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Vox was looking at him, again. Gazing up at Alastor with a dopey but mocking grin, as nameless sinners bustled around him. Alastor sent a bored stare back to Vox before scanning the rest of the room Vox was in.
The set for ‘Vox 2 Nite’, as the neon sighs brightly announced, was buzzing with motion in preparation for the broadcast to begin. Various aquatic themed sinners were running around with papers, fixing props or setting up cameras.
Vox sat down at the large desk at a focal point of the room, his arms gesturing widely to the room as he continued to stare and grin at Alastor, seemingly boasting the fact he was on TV.
You are a TV you moron, your face is displayed on one of the dumb machines.
Still Vox swayed in his chair, smiling despite Alastor's irritated expression. It seemed the Picture Box intended to watch him the whole night instead of doing his little show.
Thankfully, a handful of moments later Vox turned his attention to the large camera set up opposite him. A sinner counted down on his fingers, and the show began.
Alastor let his head fall back to the headrest of his chair, feeling it rock slightly backwards at the motion. Still bound to the wheelie chair Vox had been pushing him around in.
He had been left to watch the show from a side room with a large glass window facing the stage.
Alastor wasn’t sure why Vox had done this, the demon had been parading around with his rival in every way imaginable since he’d gotten his claws on the Radio Demon. Not that Alastor was complaining, the break was nice.
It took about 5 minutes before the break became boring.
How did people watch an hour of this stupid show? Alastor’s radio shows were never this drab.
Alastor pushed himself backwards, turning his attention to the room he was in. There were a few desks in the space, buried in papers and littered with ‘VoxTech’ branded stationary. He rolled towards the closest desk, hoping to snoop through the papers and ease his boredom. However, with his arms still bound to his side with Vox’s cables and office chairs not having the greatest dexterity, Alastor slid past the desk and thudded into the wall.
A groan escaped the demon's lips as he turned himself around and lined himself up for another attempt. This time he whizzed across the room before slamming into the desk, hard enough to knock a ‘Vox 2 Nite’ mug off the desk.
Good riddance, Alastor thought as he watched the mug shatter on the floor.
An eerie laughter filled the room as Alastor’s shadow sharpened on the wall.
“Oh, of course you find this funny.” Alastor said, watching his shadows shoulders shake as it cackled sadistically.
The papers on the desk didn’t seem that interesting. A few different scripts, an open notebook with joke ideas and a framed photo of some barely dressed female. Seems Vox’s writers were just as boring as he was, perhaps that's why his show was so dull.
Suddenly a hand grabbed the demon's ankle and Alastor was zipping across the room. Two cold hands stopped him before he could crash into the wall thankfully and Alastor heard familiar laughter from the shadowy figure behind him.
“Oh, aren't you just the prankster.” Alastor chucked along with his shadow. “I must say that was quite fun, go again?”
Once more Alastor’s shadow pushed him forward, bouncing him around the room rapidly like a ping pong ball. When Alastor’s shadow eventually brought him to a stop he was dizzy but bubbling with laughter, a mischievous idea forming in his head.
“Say dear pal, what do you say to cracking that door open and we continue this fun in other parts of the tower.” Alastor said, eyeing the mess and damage they had created.
Eagerly the shadow pulled over the door before regaining Alastor’s ankle to whip him down the wide hallway. He was grateful for his thick skull as he bounced off the walls, causing picture frames to fall off the walls and shatter on the ground.
The duo darted through the empty hallway, Alastor's shadow pushing him along and Alastor becoming a tornado of chaos, making an effort to kick or throw himself at anything that looked breakable.
They screeched to a halt at the elevator lobby. Alastor’s shadow clicking the button for him. Alastor couldn’t leave Vee tower because of the deal he made with Vox, so escaping wasn’t an option. Instead he decided to continue destruction making elsewhere.
The doors dinged open to an empty elevator and Alastor let his shadow decide which floor to pick.
A minute of bad pop music later, the doors reopened to reveal a similar but pinker floor than before. Wasting no time Alastor’s shadow shoved him forwards into a poster for Valentino's ‘Love Potion’, which he gladly kicked off the wall.
As he was pushed further into the floor Alastor picked up voices from behind one of the large sets of double doors. His shadow, sharing the same malevolent intent, redirected him so he could press an ear against the hardwood.
“What is this garbage! I want new designs, not something you’d pull out of your grandmother's casket. Bring me something better.”
It seems Alastor had stumbled upon Velvette's workshop, and by the sound of it she wasn’t having a good night. Sounded like the perfect place for Alastor to alleviate some of his boredom.
