's room.

Velvette rolls her eyes, and scrolls on her phone for another post about The Sunken Melody and the mysterious owner to anonymously Like - Vox's plan was simple enough in theory, get her into the spotlight, get everyone's attention on her, see what she does from there. She's spent the past ten years completely off the grid, they need to level the playing field somehow - getting more attention on her, at least, will be easy enough. She just took a contract from a well-known Overlord who goes out in public at least four times a week, there's no possible way people won't talk.

One thing they found out from the boards is that her voice simply can't be recorded when she uses its power, that was the response to 'video or it didn't happen' from one user - which is gonna make things even worse for Vox, she's sure of it. Just like how the Radio Demon can't be caught on video, The Sunken Melody's singer can't be recorded and played back - she isn't sure if it being a deliberate thing or just one quirk of her voice would be worse, truth be told. If it were just a quirk of her powers, there's nothing any of them can do - if it's deliberate, though…fuck, that's gonna screw with Vox's head.

Especially if she amps it up after the little revelation of just who she is and how they knew each other.

Vox gets into Valentino's room and immediately finds him half-covered by his own smoke. Leaning against the desk, Vox waits until he has Valentino's attention before saying "I have the club owner handled, Val. Just leave her to me."

"Oh, really, Voxxy," Val drawls, "and how's that? Because she took a contract from me, I've read. Made me rip it up in front of everyone. And I bet it was Angel Dust, that ungrateful whore!"

Vox lets out a practiced chuckle, remembering the sound of water crashing against stone channels and the temperature dropping in the club as he does, and puts on a confident grin as he says "Considering her power, that may make her more useful than one regular Sinner, Val. She's practically an Overlord herself, just needs a little push. We get her on board, you'll have more souls than ever. Probably find someone better than Angel Dust in a week."

Much as Victoria would hate the very idea of that, it's the only way he can think to spin this that won't have Val going back down there. And the last thing he's going to let happen is Val going back to that club, guns loaded, and doing far worse than causing a scene. Val goes back there, either he or Victoria are going to end up dead. Possibly permanently dead, depending on the ammo Val loads.

"Besides, we don't want anyone thinking we're weak, or that any specific soul is irreplaceable. So you should…?"

"Let it be?"

"Right!" Vox makes casino slot sounds play from his speakers for good measure, saying "That's why you're the one in charge!" Vox feels some of the tension drain out of him at the familiar routine - letting Val come to 'his own' conclusion about what he should and shouldn't do. If he shouldn't go chasing after Angel Dust for moving out of the studio, then he absolutely shouldn't go storming into The Sunken Melody after causing a very public scene.

Especially when he's so very weak to her voice, that's just begging his wife to do something she probably won't regret and he'll be cursing Val out for decades to come over.

"Ooh," Val whines, crossing his arms petulantly, "but I really wanted to shoot her!"

Vox is very careful to keep his screen from glitching, but feels his claws dig into the desk at that declaration. Instead, he says "She'd have you shooting yourself instead in under a minute, Val. You stay out of there, stay away from her until she's one of us." At Val's look, he adds "She's got bite, sure, and a lot of it. But she's not untouchable, no single Sinner down here is. Give it time." A fuck-ton of time, to be specific.

Time for him to strategize, time to dig into the past ten years and figure out where his wife's been hiding other than her club. 

Time for him to find out just how she changed so much, when it happened, and think of how to bring the warmth he remembers back.

Val pouts, eyes narrowed as he asks "You sure about that, Voxxy? Cause, I don't like loose ends."

Vox nods, giving Val a sharp, confident grin as he says "Trust me, Val. I've got this - we've just gotta take it slow, is all. Patience and no sudden moves to spook her." Spooking her is definitely not the right word, Vox thinks - prompting her into the Tower to attempt to flood the place from top to bottom sounds more accurate, in his opinion.

Victoria never threw tantrums...but she knew how to make a point. And, with the rules Hell operates under...there's not much of a thing as 'illegal' - destruction of property is perfectly allowed, borderline encouraged. He doesn't really want to know what this new, frosty version of his wife will do if push comes to shove. 

"I'll handle her, you handle your next movie."

Val eventually nods his head with a huff, crossing his lower arms as he sinks back into the corner of the couch before giving Vox a familiar look. "Voxxy," he says in a seductive tone, "how 'bout you make me feel better, then? If I can't shoot her, we could use that time some other way."

Vox gives him a grin, and says "Can't this time, Val. Gotta work on reeling in a certain fish for us."

Something loosens in Vox as soon as he appears back in his own office, he won't admit the thought of Val actually drugging him via his Venom is on his mind ever since Victoria pointed the - highly unlikely - possibility, but it has been. He's an Overlord, and he's immune to Val's Pheromones due to having no sense of smell, surely he'd know if Val was drugging him.

