(I'm not gonna lie, I completely forgor about this being out at 5PM. My bad, lol)
(Third Person POV)
(Scene: Hotel Lounge)
(Third Person POV)
"Hey, Charlie, where are the hot pockets… and literally everything?" James said, digging through the freezer, trying to find anything but coming up empty-handed. "James, I can just make food, y'know?" Charlie proves her point by snapping and making a grand feast on a long table in the lounge."
"Charlie, no offense, but your food sucks." James deadpanned at the feast, grabbing his coat and a chicken leg off of the table, taking a large bite. "See? It barely has any taste. The only reason why we eat it is because it's better than starving." He says in-between bites, eventually eating it bone and all.
Charlie looks downcast at James' blunt words. "Oh…. I'm sorry." She looks down at her legs, playing with her long blonde hair. James saw her and gained a conflicted look on his face and hesitantly sat beside Charlie on the couch, patting her back. "Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, chill out. You make food out of magic itself; of course it's going to taste bad. All I want to do is get some real food."
"..." A beat of silence passed through the room.
"Master, you are very bad at comforting people." Both James and Charlie jumped up at Amery's word, their heads swiveling to the other end of the couch they were sitting on, where Amery sat with her eyes crossed. "Amery, how the hell did we not see you?" Amery let out a small smirk and pointed her nose in the air with a haughty gesture. "I've learned the art of sitting so still it seems like I'm invisible."
James and Charlie shared a confused glance for a bit before he got up and patted Charlie's head. "Good talk." He said before turning to the human computer. "Hey, Amery, do you want to come to the store with me to get food?" Amery tilted her head to the side. "But, Master, Hellflake can create sustenance out of thin air. Why would we need to buy food?"
"You have to understand, Amery, surviving isn't the same as living. Would you like to survive on barely any food and just get by on scraps, eating like you're a homeless man—" Charlie sheepishly chuckled as James continued his speech. "Or would you rather eat Hot Pockets and junk food like kings, no, GODS!!!"
"... Master, are the Hot Pockets that serious?" James had an expression of dead seriousness on his face. "Absolutely." He put on his coat with a flourish, making sure to properly zip it up lest he incur the wrath of his girlfriend. " I'm going to get some real food. You want to come with me?" Amery shrugged and got up with him.
"Guys, wait. Aren't you going to invite Nifty?" Charlie asked from the couch. "Nah, she's too busy cleaning up. "Besides, I'll get her something special to make up for it." Charlie tries to protest more, but James quickly walks out the door with Amery before she could keep talking, causing her usual smile to shift into a large frown as she sat there.
"So, what's up with you?" Vaggie asked from behind Charlie. She yelled at the top of her lungs and jumped in the air, landing in a bridal carry in Vaggie's arms. "Okay, how is everyone sneaking up on me today? What's next, Nifty!?"
"Hi!"
"AAAAAHHHH!!!!!"
Charlie jumped out of Vaggie's arms and into Nifty's… Well, she would've if Nifty wasn't behind the couch, missing her by a little bit and just falling on the floor. "Oops, sorry, Charlie." She waved Nifty off, rubbing her back out of instinct but not real pain. "You are very easy to scare." Vaggie said with a smirk before her gaze shifted into something curious. "So, what's gotten you in such a downer mood?"
Charlie tensed up and, after a few seconds, reluctantly said. "...It's about James." To Charlie's surprise, Vaggie didn't get mad when hearing his name and sat down on the couch with her. "Yeah, what about him?"
Charlie stumbled over her words for a few seconds, trying to capture what she was trying to say. "Well… He seems so fake all of the time, you know? It's like he's always hiding something from everyone, and he's not exactly doing a good job at it. If redemption is going to be possible, then he needs to open up to everybody." Vaggie nodded agreeably at Charlie's words.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Every time we train outside, he fights like he's holding himself back, like if he was trying to mimic how someone else would do something instead of just trying it himself." She puts her head into her hands as she talks before turning to Nifty.
"...What?" Vaggie raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you're his girlfriend; if we noticed it, I would be surprised if you didn't." Nifty got on the couch and lay down with a relaxed look on her face. "Yeah, I know that he acts really weird sometimes, but I wouldn't say he's fake or that I dislike it. It's kind of his charm, you know? And it's at least better than just being an asshole, and I, as his girlfriend, get to peel back all of his hard layers—"
Her pupils turned into hearts for a brief moment as she put her hands up to her face and started to drool.
"ONE. BY. ONE."
"..."
Vaggie and Charlie shared a horrified look and very slowly scooted over to the edge of the couch.
(Scene Change: Sin City)
"So, Master, what store will we be going into?" Amery questioned as the two walked down the street. "Well, I usually switch stores often, but I'll show you where I usually shop." James says as he directs Amery down an alley and corner. As they walked, they did not notice the pair of eyes spying on them from a shadow that everyone ignored; a man with a suit and a TV for a head and a man with a red suit with a monocle stared at the robot and 4-armed demon as they walked.
