The Collected Works of Madness

Of course though Velvette had recorded his moment of absolute stupidity, everything in the tower was recorded and everything in the tower was for the use of the Vees. Including the moment he had gotten so very close to getting the sinner he liked so much it drove him crazy, only to get kicked in the nuts and have her run away. And now it was playing on repeat in the penthouse while Vel and Val laughed at him and he could only smolder and grumble and wish he could break the TV it was playing on. Or talk to you; damnit it had been days and he hadn't gotten a single chance to do so. You hadn't returned to the tower, despite the fact that the meeting never did properly start and there had been business to discuss, and since he had never successfully been able to track you, Vox had no idea how to get to you, to talk, to explain. To plead. There were so very, very few people who he could bring himself to want to plead his case to but you were definitely one of them right now.

“You really messed that one up, cabron,” Valentino said with a snicker, placing a hand on Vox's chest playfully, “You had her right where you wanted her and you just had to scare her off.”

“You're not Val after all,” Velvette said leaning up against him from the other side, grinning wickedly, “And she's not Angel Dust; can't go feeling people like her up, they bite back after all. As you saw.”

“Are you done humiliating me yet?” Vox asked in a low and dangerous tone, sparks flying off him as his eyes narrowed.

“Oh never,” Velvette purred, “You're just lucky I didn't post it online, though that was more for her benefit than yours; don't want to risk having to deal with her temper too. Plus really this kind of thing is better for private consumption I think.”

Vox growled and Valentino rubbed his chest playfully. “Oh come on, don't be so grumpy just because your crush slipped through your fingers. How about I comfort you, hm?” They both knew very well what the Overlord considered comforting for the other.

“She is not my crush!” Vox yelled, standing up suddenly, his screen and all the electronics nearby glitching and flickering at the same time.

This was so frustrating; it was bad enough how he felt about it already, having replaying it on his own in his own mind multiple times in hopes of figuring out when he went wrong and how to fix it best, how to prove to you his feelings and get you to not be angry at him. There had to be a way to do it, he was able to control the media and this whole fucking company, one of the most powerful and dangerous Overlords around; surely he could figure out how to make one stubborn sinner into his...

What? What did he actually want from you? Truthfully Vox wasn't all that sure, all he did know was that what he felt for you was not so small or insignificant as to be called just a stupid little crush. You were far more than that, stronger, capable, dangerous; you stood up to him, you dared threaten him, and while he'd already been drawn towards you simply off of who you were and what you were willing to do, the kiss had taken that to a whole new level. He needed you, he wanted you, and it bothered him more and more with each passing day that he didn't have you.

Fuck this, he thought and he headed towards the door, Velvette hanging off the back of the couch to watch him with an amused look. “Hey where are you going huh? We're not done picking on you.”

“I'm going out!” Vox yelled back at her and flipped her off as he walked out the door.

It was only once through the door, standing in the hall, that his brain caught up with him and he remembered that he was fully capable of just teleporting out instead. Fuck he was really being turned around right now; with a grumble and a snap of his fingers he did just that, trying to get out of there and maybe get some air before his head explodes.

The air in Pentagram City was maybe not the highest quality, like, at all. And the basic sinners who wandered the streets in ways to distract themselves from their day to day were barely more than batteries and fodder to the Overlord. But it wasn't V Tower and it didn't involve being laughed at by his own business partners. He didn't even get why it was so funny to them, except yes he did know, and he knew that if the roles were reversed he would have been far crueler about it.

But they weren't; he was the one suffering and it was so annoying. Vox shoved his hands in his pockets and grumbled as he walked down the street, not even paying attention as sinners nearly ran into him, got annoyed before realizing who he was, and scrambled away as quickly as their legs could take them. The sound of screams, of car alarms, of murders and sex and all the things that came with living in hell, filled the air and yet not a single note got through to his head; it was far too full of thoughts, of the annoyances of course but most of all of you.

Had he really ruined it? How long had it been since he had last tried to flirt or hit on or anything like that with someone other than Valentino? You seemed so straightforward but maybe that had been too much and now you were gone and he was so frustrated and confused and annoyed. And scared; scared you might never come back, that you and Libris might send someone else to be the representative at the meeting. Worse yet that you might still show up but never again open up to him like you had for that one little second in time, that one moment. He might never have the chance to actually be fucking truthful for once and let you see what you did to him, how crazy you made him, how desperate. All because of one stupid little mistake.

He wasn't sure what was more frustrating; that it could be ended so easily before it could be started or knowing it was all his fault if it did.

The city around him meant nothing so the voices meant nothing too, save for when the sound of your name, spoken by some other mouth, made it's way through the air and suddenly the record scratched and he was become all too aware. Some voice laughed, a gravelly annoying sound that accompanied a gravelly annoying voice and he turned about to see two sinners talking, nobodies with nothing to their names except maybe the clothes on their backs and their tattered soul worth only a bargain.

“I'm telling you, I'm so close to getting her, I can practically taste that pussy,” the sinner who spoke your name said, licking his lips as he grinned to his friend, “She's been playing hard to get but I know when a bitch wants me and that one definitely wants me.”

“Niiice,” the other sinner said his tone slow and amused and dumb as a bag of bricks, “She talk to you yet?”

“Nah but who needs that? Whores like that never have anything interesting to say; only one thing of actual value, you got me?” The first sinner snickered and made a lewd gesture.

This kind of talk was normal; the vast majority of Pentagram City indulged in it and those who didn't usually were either prudes or the smarter minority in a city of fools. Hell, Vox had heard far worse in fact living with and working with and fucking the Porn Overlord. But none of that had ever been about you and he twitched, his screen glitching for a moment, sparks of electricity flying as his temper started to grow.

He could ignore it all but your name had been spoken. It had been about you, talking about your body parts, calling you a bitch and a whore. You who were brilliant enough to hold your own against him in every negotiation, you who called him a fish (and sharks were fish!), you who were strong and beautiful and capable. Libris' page, able to hold Carmilla and Zestial's respect, dangerous and polite even as you tore others down. You who could escape his surveillance so easily. They knew nothing about you, they knew nothing of how your small smiles felt like sunshine in this horrible dark place, or how insane you could drive someone who truly understood you, truly knew you. Or how intoxicating your lips were, taken by surprise. They knew nothing of the reality of who they spoke of and it turned his irritation at himself and at Val and Vel into anger at this sinner. He crackled more with power before taking a deep breath, and putting on a wide smile, before approaching the sinner.

The idiot was still talking, describing how he'd followed you just the other day, “complimenting” you on your outfit and “how much nicer it would be ripped to shreds”. It sounded like, unsurprisingly to Vox, that you had been unimpressed and uninterested, and more surprising that you had decided not to break this fool in half instead. But what kind of gentleman would he be if he didn't do such things for you?

His smile grew wider and the second sinner's eyes widened in pure terror as Vox pulled the tongue out of the first sinner's head, claws digging deep into their chest as he pinned them to the wall. Blood and viscera went everywhere as he laughed and spoke in a crackling ominous voice, “If you can't say anything nice, you shouldn't say anything at all. Let me help you with that by removing this disgusting appendage of yours.”

“Wh-wh-who the fuck are-” the second sinner didn't get a chance to finish before Vox, after removing said offending body part, threw it with such accuracy and speed that it got lodged down the second sinner's throat, choking them.

The first gurgled and stared, unable to speak but the eyes tell stories. Vox didn't feel better; he wasn't sure why but he decided that was because it wasn't nearly enough. Maybe presenting you his flayed and mangled body would appease you, make you see that he was willing to do things without a deal, that what he had wanted all along was just to make you see how he felt. He tore at the body with his claws, ripping the sinner open while they were still technically alive; the screams were muffled and gagged, unable to articulate actual sound with the loss of their tongue. Skin and muscle and bone, none of that were strong enough to hold up to Vox's onslaught and his eyes glowed as he continued, as he spoke with such even tempo that the dissonance between sound and action was palpable.

“You need to learn not to covet what isn't yours, to respect your betters so to speak. That,” he paused and made a disgusted look before spitting out the offending word, “bitch you speak of is far better than you could ever dream to be. Brilliant and bright and terrifying; I really should have left you to her to deal with but I'm nothing if not old fashioned and think a man should always stand up for their woman.” Even if said woman didn't even know the truth.

“Don't worry though,” he continued and tore the sinner's still inflating and deflating lungs from his chest, “You'll regenerate but I hope this is a lesson to you not to talk about beautiful, sexy, intelligent-”

“Vox?” Record scratch. He stopped mid carnage, eyes wide, one claw wrapped tight around the sinner's throat and the other holding their bloody heart. The only sounds for a moment were the usual from Pentagram City and the sinner's friend still choking on the tongue and trying their hardest to dislodge it.