No chance overwise.

Still, the idea of not being in control…it unnerves him more than he'd like to admit to even himself.

Vika was always good at that, at picking out things and making someone think about them.

Pushing that thought aside, he starts digging into the past ten years of Pentagram City - there won't be anything about the Doomsday District, obviously, but surely somebody noticed a fish-woman with a literal Siren Song in the city. Victoria might not be Queen Lilith's protege - probably - but that's not exactly a common power. 

So...how didn't he know about her? 

Also, where the hell did she get that much water?! It wasn't in sight, no, but they could both hear it nonstop. And there was none of the smell that comes with most of Pride Ring's polluted water, either.

That's one of the first things he looked for, clean water being re-routed from somewhere else - nothing. He'd think maybe she somehow got it from the Ring below them - just pulled it out of the ground, the place is a good three feet underneath the surface of Pride Ring - but far as he knows the next Ring down is Wrath...a fiery wasteland ruled by Satan himself. 

Not particularly water-friendly either.

Did she just...draw it out of the air or something? The very thought makes Vox want to laugh hysterically if that's actually the case - leave it to stunning, stubborn Victoria to look at Hell's rot and pollution and decide that doesn't sit well with her.

He's still got to find out just how she's been making her way through 

When he finally gets out of his office - no sign of Victoria anywhere, it's like she's got the ability to be invisible because there's absolutely no record of her whatsoever - he sees Val and Velvette already on the couch, the Tv on a commercial that's almost over. And then, the next show starts as soon as he sits down in his chair - the next episode of 'Yeah, I fucked your sister, so what?'

Well, Vox thinks to himself semi-hysterically, then there's that. One of our most popular shows…

And it's absolutely a subject Victoria would hate. A reality tv show about a man who cheats on his wife with her sister.

And then, suddenly - like the old-timey prick is trying to pull him into a meltdown - Alastor's voice travels across the radio frequency they share. In a fucking sing-song voice, to boot.

~I know something you don't know~ *

Oh yeah? And what's that, prick?*

~Her name.~

Chapter Text

Sirenna huffs as she finally sees the Hazbin Hotel at the top of the hill - she doesn't leave her club for the most part, preferring to keep to herself rather than get into trouble, so she's not exactly used to long treks anymore. Not on a regular basis, anyway.

At least she managed to ditch the drone that was following her before she even left the Doomsday District - and she really should consider connecting her club directly to the maze of what she thinks are smuggler's passages crisscrossing all throughout the City itself. There's already a network of pipes she can use to get to somewhere in the Doomsday District itself, other areas of the place…but they require her to be up there to access them, as well as only connecting to other parts of the District. If she needs to go somewhere into the rest of the city, she generally takes one of the tunnels.

Down in the club, though, she's more or less safe - especially after she dealt with several high-ranking members of each side of the turf war that thought they could either raid her new home, pull her into their war, or worse. They went in cocky, violent, and thinking they could do whatever they wanted to her - they came out like they'd all seen ghosts of their pasts.

It's the only time she's ever used her voice to drag up people's deepest regrets, their worst fears, and every bit of emotional pain they carry. She's never had to do it since, and was never bothered the times she had to leave her underground sanctuary she was fixing up for things.

Something for another time, Sirenna thinks, right now I've got a meeting with Hell's literal princess.

She knows Princess Charlotte's reputation, a naïve little girl with too much optimism who's only survived because her father would happily raze the entire Ring to the ground should something happen to her. Between a naïve, sheltered girl who reportedly runs around singing about rainbows and drawing crayon advertisement posters and a manipulative, power-hungry Overlord…she'll take her chances with the Princess for one meeting.

To her surprise, she sees the entire hill is littered with weapons, the makings of training dummies, and charts. It probably shouldn't be, what with Extermination Day's new deadline just a month away.

As soon as she knocks on the door, it opens and a young woman with blonde hair, red eyes, and two cheek dots says "Welcome to- ohmigoshitsyou!"

Sirenna finds herself pulled into the hotel and then nearly crushed in an enthusiastic hug, and a vaguely familiar head of white pops up from the other side of the couch.

Anthony's expression lights up at once, and he vaults himself over the back of the couch without hesitation. "Holy shit, it's you!" Sirenna promptly finds herself in yet another hug, this time spun around by Anthony before he starts bombarding her with questions - is she alright, did Vox and Velvette come to visit her yet, did they threaten her, does she need somewhere to lay low, etc.

Sirenna shakes her head, saying "No, nothing like that. They came, I spoke to Vox, they left. I'm here because I was informed Princess Morningstar wished to speak with me."

Vaggie puts a hand on Charlie's arm, and says "Yeah…Charlie and I were up in Heaven while most everyone else was at your club…we saw what happened with Valentino."

Sirenna hums, crossing her arms as she shifts from foot to foot and stares at the two of them warily. "Did you now? And now you think…what? That I'm a threat?" Gaze turning angry, she adds "I'm a woman down here in this pit, and not a particularly violent or threatening one at that. So excuse me for doing what's necessary for me to survive down here!"

"Nononono," Charlie quickly says, waving her hands almost frantically, "not at all! I wanted to thank you for freeing Angel first, even when you didn't have to."

Sirenna raises one eyebrow, and asks "Then why's she got a spear at the ready?"

Vaggie says "I never go anywhere without it, as it happens." "Right…and it has nothing at all to do with my voice you learned about. Nothing at all to do with me being an unknown with a powerful ability that could make me a threat." Gaze meeting Charlie's once more, she asks "Isn't that why you sent the Overlord Slayer, Pride's boogeyman, to pass your message along?"

Charlie asks "What now?! I never asked…"

Her gaze meets Alastor's, and he shrugs unrepentantly before saying "You had said you wanted to thank her, my dear. After you got busy with getting everything set up out there, I took the opportunity to pass the message along…and learned quite a few interesting things when I did."

"Oh yeah?" Vaggie asks, "Like what?"

Alastor grins delightedly, practically ear-to-ear, and says "Like the fact that she absolutely despises anything and everything Overlord-related! Quite possibly the reason she freed Anthony in the first place!"

Angel says "Look, I don't know why you freed me when you didn't even know me - I guessed it wasn't because you were my biggest fan, those guys are always total creeps - but I honestly don't need to know. You got me out of that trap of a contract, and that's more than enough for me."

Vaggie runs a hand through her bangs, and says "Charlie wanted to thank you. I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to help us out with the upcoming Extermination Day. We didn't ask for this fight, but it's coming whether anyone likes it or not. And you could help a lot."

Sirenna's gaze goes every bit as cold as Alastor remembers from when she was yelling at Vox, and she says "I should've known. That's what this is about. You think you're the first person to want my voice for themselves?"

Charlie quickly gets between Vaggie and Sirenna, saying "Nonono, it's not like that, I swear!"

"Then what is it like? Hm? You're saying you didn't see my voice in action and decide I could be the key to your problems with the Exorcists?"

Charlie takes a breath, and says "I'm not going to force you, if that's what you're thinking. Yes, we saw what you can do, and yes you'd be a massive help in stopping the Exorcists. Their own weapons can kill them, and your voice could be the thing that gives us enough of an edge we all make it out of the battle alive. But nobody here is going to stop you or cause you any trouble if you walk out of the door."

Sirenna sighs, glancing between Charlie's earnest expression, Vaggie's semi-hopeful one, and everyone else's, and then eventually says "Fine. I'm not much for direct combat, though, I prefer to use my brain and stay out of peoples' sights. However…" She glances at Alastor, and asks "Your tower on the side of the building has a microphone and speakers, right?"

Alastor nods, expression tightening slightly, and asks "Whatever are you planning?"

"My voice only affects those that can hear it. And I can't sing loud enough on my own to be heard over gunshots, explosions, and whatever else will be going on in the fight. You do the math."

Alastor hums, and asks "And how do I know you won't take advantage of my absence?"

Sirenna scoffs, saying "I have no wish to get involved with an Overlord, no matter who that Overlord is or who they're attached to - and that includes making an enemy out of one. After the battle, you better believe I'll never so much as glance at your setup with anything more than morbid curiosity at a very long distance. Just show me how to turn the microphone and speakers on and turn the volume up, and I'll sing until every single angel is dead or my voice gives out."

Alastor hums, then says "Very well then. Do we have a deal?"

To most everyone's surprise, she takes several steps away from Alastor's outstretched hand, fins flexing outwards in her panic, and snaps "Absolutely not! I'm not so stupid as to strike a deal with the first person that offers one up! That's a sure way to find yourself with a chain around your neck and at the mercy of some sick bastard like Valentino! No deals, no contracts, no anything other than my word, because that's all I'm willing to give anyone down here. I haven't lasted the past ten years by just binding myself to people just to prove I keep my word on shit. You don't like that, I can walk out this door and never look back."

Alastor raises an eyebrow, remembering a conversation he and Vox had before their rivalry. He'd said his wife - Victoria Cox - never said anything she didn't mean, didn't put up with any kind of shit, and never hesitated to speak her mind. Looks like he was right.

Thinking for a moment, Alastor says "Very well. My shadow will be up there with you. Both to ensure nothing untoward happens and to whisk you away should an Exorcist break in."

Sirenna nods sharply, saying "Fine. Still no to the handshake, though."