"Are you sure this plan of yours will work, Vox?" The radio demon asked his temporary companion. He was much worse off than when James last saw him, with visible whip marks and scars on his body and tears in his clothes that he hasn't replaced. "Yeah, I'm fucking sure this'll work, you deer fuck!" Vox whispers yells.
"Look, I got every piece of information I could about him. He's plenty strong and got some freaky-ass powers, but I haven't seen him actually move that fast, so here's what we do—" Vox signs around erratically and talks faster than he usually does. "So here's what we do: we take the girl hostage and try to get him to dance to our tune." His screen glitched as a wide grin appeared on the television screen.
"...I'm sure that's just a wonderful plan Vox, but there's just one thing you forgot." His smile slightly twitched as he leaned into Vox's ear. "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WHEN WE LET HER GO!?" Vox flinches back and hits his head on the wall, cracking his screen and turning half of his face into a glitchy mess. "Y-y-you rad-d-dio F-F-F-Fuck." He glitched out, sparks flying off of him before his screen turned completely black.
"..I hate you, Alastor." He weakly points at the deer-man smiling wider than before. "I love you too, Vox. Now can you answer my question, my dear inferior way of communication?" Vox hits the side of his screen, sparks flying off of them more before it finally turns back on, his face coming back. "First of all: television will always beat radio, you damn old-school prick." Alastor's eye twitches. "And second, isn't it obvious? Obviously we aren't gonna beat him, I just need you to teleport us out after we waste the bitch."
Alastor's smile grows into a sadistic grin hearing Vox's words. "Hmmm. I guess I could go for a meal today." He licks his chops as radio static starts to emanate from his body. "Okay, you creepy fuck, can you stop?" He sighs. "Look, just focus on teleporting us out after I hold the whore hostage. Can you do that, you inferior version of Frank Sinatra in his period?" Alastor shrugs. "I am quite sure I can, Vox." Vox's smile widens. "Good." And Vox's hand pulls out a knife glowing a sickly yellow as the shadow the two were in starts to fold in, completely disappearing before anyone could notice the two overlords.
(AN: To be honest, I didn't see the appeal of radiostatic until I started writing these two, not going to lie.)
(Scene Change: Random Store)
"WITH THIS TREASURE I SUMMON EIGHT HANDLED DIVERGENT SILA DIVINE GENERAL MAHOR—"
"OKAY, I'LL GIVE YOU YOUR FOOD, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"
Currently, James was threatening to summon the strongest shikigami in his arsenal for three honeybuns in front of his impressionable robot child, who was holding many bags. "Thanks, random cashier number 47. You're a pretty chill guy, you know? I didn't even have to summon him." James smiled and patted the traumatized cashier on the shoulder, grabbing his honeybuns and walking out in tow with Amery.
"Master, do you even have money?" James scoffed with his mouth full before swallowing. "How could you ask such a question, Amery?" She deadpanned at him. "Because you refused to pay any of the cashiers and instead resorted to using the divine general to 'pay' for everything." James put a finger up in protest, ate a bite of his honey bun, and put his finger down in acceptance. "Look, Amery, if you want to get anywhere in life, you have to learn how to use your natural gifts for a 100% off coupon at the ready."
James walked forward, awaiting a response from Amery, but when she didn't respond, he turned around and saw Vox standing behind Amery, a crazed look in his eye and a glowing knife pressed to Amery's throat. James quickly dropped the honey buns, and his lazy expression quickly hardened. "... Alright, what the hell do you want?" James asked, although calm on the outside, he was panicking on the inside, 'Shit, I don't know if I can disarm Vox fast enough while ensuring Amery's safety. Vaggie's espionage style would make me fast enough to sneak up on him, but he could just kill her before I could touch him.'
"Well, well, well. So we meet again, fabled Overlord, and—"
"And Goetia killer, god, you damn sinners will not have me live this down!" Although James was joking around with Vox, his eyes were trained on his knife, waiting for any moment of weakness in Vox's hand. Yet, Vox's hand remains steady, still grinning at James as the shadows behind him start to coil, something that doesn't go unnoticed by James' covered eyes.
But before James could continue, Amery put a hand up, reassuring him. "Master, please. It's fine, I promise." Vox's grin turned into faux shock as his eyes darted between the two. "Master? Oh, I didn't know the famous overlord killer was so freaky." He raised his eyebrows up and down, not noticing that James' surprise wasn't from Amery revealing their "relationship" but for what he really saw. From James' perspective, he saw purple energy leaking from Amery's soul. It started its descent from her soul into her gut before spreading to her arm, covering it in the energy.
'T-that's—'
Before Vox could react, Amery quickly elbowed him in the guy, causing him to keel over right as the shadows took him.
"Master, was that what you would call it? Aurafarming?"
'That's cursed energy!'
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(Shameless plug: Ko-fi.com/mrlegantrop)
THE LAST SENTENCE IS MINE. —Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu