【 Shadows in the Abyss 】
"I wanna contribute
to the caos!"
...
For someone who holds himself in high esteem, mortality seemed like a game. So, something like this was a blow to her fragile ego.
A subtle metallic click, an unmistakable sound of a gun's safety being removed. Her heart raced as she tried to discern the direction of the threat. Her antennae moved in all directions. A swift hum cut through the air near her, on her cheek, caressing the phantom sensation of the scar over her right eye.
The distorted resonance of an impact against the wall left her perplexed. While it does her no use doing so, Aimy opened her eyes in shock. She recognizes that sound too well for her taste and privilege: angelic metal.
Well, shit. How bad could her situation be from now on?
They actually messed on her cute and cuddly monotony today.... So... she's bad enough with feeling the old death threat she thought she'd dismissed years ago.
She's screwed in every way.
Great. What is left for you to do for now? Exactly.
Run for her second fuckin' life. Of course she does.
The men chasing her, their sleek shark grins biting through the darkness, dropped a trail of drool onto the roadway. The screeching of sharp metal-holy teeth made Aimy's skin cower.
This seemed utterly absurd and surreal to her, that she was so soon back to old routines when she really tried hard to keep her guard down. Why was it that when she tried hard it was when things failed? From now on she would stop trying and let things flow.
Lord, she'd never felt these levels of stress again.
The neon glow of Pentagram City's twisted skyline cast eerie shadows as Aimy ran through the labyrinthine alleyways. The chill of the night enveloped her like a pernicious embrace, and the distant echo of her footsteps was drowned out by the rapid beating of her heart. She should have brought something more covered, but she wasn't exactly supposed to be in the middle of a chase today, right now she should be too hot and high at the disco. But already the adrenaline was giving her something similar, so she wasn't that far away from her target.
On the way, she saw a man being thrown out of the window from inside a bar, and tried to stop his escape to avoid the collision. However, Aimy did not make it in time. She rolled on the ground together with the man and, when Aimy took off again to run away, she looked down at her shoes; her heel had broken.
"Oh great... Now this!" Her feathers dropped down disappointedly.
"Watch where you're going bitch!!"
"You look what you did to my stilettos!!! They were brand new asshole!!! Go reproach whoever threw you like a sack of potatoes in the first place!! I'm in the middle of a chase!" Aimy pulled off her broken heel and was about to poke him eye out when she saw the sharks round the corner.
"What did you-?!" Aimy cut off his words by covering his mouth.
"Shh, shh, shh, shh pretty puppy... keep quiet..." Aimy took advantage of the fact that the man was tall and of thick build to use him as a shield and, by the way, as a hiding place. "Be still and quiet, you look better that way."
"Son of a-!!"
"Hold it right there! My mother could be anything but a whore. So cut the shit right there. Wait- AUCH!!! What's wrong with you?!" The dog man had bitten her hand. And her squeal was enough to make the mobsters turn to look. "YOU'RE A-! THAT HURT!!! BAD DOG! You won't get away with this dickhead, did you hear me?! I'll search heaven and earth for you, I swear of god damn it!!" She put her heel back on as fast as she had taken it off and ran again.
"STOP THAT BITCH!" Shouted the gang leader. "Which way did she go?! Speak now." The shark pointed the cannon barrel at him, but the dog didn't need any intimidation to point to the alley where she ran off.
"FUCK YOU!!" An amused silly voice was heard in the distance.
Two fucking HOURS she'd been scouring the whole city looking for a hiding place. But fuck, these people were managing to catch up to her even when she should have the advantage because she could fly freely without wings on her back.
"Run, run, run... Where can I hide, where can I hide?" Aimy braked for just a few seconds, his antennae moving from left to right, locating an escape route. "Come on, come on..."
"There she is! Catch the flying bitch!!!!"
"Oh gosh... don't they get tired of running?! I am fucked." In an instant, her instincts went on high alert, raising her antennae skyward, when the imminent huge danger of ending up turned into a snack presented itself as she caught sight of an extraordinarily large man descending from the roof. "BY SATAN-"
With a thunderous 'Whee!' from the fat shark, it was Aimy's cue to leap toward the road. Lying on her back with her head to the front, she pulled herself up with the help of her elbows, her heart was about to burst out of her chest from beating so fast.