Much to everyone's surprise, Alastor's smile widens and he laughs before saying "Oh, this is going to be fun to watch!" He'd thought she'd accept a simple deal, turns out he was wrong - she's not wrong about her circumstances or what quite a lot of people down here would do if given the chance. She didn't spend the last decade owning her own soul by sheer luck, it seems.

Charlie frowns, asking "What's he talking about?"

Sirenna sighs, saying "I'm afraid that's none of your business, princess. It's none of his business either, but he walked in on it when he came to speak to me."

Velvette sighs in irritation when electricity starts arcing off Vox as soon as she sees his wife and Alastor walk out the door. After a moment, she says "He literally said the Princess wanted to meet her, V. That's probably why she's there."

"Yeah," Vox seethes, "but why's Alastor, of all people, walking her out the door?!"

Velvette facepalms, even as Alastor stares directly into the camera hidden near the hotel with a shit-eating grin that would put the Cheshire Cat himself to shame, and says "Because it fucking gets to you, Vox. Because he struck fucking gold when he went into her club and found a one-sided screaming match, and the fossil likes to play cat and mouse with his food. Now, we agreed it was a fifty-fifty shot of her actually going to the hotel, looks like we know which fifty it landed on. So, you are going to take a deep breath, calm the fuck down, and remember she's got absolutely no reason whatsoever to have anything to do with your rival considering how she reacted to him yesterday. So put the fucking coat down, it's literally been a day."

Vox reluctantly drops his jacket back over the chair he's in, and groans "I miss my wife, Vel. I miss her a lot…" In the past day, the ever-present dull throb has turned into a sharp stabbing sensation, like his heart's been ripped open - having her so close, yet so fucking untouchable, is a kind of agony he hadn't thought possible.

She goddamn hates him, she can and likely will give him frostbite if he so much as puts a hand on her shoulder, and he's certain he might just end up impaled on an ice spike if he walks back into her club now.

And he'd thought the glitching, the tv for a head, and needing to recharge his head while somehow also needing food and liquids other than coffee was his eternal punishment - no, this is. Having the woman he loved look at him with that icy gaze and reject everything he's fought and even killed for, reject him for clawing his way up to the top instead of being content to be under someone else's thumb with a chain around his own neck.

Velvette sighs, planting one fist on her hip as she watches Victoria - as she's going to continue calling the woman until they finally get her new name - head out of sight of the cameras watching the Hotel, and says "Think of it this way, Vox. If she's that angry with you, then it means she didn't move on from you. You figure out how to get back in her good books, however that would work, and I'll do a little digging in the area around the club. Somebody has to know something, anything."

Her 'neighbors' have to know something, at least. She has to admit, the near-constant chaos of the Doomsday District, spanning one end of the area to the other and never staying in one area, is a genius place to conceal her presence. Even Overlords never go there, much less regular Sinners, there's no reason to.

Not unless someone's a thrill-seeking idiot who likes risking their life and however many souls are on their hypothetical chain, anyway.

The perfect place to hide away her own domain, her own territory just as much as the Tower is theirs.

Chapter Text

Velvette pinches the bridge of her nose when the group of employees they sent out to the Doomsday District come back - nearly a full day of searching, and they brought back ghost stories, of all things. 'The Siren' - as all the gangs in the area around The Sunken Melody call Vox's wife - just appeared one day about eight years ago, starting to renovate the abandoned, partially underground building that is now her club. A group went in, trying to raid the place…they came out looking like they'd all seen literal ghosts.

Rather, according to anyone that talked, she let them out - opened the damn door and they all came stumbling out. Ever since, every single gang in that turf war apparently has an unspoken rule - no violence touches The Sunken Melody. Nobody they talked to were part of that group - they all died in various Exterminations - but everyone out there actively avoids that club and the woman who runs it like it's the breeding ground for a holy plague. It's fucking rare that she ever actually leaves the club, but when she does all the fighting in whichever area she passes through just stops until they're all sure she's gone. And then they usually clear out to the other side of the District altogether, just for good measure.

'Siren' - as she's currently calling the woman for sheer lack of anything else that people will recognize - may not be an Overlord in name…but she's sure got the reputation for it out in the District she's hiding in.

Sighing to herself, Velvette takes the elevator back down to Vox's surveillance office - it's been two days since they were at that club, and he's already managed to spiral like she's only ever seen one other time - when Alastor disappeared from the Pentagram without a trace. He spent months scouring every camera, every second of footage all over the city looking for the smiling freak…and he's already looking like he did at the end of that now.

Which means this is going to be absolutely hideous.

Squaring her shoulders when the elevator gets to the right floor, Velvette walks into the office…and sees he's got five mugs of coffee scattered around his desk, he's still in the same clothes as yesterday if all the wrinkles are anything to go by, and he looks like he's running on empty.