Vox looked to the side slowly, wondering at first if he was hallucinating or not; he hadn't taken any drugs and he felt fine if not angry. But you stood there, dressed in a dress that flowed softly on you, your hair up, your eyes on him. You were staring at him and his brain started to panic, trying to figure out what your expression could mean and if there was a way to better explain what he was doing. Vox the Overlord, terrifying and vicious, a shark ripping apart it's prey, gave way to Vox the Fool and he found all his thoughts stop. An error screen flickered across his face, only for a second, too fast to read: it noted the problem as “Vox.exe_crash_error_that_dress_looks_really_good_on_you_why_did_you_have_to_find_me_now”

You continued to stare, not entirely sure what you were seeing and certainly not why. You were just out on an errand and considering the area you had expected to find your stalker but not Vox. And certainly not both at the same time, with Vox currently arm deep in tearing the twerp apart with his bare hands. The Overlord was covered in blood, his suit ruined by viscera; he looked half mad which was not uncommon sight in Hell itself but not a look you were used to in this particular sinner. It was hard to describe the way it made you feel but you couldn't resist a blush and some surprise as Vox tore the heart from your stalker's chest and presented it to you with wide expecting eyes.

Vox wanted to speak but couldn't looking at you. It wasn't fair how pretty you looked, and that you had to find him being more like one of the no-name sinners, acting on instinct and violence, instead of the picture of in-control charm he usually showed. Maybe you'd hate him now, maybe you'd be disgusted, maybe the offering of this fool's heart would be enough to show you his intent. All he really knew at the moment was that you were there and looking at him and he acted more on instinct again than active thought.

“Vox,” you said softly and it made his dead heart flutter; the one in his hand bleed and pumped and the sinner it belonged to languished on the floor in pieces.

You moved to take the heart but the second sinner seemed to have recovered and some dumb thought seemed to have crossed their mind before they made an attempt to grab you. You didn't even look at them, you barely paid them much mind as you waved your hand and a blast of your magic sent them flying into the nearby wall. The grunts and whimpers of pain meant very little to you as you took the bloody appendage from Vox with a confused expression. “....Thank you.”

It was enough to make his face light up, both literally and figuratively, and Vox laid the mangled body at your feet before standing up to take one of your hands in his bloody one, letting you still hold the heart in the other. He brought it to his lips to kiss the top. “Anything for you.”

Murdering a sinner was simple, murdering one who spoke such disgusting things about you was the least he could do. Presenting you their heart, their body, ripped to shreds for their crimes against you, for daring to even dream of you, was only right in his twisted monster mind. And it felt all too right for him to do it, to show his devotion like this. Maybe you'd understand now, maybe you'd see.

You looked at him and you saw how disheveled he looked, the violence he'd brought down upon this idiot. You had been content to ignore them for the most part, deal with it if it got too bad, but Vox had stepped in first and you couldn't deny it made you feel things knowing he had wanted to do that. And some part of you tried to say this had to be a trick, that Vox was trying to get you under his power in some way, but there had been sincerity in the way he startled when you'd appeared and something charming in the way he kissed your hand. It reminded you of the kiss at the Tower, and how confused you'd been then, and yet not disgusted. You had been startled but not hated it. So you had a choice; give in or reject again...

After a second or so you spoke again, smiling at him.“Let's get you back to V Tower; you need a change of clothes and probably should burn those ones considering.”

His screen crackled a bit as he took in your words but once again he lit up and so too did lights in the area, suddenly going brighter but not quite going out. Vox grinned back at you, “What, you don't like the bloody look on me?”

“I don't think you need to have this cretin's blood all over you for any longer than necessary,” you responded and looked down at the twitching body, starting slowly to put itself back together; you were still holding the heart though and as long as you did they would not be able to complete that.

You looked at your stalker, this fool who dared so much, so irritated you and upset Vox enough into action. Your eyes were cold as you smiled and dropped the heart, crushing it under your foot before it could even try to return to the sinner's chest. There was a gasp and a whimper and the body went limp; you knew they would revive, no sinner stayed dead save if killed by angel steel. But this would take them longer to recover from and hopefully would teach them a lesson about hubris and stupidity. Hopefully; you truthfully didn't have much faith in their ability to learn.

You started off towards Vox Tower, knowing the way all too well, and beside you, holding still to your hand, the Media Overlord beamed and sparked with delight. He wasn't sure if you understood his feelings yet, even with all this, but he supposed he could settle for the baby step of being able to walk with you, be close to you, and know that in some way you cared.