A soft, warm, slimy feeling under her feet, along with the smell of fish, made the stomach flow burn her throat. "YUCK, YUCK, YUCK." Aimy kicked the caesars that fell on top of her legs and crawled backwards as she wiped away the remains of the man that splattered around her. The feathers on her head ruffled, detecting the ominous rumble of an approaching car, with the gas pedal pressed to the metal. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH EVERYONE TODAY?!" Once again, she had to spring into action, narrowly avoiding the disaster of ending up dismembered by four worn tires.
And Aimy was up again, after being up all night running from the Mafia Sharks. Aimy swerved sharply and narrowly dodged the claws of his pursuers as they stumbled over their own feet, momentarily disoriented by the swift action. The flickering lights of a nearby streetlight illuminated Aimy's tense expression as she ducked back into a recessed alleyway, both antennae quivering with nerves. She had to grip them tightly to keep them from wobbling, seeking some comfort as this ended.
She heard bustle nearby, so she surely ran in circles again, ending up back in the same district, it was nowhere near her house. In the shadows, she leaned against a brick wall, chest heaving. The silence that followed was eerie, almost suffocating.
She sharpened her hearing and caught the distant murmur of frustrated voices as she realized they had lost her for the moment. The gang leader threw the gun to the ground in frustration."Which way did she go?" he grabbed one of his subordinates by the shirt collar.
"I don't know! She just disappeared...!"
"Then what good are you damn 'roaches?!" The shark stretched out his sharp fingers and immediately cut off the other's scream, letting blood stain his suit. "The boss won't take it well that we've lost that bitch of a new one... Hurry up you damn leeches!!! That witch couldn't have run far!!!"
The shark threw the body to the ground, which would surely recover and return to work in a few minutes. With a sigh of relief upon hearing the sharks move away, Aimy approached the decapitated shark and delicately picked up the weapon the man had thrown in frustration. It had metallic embroidery, quite shiny and dazzling, so she saw it the moment she opened her eyes slightly.
"An angelic weapon... You fuckin' kiddin' me... They really wanted to kill me..." She scoffed upon recognizing it, then tucked it into her bag. It had no bullets (since they had wasted the ones in it), but she would take it as a reminder of why these things are dangerous for any demon residing in hell. Leaving it lying around was a great temptation.
She managed to put some distance between herself and the sharks, but on that particular day, the streets of hell were teeming with sinful creatures, from demons unleashing their playful side to condemned souls dancing in an endless frenzy.
The carnival of the nine circles of hell was an explosion of extravagance and excess, a celebration where sinners and hellborns surrendered to the darkest and uninhibited pleasures in the first week after the extermination, it was a way to celebrate staying alive.
Aimy found herself once again in an overwhelming scenario, where flames danced in the air, and shadows came to life to form horrifying or lustful creatures. But what Aimy saw through her antennas was a bustling crowd and dancing silhouettes in the middle of the street; she couldn't see anything else, except if she opened her eyes, she could perceive the blurry and vibrant colors taking on more intense hues, immersing the environment in a palette of fiery reds, deep purples, and unfathomable blacks.
The music, a collection of seductive melodies and diabolical rhythms, began to tense Aimy's antennas. While she wished she could be enjoying the carnival, she still heard, amid all the commotion, an unmistakable symphony of sharks exclaiming her name, fueling her desire to escape the place.
Aimy started turning her head like a doll in all directions, searching for a crack, a small gap to hide, but her vision became blurry, and her antennas moved everywhere, trying to catch an exit, only seeing silhouettes of damned sinners.
Suddenly, she found herself in the middle of the street, where she observed the floats, grotesque monuments parading through the streets that would eventually crush her if she didn't decide where to run. Aimy took a drag from her vaporizer to clear her mind, feeling her nose tickle from the scent of incense and sulfur in the air, mixing with the subtle perfume of decay and the desire of the dancers on the floats.
"Hey!"
Aimy raised her head simultaneously with her antennas, where the noise was coming from.