For the love of… "Alright, V, I've got something for you. Give me that jacket, kick your shoes off, and stay in that chair, because there's no possible way I'm letting you leave looking like this." Vox whirls around, eye already spinning and electricity crackling up and down his arms, but then he seems to deflate after a moment when he sees her unimpressed expression. Sighing to himself, he mutters "What is it with all the women in my life and their mastery of that specific look?" Victoria could pull that look off, to, even when she was alive. The past ten years of Hell made her no less adept at it, to.

Velvette says "It's a gift, V. Now, you ready to hear what the group I sent out brought back?"

Vox nods at once, leaning forward as he does, and says "Everything, Vel. What have we got to work with?" What's he got to work with to at least try to get his wife back at his side? 

"Well, for starters…not a name, per se, but a title at least. The Siren. She's not a newcomer to the Doomsday District, not by a long shot. They all know her, fear her - and make sure to keep any fighting away from her place."

Vox frowns, then asks "And they've just…what, done that for the past ten years with nobody noticing?"

Velvette shrugs, saying "You know the problems with the Doomsday District as much as I do. The place is perpetually half-destroyed thanks to the never-ending gang war, nobody's going to look twice at where the war is happening in there. Besides, she hasn't exactly been shouting her club's advertisements from the rooftops or anything."

Vox incredulously asks "What was she even doing there in the first place?! That district is incredibly dangerous, nobody goes in there unless they don't have much choice or they're too cocky for their own good."

And then Velvette facepalms hard enough to leave a red mark as soon as she glances at Vox - that is so not the reaction she needs out of him right now. His screen is glitching like mad, his fans are on full-tilt, and she can practically feel the static electricity coming off him. "Vox, whatever you're-"

"Why would she pick literally the most dangerous area of the city to set up shop in?! She could've picked literally anywhere else in the city! One of the unclaimed areas, or even a spot in ours!"

"Vox-"

"She was never the too confident for their own good type, Vel, so why she'd march into the place even the whole Overlords' Council can't get fixed up because massive gangs keep blowing the place up again and again?!"

"Vox, would you lis-"

"There had to have been other-"

"VOX!"

Vox finally stops rambling, and sees Velvette's staring at him in a mix of anger and worry.

"Sit the fuck back down, dammit. And listen to me." That would be when Vox realizes he's halfway to the door, no shoes or jacket on. Velvette's efforts to keep him from heading out the door are apparently not nearly enough, not when it's Victoria. "You go out there like this, people will absolutely know something's up - and our perfect Brand you're so obsessed with is gone for good. Storming down there like this, straight into a literal warzone, isn't power or strategy. It's guilt, desperation, and clumsy. And, for the record, too damn soon."

Vox sighs, shoulders slumping as he sits back down in the chair Velvette's pointing to, and says "She's not going to come out of there willingly, Vel. She's already got her whole club set up down there - and how she managed that is another matter altogether - and no amount of brute force or numbers is going to be enough to move her." Victoria was one of the stubbornest people he ever knew when they were alive, there was almost nothing that could get her to change her mind when she was well and truly set on something. And he saw her that dead-set on something only three other times in their entire marriage. Every single time, she ended up getting her way - mainly through sheer stubborn persistence, never giving an inch when it's really important to her.

Point of fact, he doesn't think he's ever seen Victoria get so worked up about something as…this, as her sheer disgust about anything and everything to do with Overlords…particularly him.

Velvette shrugs, saying "Well, the Pentagram knows about her now. Didn't even have to do much, either - half the net is buzzing about her after the scene at her club. We'll send a few people in tonight to scope things out, go from there."

Vox nods his head, rubbing at the back of his head - he told Val it was going to be the long game, patience rather than impulsiveness…he didn't think it would be this damn hard though. It's only been two days since they went to her club, and he's already about to scream or head over there.

After a minute, he pulls up footage of one of his old memories of her - from back when they were both alive - and compares it to the image of her leaning against the wall of her club. Arms crossed over her chest and a mischievous grin on her face as she leans against a piece of furniture - a countertop, if he remembers right - right next to the closed-off woman with fins and fish scales holding a drink in one hand.

Fuck, what happened to that woman with the light in her eyes and warmth in her smile?

Velvette whistles softly, and says "Well, no wonder you married her, V. And, yeah, that's a big change. But…what're you gonna do to get back into her life?"

Vox frowns, mentally listing off everything he did to work his way into her life the first time around - most of it definitely not feasible this time around, at least not yet. He asked her out to dinner dates, took her to aquariums, took her ice skating, they went to the beach multiple times...she'd sooner freeze him through than go out to dinner with him, there's no ice or beaches in Pride Ring, and he's yet to even hear about an Aquarium in the Pentagram. His is definitely an exception to that, but he knows for sure she'll never agree to set foot in the tower. Not even to see some deep-sea creatures. 