With the help of his shadow, Alastor silently rolled himself into the room and hid behind a fabric stand to properly survey the room.
In the middle of the room Velvette paced back and forth on a long table, inspecting clothing items various souls were showing her. Occasionally she would bark an insult and throw scissors as whoever presented her with a garment she didn’t approve of.
“THE NEXT BIMBO WHO BRINGS ME SOMETHING FROM LAST SEASON, IS GETTING HURLED OUT OF A WINDOW!”
Such hostility for such a small body.
Alastor continued to survey the room, taking note of anything that looked mildly dangerous. He was drawn to a wall on the far right of the room, a variety of fabric rolls had been mounted on the wall. Impractical, but it did give Alastor a fun idea.
Slowly, Alastor slid himself closer to the wall to inspect the framework. Annoyingly, the mounts had been bolted to the wall meaning they couldn’t be tugged down. The bolts would have to be removed magically, which he could certainly do but not without being seen. Likely by Velvette who had stomped her way down to the right side of her table.
Thankfully, Alastor’s shadow tugged him back to his hiding place before he could be spotted, which would surely put an end to his fun.
How to get the bolts off without being seen?
A distraction would be the best option, diverting the room's attention so his shadow could remove the bolts and the frame could come crashing down on the studio.No witnesses, plausible deniability. At minimum the ability to play dumb to infuriate the Fashion Overlord.
One witness, Alastor, remembered being reminded of where he was. Spinning in a slow circle he spotted two cameras he was already in view of. Well, that could be a problem for future Alastor.
Vox would be on air for another 45 minutes, so it wasn’t like he could zap out and stop him. His old pal may control this building but he couldn’t control him. Which sparked Alastor's second brilliant idea.
Alastor closed his eyes, feeling the energy buzzing around him. He had pulled this trick already today, manipulating his radio waves to take control of Vox’s speakers when he had been prevented from talking.
It took him a second to find the signal he was looking for.
It took him another to figure out how to get it to respond to his command. New technology, overcomplicating things. Then finally.
OFF
The room plunged into darkness as Alastor turned off the lights, his shadow making quick work of the bolts.
“The fuck?” Alastor heard Velvette shout.
ON
Immediately the room was brought back up to full brightness, which allowed a clear view as all the fabric rolls came tumbling down from their mounts onto the workers below.
“THE FUCK!” Velvette shouted again, right before she had her legs taken out from under her by a roll of purple fabric.
Alastor watched the chaos unfold from his hiding spot, making no effort to conceal his laughter as more fabric rolls rained down on Velvette and her minions.
He continued his heavy laughter, letting it distort as he faded away into the shadows as his great escape. Leaving Velvette to her destroyed studio and hopefully ruined night.
Alastor reappeared back in the elevator, swinging his legs giddily as his shadow picked another floor for him to continue his rampage.
The next floor was a deep red with maroon cartoon hearts imprinted on the wallpaper. Alastor pushed himself off the back wall of the elevator and into the hallway. Unlike the last floor, this one appeared to be empty. Straining his ears, Alastor couldn't hear any voices or footsteps.
Pity. Chaos was significantly more fun when there were victims. Destruction however, required no such involvement to be entertaining.
Alastor’s shadow whipped Alastor through the hallways and Alastor did his best to kick every poster, lamp or plant he came across to smithereens, leaving a wonderful trail of destruction behind him.
Alastor slowed to a stop at an open door which seemed to be a large closet full to the brim of a variety of outfits. The smell hit him before the realisation of what he just stumbled across did.
He must be one of Valentino's floors then, if the smell of sex, sweat and semen indicated anything.
Alastor quickly rolled himself away from the open door, not wanting the smell to stick to him. He blindly crashed into a bar cart, causing the bottles to rattle loudly. Alastor’s shadow had already poured itself a drink, whiskey.
“Do be a pal, would you?” Alastor said, using his head to gesture to his still bound arms. Begrudgingly the shadow offered the glass to Alastor, allowing him to take a large gulp from the crystal glass.
“Seems we’ve found ourselves on one of the Moth’s floors. I’d rather not linger here and risk catching a disease, so let's continue our fun elsewhere?”
The shadow remains unmoving, a black claw slowly tapping on the glass as if its mind was elsewhere.
“Don’t ignore me buster, that’s quite rude you know.” Alastor said cheerily.
The shadow didn’t acknowledge Alastor's quip, instead it rummaged through the bar cart and plucked out a bottle of clear liquid. Vodka.