At most, he could maybe send some gifts and letters to try and melt some of the ice she's encased herself in. Gods, does he hope that ice is just a way to protect herself, that she's still the same woman he fell head over heels for in life. Even if she did shoot a bunch of ice spikes between him and Alastor without hesitation. And wasn't afraid of the Radio Demon in the slightest - she was always stubborn and somewhat reckless, but that takes it to a whole new level. 

For right now, anyway, he'll have to see about gifts.

And writing a letter or two…hundred.

Chapter Text

Vox watches from his desk as the courier leaves the pile of boxes for Victoria - he's not calling her 'the Siren' unless he's got no other choice, that's a damn title rather than a name! - to stare at for exactly 78 seconds before she shakes her head in clear exasperation.

Eventually, though, she starts taking stuff inside the building. Out of sight of the drone he has settled on a nearby rooftop, but he can tell she isn't taking them all the way into her club - the spiral staircase means she'd be taking far longer to get back up for more boxes.

At least she's taking them in, he tells himself. At least she's not just leaving them for an opportunistic gangster to make off with.

Sirenna sighs as she slowly turns the letter that came with the assortment of boxes she didn't order around in her hands. There's no return address on the envelope, and just a name to identify who's supposed to read it.

Victoria.

No last name, but there doesn't need to be either - there's only other three people down in this pit that know her name from when she was alive, one of them has made it clear he's watching from the sidelines for as much entertainment as he can get out of this, and one is more interested in her phone than in real life.

Lucky her, Sirenna thinks a bit bitterly, safe enough to sit around all day playing dress-up with her dolls and posting stuff on social media.

And she's clearly cocky enough that she's never had to run for her life to avoid getting robbed, killed, or worse down here.

Which, unfortunately, leaves the obvious suspect for who would be sending her gifts under her old name.

Vox.

Putting the letter aside - unopened - she starts looking through the assortment of boxes he sent, scoffing at the price most of them must've cost - a necklace and earring set of lapis lazuli and blue opals in silver, a shell-like locket, a wave-shaped wrist cuff, even some earring sets that look like fins of various kinds of fish. She's honestly surprised he remembered any of the kinds of fish she wanted to have - there's a set of Angelfish fins, along with a pair of Betta fins, goldfish, and one that looks like a 'Fancy Guppy' fin.

Then, there's the box with the pearl in it - perfectly-shaped, she's got no idea where or how he got it. Or how it ended up in Hell in the first place.

Diana, her bat-like bartender and one of the extremely few people she trusts in Hell, whistles in appreciation and says "You've got a secret admirer, Sirenna. You think it's that spider you freed a week ago?"

Sirenna shakes her head, saying "Not even close. Besides, Anthony and Husk have a thing going on."

"Well…you did say you'd never get into another relationship after your husband up and died on you. So…what're you gonna do about your gift-giver? Do you even know who they are, for that matter?" And, on that note...they're not some creepy stalker trying to get her for her voice, are they? It wouldn't be the first time someone's tried to use Sirenna for her voice, after all.

Sirenna purses her lips, and says "I do, unfortunately."

After a moment of silence, Diana asks "Well? Who are they? C'mon, don't keep me in suspense! Spill the salty tea, girl!"

Sirenna sighs, but eventually asks "Remember our unwanted but expected visitors the day after that scene?"

"Yeah, of- no. Really?!"

Sirenna nods her head, saying "Yeah. Really."

"Please tell me it isn't Valentino."

Sirenna shakes her head, saying "That's the only silver lining in this mess. No, Valentino wasn't my husband up top."

"So…Vox?! As in, the Vox?!"

Sirenna nods, saying "I hadn't known."

"I'm not even gonna ask why you didn't, he's got a Tv for a head."

"And, even if I had…I wouldn't have gone to him anyway. He's nothing like the man I loved anymore."

Diana gestures to the boxes, asking "So…what're you gonna do with all this?"

Sirenna shrugs, having absolutely no clue what to do with any of it - she doesn't even know if he's trying to drag her into his flashy, fancy world of Overlords, soul-contracts, and manipulation, or something else altogether, but she's not going to play along with his game. Sighing to herself, she sighs and says "Pack everything up, Diana. I'll figure out what to do with them all when I get back. Anything else shows up, put the boxes behind the bar for me to look at later."

"You're going out again?" At Sirenna's nod, she says "You don't usually leave the club this much, you know. What if one of them shows up, or something happens?"

Sirenna shakes her head, saying "I'm not the same woman who ran down here nine and a half years ago to hide from a gang. I can handle myself now."

"I know," Diana puts a hand on her arm, "just be careful anyway. You said you had to ditch one of Vox's drones on your way to that Hotel of the Princess'." Luckily, there's broken pipes in most of the buildings, letting her access them for either a quick escape or discrete travel when she needs to go up top for something too close for the tunnels to work. Because brewing a storm via her Hydrokinesis takes time, and it's exhausting for her.

Sirenna nods, saying "I will. Thanks."

"Going back to the Hotel again?"

Sirenna nods, saying "I agreed to help them with fighting back against the Exorcists, on the condition that I do so from a supportive role."

Diana sucks a sharp breath in, asking "How're you going to- your voice?"

Sirenna nods, saying "I won't be in direct combat. With a little luck, we might be able to drive them back for once."

"And if it doesn't work?"

Sirenna shrugs, saying "We've been enduring this year after year for long enough. And now they want to come six months early? If they get away with that, they'll come whenever they damn well please. And I've had enough of hoping they don't look twice at the hatch to the club."

Diana says "If you're sure about this…" This is the same woman who's survival the past ten years has depended on not being seen or heard, who's stayed out of the spotlight and built this place just so she'd have somewhere that she couldn't be attacked in.

"The Vees and the Radio Demon know about me. It's only a matter of time before word reaches the rest of the Overlords. Most of them will likely lose interest in me when they realize I'm no Overlord myself."

Diana frowns, and says "Bar the Vees." She highly doubts they'll lose interest in Sirenna as soon as word about her voice gets out - the ability to affect anyone who listens just by humming, something the woman does all the time whenever she's working or even just distracted, isn't something any of them would pass up the chance to have, after all.

Sirenna sighs irritably, and says "Yeah. Bar the Vees." Valentino will never let the fact that she made him destroy a contract go, and Vox will likely obsess over her because he can't control her. She's seen his need for control over everything the past ten years, she has no wish to be under his thumb in any way - and her voice can't be recorded when she sings, it completely fucks with any kind of electronics. That was an early discovery, from before she even found the club. It may have ended with her finding the club, but it started with a group of twenty thugs trying to use her to get rich and powerful. Still, it's a welcome thing now - maybe it'll deter the money-hungry thing that used to be her husband from sending people over with live feeds.

Vox stares at the screen in horror as his wife is greeted at the door - by Angel Dust, of all people. Not much better than Alastor, in his opinion - especially since the ex-porn star loves both sex and drugs…and fucking hugs her. Full-on hugs her, even bringing out his third set of arms for it.

Velvette promptly snaps him out of the immediate anger, saying "Vox, calm the fuck down, dammit!"

"He just hugged-"

"If Val can't storm the Hotel to drag a current employee back by the hair, then you can't storm the Hotel to kill an ex-employee over a hug that's already over! He probably hugged her because she took him from Val. I've seen him with a cat demon in Sinstagram posts, for fucks' sakes. So, until he tries to kiss your wife, stay. Put."

Vox growls, but sits back down and forces the electricity back under his skin. She's right, and Vox hates that she's right - exactly nobody should be touching his wife but him, dammit! Velvette sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation, and says "Dammit, Vox. Don't spiral this damn hard this soon."

"She isn't even wearing any-"

"Maybe she couldn't pick! Maybe she put it away for now! Maybe she needs somewhere to put it aw- no, don't start looking up jewelry holders, dammit! You do realize the entire place is half-filled with water, right?! Pretty much anything that gets sent there is going to need to either be waterproof or made for water! And that includes you, dammit! You're not waterproof, remember?!"

Vox scowls, he's got to fix that somehow - he's got no idea how he's going to waterproof his own head, though. Plus, with his electrokinesis…no, he'll figure that bridge out when he gets to it. And he is getting to it. Somehow, anyhow.

Sirenna watches as Alastor flips a few switches on the control console - a mixing desk, he called it - and then pushes one button that makes the 'On Air' sign light up bright red. Alastor glances at her, asking "Think you can remember that?"

Sirenna nods, saying "Yes."

"Show me." Once she's flipped the correct switches and pressed the on/off button, Alastor hums and says "Correct. The real question, though, is if you can remember that in a full-scale battle."

Sirenna hums as well, glancing over the board as Alastor's eyes narrow at the sound, and says "Your shadow will be here with me, remember? Suppose you'll find out then." Alastor's smile stretches, and he leans against the door while eying Sirenna up and down.

Eventually, she notices, turning around only to find Alastor half-blocking the only way out. Sighing in irritation, she crosses her arms and says "If you think you have me trapped in here, I can assure you you're mistaken. So, what do you want?"

"I'm rather curious how such an intelligent woman married an idiot like Vox, of all creatures. He's too caught up in how he thinks the world should work, how it should behave, that he doesn't see what's right in front of him. Case in point, he didn't know about you for the last decade!"

Sirenna shakes her head, staring out at the city view, and says "I'm not getting into the details of my life with an Overlord, any Overlord. The short answer you're getting is that my husband and Vox are two very different people. My husband wasn't a manipulative asshole who only cared about the money. Hell changed him, twisted him into something I can't recognize." She raises an eyebrow at Alastor, noticing the way he's holding his cane so it happens to be angled towards her, and adds "And you're recording me, aren't you?"