Alastor’s shadow jumped across the hall and into the room, it unscrewed the bottle and twirled around the room, spreading the liquid around the space. It then slowly walked back, pouring the rest of the bottle on the floor in a line towards Alastor.
“Oh my, what an excellent idea.” Alastor praised, his smile sharpening. He flicked his heel along the ground, green sparks falling onto the trail of vodka, setting it alight.
A manic chuckle left Alastor as he watched the fire dance along the ground before engulfing the room in an orange blaze. Deep black smoke rose out almost instantly blanketing the ceiling instantly. Sadly, as much as Alastor loved a good bonfire he knew it was best to get out before it became hard to breathe, the last thing he wanted to do was damage his voice. So off he zipped, once again through the shadows and into the elevator.
He chose the floor this time, kicking the buttons with his hoofs until something lit up.
This time the doors opened an entirely white room, no hallway, just a medium sized room with 4 doors that all read.
‘Authorised employees of VoxTech only.’
Alastor doubted his hoof counts as an employee of VoxTech but it did get the door open very easily. Alastor’s shadow rolled him into a dimly lit room decorated with blue lighting. The hardwood floors became metal, the wheels on the chair making a loud scratching sound as Alastor rolled down the pathway.
There was water on either side of the metal bridge, uncovered and glowing an unnatural blue colour. Alastor planted both feet on the ground, prompting his shadow to stop, and leaned over one side to gaze into the water. He could make out faint shadows of what he guessed were Vox’s sharks swimming below the waterline.
He must be at the top of Vox’s aquarium. Judging by all the tools and cleaning supplies around Vox must have a maintenance crew that cleans the tank for him.
Alastor eyed the shelf of chemicals further down the path, a cocktail of those in the water would seriously endanger the sharks and definitely damage the filters. Alastor smirked and rolled himself towards the shelf.
A small head poked up from alongside the aquarium, making Alastor stop. The creature appeared to be some form of shark, it had rough blue skin and a head shaped like a hammerhead. Its eyes were bright red and looking directly at Alastor.
‘BARK’
Oh no.
‘BARK’
Oh fuck no.
Alastor scrambled back in his chair away from the shark-dog in a desperate attempt to get away. His shadow had disappeared, probably dissolving itself when the first ‘Bark’ rang out.
The dog stalked closer, tail whipping behind it. Alastor felt his heartbeat boom louder as the dog slowly closed the gap, now within biting distance. His chest was heaving, making his scar hurt, it felt as if all the air in the room had escaped him.
The dog adjusted its stance, pushing back on its hind legs in preparation to pounce. No no no no no, Alastor kicked himself away as hard as he could manage with his legs feeling weak.
The shift in position felt like it happened in slow motion, the room suddenly tilting on its axis as Alastor fell sideways. He sank quickly, dead weight in the water without the use of his arms or legs to swim with. Alastor thrashed against the bindings vigorously but his claws had no effect on the reinforced cables.
Alastor sank lower and lower into the tank. It wouldn’t take long for the sharks to notice him and his chest was already burning from earlier so he couldn’t hold his breath for much longer. He tried to reach out with his power, teleport himself out of the tank, but he was surrounded by glowing blue lights which prevented him from calling any shadows.
The demon continued to thrash in the water, trying to break free from the cables and swim to the surface. The shadows of Vox’s sharks were getting closer, their teeth becoming visible in the water.
A particularly fast shark shot ahead of the other, jaw opening wide. Its teeth snapped against empty air as Alastor found himself being rapidly pulled upwards.
Alastor slammed heavily on the metal ground as he was thrown from the tank.
“I leave you unattended for 1 hour and you do this?” A familiar electronic voice screamed.
Alastor was too busy heaving for air to pay attention to Vox, coughing up any water he’d accidentally breathed. The wound on his chest was starting to sting and his head was spinning wildly.
The cables binding him to the office chair were released, large hands pulling him towards a warm chest. The two sat in silence for a moment and Alastor to cough, Vox running a hand up and down his back.
“You ok?” Vox questioned when Alastor's coughing subsided.
“Peachy, you interrupted quite a lovely swim.” Alastor shot, before dissolving into another coughing fit.
“Really, because it looked like you were about to get eaten by one of my house pets.” Vox said flatly.
Alastor responded with only a glare finally looking up from the floor. His eyes immediately noticed the dog from before sitting behind Vox, tail wagging side to side. He jerked himself away, attempting to stand up and continue his escape.
“Woah, woah, woah. Where do you think you're going, Bambi.” Vox said sharply, hands tightening around Alastor to keep him in place. “I got a call from Velvette who claims she was attacked by her fabric wall AND there’s a fire on the 40th floor destroying some very expensive film costumes. Care to explain your adventure, you infuriating asshole?”
Alastor wasn’t registering anything Vox was blabbering about, eyes locked on the dog behind him.
“Are you even listening to me? I’m about to wring your fucking neck and your-”
‘BARK’
Vox cut himself off as Alastor flinched into him like he’d been struck. The deer squeezing his eyes shut and pinning his ears back on his head.
‘BARK’
Alastor flinched again. Pressing himself against Vox to shield himself from the dog.
“Hey Vark” Vox whispered, tapping his claw on the ground to get the animal's attention. “Go play with your brothers, I’ll play with you later. Go on.”
Clumsy footsteps receded down the metal path, the dog obeying Vox’s command and disappearing into the tank with a splash.
Now just the two of them Alastor removed his head from Vox’s chest, turning away so Vox couldn’t see the embarrassed look on his face. He tattled his brain for a witty response, hoping to cover his pathetic behaviour before Vox could pry.
“Are you afraid of dogs?” Vox asked, before he could think of anything, voice sounding concerned.
“No,” Alastor snapped back defensively.
The duo stewed in awkward silence for a moment. Vox stared at Alastor with a questioning look, like he was trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle.
The moment stretched on longer and Vox continued staring at him.
“His name’s Vark.” Vox finally started. “He’s a genetically modified shark - dog.”
“Does it look like I give a fuck?” Alastor said harshly. The cold water had absorbed through his suit, sending a chill through his bones. His hair was equally soaked, weighing down his ears and sticking to his forehead. Alastor wanted nothing more than a hot shower and some fresh clothes, not to sit and have Vox pick apart his mild aversion to dogs.
“No, you don’t.” Vox responded but carried on regardless, “I’ve had him for about a year now. He’s trained and very friendly. Vark was probably looking for some attention or a head scratch when you rolled your dumbass in here.” Vox paused, considering his next words. “He wouldn’t have bit you or anything.”
“Yes, I'm sure your wild mutt and his shiny teeth had no intention to harm the deer that galloped into its domain.” Alastor bit back, louder than necessary. He pushed himself out of Vox’s arms, shivering at the loss of body heat, and brought himself to stand.
“Vark would never do such a thing, I’m positive.” Vox said, also rising from the floor. He made an attempt to grab Alastor again, which Alastor dodged before making his way back down the metal bridge to where he’d entered.
“For a man who built his company around lying to people, it’s funny you think I would take you at your word.”
“I’m not lying, why would I lie!” Vox squawked, following after him. “Vark is super sweet, you’d like him if you got to know him.”
“I am NOT going anywhere near that thing again.” Alastor said, swirling around to make his point clear. He expected to see Vox angry, hear him yell and protect his canine companion.
Instead Vox had a look of worry on his face, eyes filled with sympathy and arms still reaching out in an attempt to hold the deer.
“Ok then, no more Vark.” Vox said, raising his hands in a mock surrender.
Alastor gave him a sceptical look.
“I mean it. If it will make you more comfortable here I will keep Vark far away from you.” Vox continued. “I’ll send a message out tomorrow banning all dog types from the tower too.”
The bewildered looks on Alastor's face didn’t do justice to how confused he felt as Vox’s words.
“And why would you do such a thing?” Alastor said suspiciously, eyes narrowing to look at Vox.
“Well you're kinda living in the tower now since the deal we made makes you my prisoner and I live here. I want you to be comfortable and enjoy being here, with me.”
Vox pressed Alastor's hands into his own, his artificial heating relaxing the frozen joints in Alastor’s fingers. His blue thumb rubbing the back of Alator’s hand in a comforting motion.
“That is quite out of character for you Vox, thinking of others.” Alastor said softly, eyes leaving their connected hands and meeting Vox’s eyes. “I think that's the least you could do for imprisoning me in this tower of horrors.”
“I’ll get right to it.” Vox said, smiling widely. He stepped closer to Alastor and Alastor leaned embarrassingly close to try and capture some of the warmth Vox was radiating.
“Cold there, Al?” Vox teased, a slight chuckle in his voice. “Let's get you a hot shower and some fresh clothes.”
Vox led the way to the elevator, one hand still holding on to Alastors.
“You're letting me walk? I thought you were quite fond of rolling me around.” Alastor teased.
“Al, I’m not making the mistake of putting your chaotic ass on wheels, ever again.”