Alastor actually bursts out laughing, and eventually says "Very perceptive of you, truly! Most people don't realize, too terrified of me to even glance at what I'm holding."

Sirenna rolls her eyes, saying "You're the Radio Demon, and that's a microphone. It isn't that hard to put two and two together."

"Intelligent, disciplined, and powerful…you would make an excellent Overlord if you would get rid of your opinion of the entire group. Not all of us are like the Vees."

Sirenna just scoffs derisively, and says "If you say so. Now, are you going to let me walk out of here, or am I going to have to find a different exit?" She'll believe that when one of them opens a charity for souls abused by other Overlords.

Alastor walks a few steps forward, body enlarging as he does so he's towering over her even as his smile stretches so much she thinks it might just split his face in two...and then the city suddenly goes dark. Sirenna glances towards the window, and frowns when she sees everything's gone dark.

And then, suddenly, Alastor slowly chuckles. It turns to full-blown laughter as he shrinks back down, making Sirenna slowly turn to him with a dangerous expression. His laughter dies down slightly, and he raises his hands on mock surrender at the stormy look on her face as he says "There he is…" When Sirenna raises one eyebrow at him, Alastor adds "I do believe we've found the frequency that makes him bleed."

Understanding crosses her face a moment later, and she flatly says "He was watching. Vox."

"Oh, constantly. I shoot down at least four of his drones a day, suppose he likes to think I'm planning his downfall or some such."

"And all that, leaning into my space and trying to intimidate me, growing so large you hit the ceiling…that was all to get under whatever excuse for skin he has now? Or were you testing me to?"

Alastor's cane lets out a laugh track, and he says "And you passed marvelously, my dear! So refreshing to find someone different from all the rest down here!"

Sirenna scoffs, shaking her head and muttering "You're absolutely impossible. And shameless."

"So, I've been told! Let's clear out of here before your ex-husband manages to reboot everything, shall we?"

Sirenna sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose as she walks through the door he's now holding open for her, and says "Victor's turned into something and someone I can't recognize down here. Between the hypnosis, the constant manipulation, Valentino…" She shakes her head once more, and adds "the man I knew is long-gone, there's nothing of him left."

"Mm," Alastor hums, "that may be a more recent development than you'd think. Believe it or not, he and I weren't always rivals down here. We used to be friends, as it happens."

Sirenna hums, and asks "What changed, then? How'd he go from friends to bitter rivals?"

Alastor glances out at the city, the lights slowly turning back on, and says "Valentino entered the picture. Vox started changing, getting more erratic…until, suddenly, I couldn't recognize him anymore either."

Sirenna stops dead in her tracks, asking "You think that vile pig with wings, that walking red flag…he's why Vox is…" Why he's so focused on money now, why he's the stereotypical corporate asshole? Why he hypnotizes people at every chance he gets via pretty much every product commercial and endorsement?

Why he lets Valentino get away with so much at the expense of his own employees?

Alastor shrugs, saying "Don't know, truth be told. He lashed out when I pointed it out as the reason why I wouldn't join him, and now we're oh-so-hated rivals."

Sirenna scoffs, then shakes her head and mutters "He made his choice, and it's none of my concern. 'Til Death Do Us Part, and all that."

Vox stares at the screens all around him as they slowly turn back on, Velvette giving him a deeply unimpressed glare, and then freezes when the screen he's been willing to load finally comes up. Showing an empty Radio Tower. "No, no, no - they were just there!"

Velvette sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, and mutters "For someone who built an entire empire on watching everything…you're really bad at seeing what matters, V. The Radio fossil got the exact same response we did back at her club, remember? She's no more a fan of him than she is us."

"So why the fuck is she-"

"I don't know, Vox! But, let me assure you, you send the city into another blackout, and I swear I'll livestream your meltdown with the most embarrassing filter and laugh track I can think of, dammit!"

Vox scowls at her, but doesn't snap back - she probably will, and he knows it.

Scrolling back through the footage nearly has Vox losing it when Alastor leans in over her, and her fins twitch - Vox, fucks sakes, you don't even know if they twitch on their own or not - but they see a frame where Alastor glanced right at the drone. Before starting his whole routine, no less.

Facepalming, Velvette mutters "Dammit, Vox…he knew you were watching, wanted you to see that. Wanted you to give him some kind of reaction. Guess what, he got it and then some."

Vox glitches once again, but forces himself to take a breath and think after that revelation. He was probably just doing all of that to get a rise out of him and Victoria was the best option for that. That's all.

He doesn't lose some of the tension in his body, though, until he sees her walk out the Hotel door without so much as a drop of blood on her.