"Hey, you!" She turned her head from side to side, as if looking for someone other than herself. Then she pointed to herself, eyebrows raised. "Yes, you, sweetness! Get on the float! The night is just beginning! We need more dancing morsels up here to replace the ones that disappeared!"
"Uh... Thanks for the offer, but right now, I'm-"
"Oh, don't be shy!" A winged demon descended from the float and took her arm. "Take one of these and get up here, bitch. We don't invite just anyone. Down here is chaos." She handed her an object that Aimy felt and determined was a carnival mask.
And an old adage whispered in her ear. Aimy smiled slightly.
"If you insist... Take me up there!" She pointed enthusiastically upward.
"That's the spirit!" Aimy felt a tug on her arm, and in seconds, she was flying, with the air hitting her face. The woman held her by the armpits and gently placed her on the float platform, high enough to get her away from the noise and the view of certain harassers. "Hey, guys, a new guest! She's not from this district, so give her a warm welcome!"
"Jeez, look what we have here. Wouldn't you be interested in working with us? You fit the boss's standards." She felt a hand roam her waist and then hold her shoulders. "Do you want us to put in a good word for you-?"
"THANKS BUT-!!!" Aimy pushed him away by grabbing his shoulders. The demon blinked, somewhat puzzled by the hostility. At that instant a smile broke out on Aimy's face. "I already have a job... maybe another time." She smiled slightly, trying to avoid that fate. As he said, few well-paying jobs didn't involve sex, and she was fine working at WcDonalds for now with Alexandra. "You can reach me some of-"
"Here" She heard the winged demon's voice again at her back. Aimy turned around and instantly felt the texture of leather clothing and tights. "You can keep it."
"You saved my hide cutie." Aimy wandered into the blind spots of the chariot.
The best hiding place is in plain sight, where the optimal strategy is to blend into the environment rather than fight against it. Suspicions dissolve, and unwanted attention is minimized, allowing the true essence to remain safeguarded in a corner of apparent normality.
The elaborate mask would conceal her identity while those hideous malicious faces peek around from below. Although those sharks were blessed with extraordinary vision, they were deprived of intelligence, so they would surely continue lurking in hidden places until they lost their heads.
Therefore, with the costume she now wears, the fake wings, the mask, and considering that this carriage surely belonged to some important demon from the lust ring, security, sinful drinks, and delicacies would be offered at every corner, and malicious laughter would resonate in the darkness of the eternal night as Aimy waited for the carriage to approach her home.
"Damn... I go back to work in two hours..." Aimy wobbled in the air, occasionally leaning on the walls to avoid falling. Cautiously, she climbed the fire escape stairs to her apartment.
Ascending from the alley side was somewhat uncomfortable, as she had to pass near the windows of other apartments on the lower floors. Even though she was blind, what she heard while ascending made her wonder about the kind of neighbors she had. Entering the seventh floor through a hallway window, Aimy fumbled for the keys in her bag, the metallic jingle echoing in the walls as she counted the room numbers she knew by heart.
Once inside, she locked the door, isolating herself from the looming threat as if it would serve any purpose in a place as unsafe as hell. With trembling hands, Aimy took her phone from her bag, and her fingers danced on the screen. "Kitty, call Cherri Bomb," she spoke into the phone, which immediately responded to her request. Of all the crap the flat-face one could have created, this was the only thing that was truly useful for someone with blindness like her.
"No, no... come on, answer," she muttered under her breath. "You must be fucking kidding me." The phone kept ringing. Frustration began to turn into growing anger with each unanswered call redirected to voicemail. Aimy sent (or rather ordered Kitty to send text messages) enough to flood anyone's notification tray.
No response after ten minutes.
"What damn trouble have you gotten into this time Cherri?"
Aimy wouldn't clean up another one of her messes. Not after what she did on extermination day. She hasn't spoken to her about it or told others what happened that day, but she would swear never to trust someone like her again, someone who tells you the truth half-heartedly.
The twelfth call made her realize that she was, definitely, in trouble.
Again.
Like the hundred times before.
As Aimy anxiously awaited her friend's response, the eerie silence in her apartment tightened her stomach, accompanied by a growing nausea. She let herself be carried away by the carnival, forgetting that she was precisely hiding from the view of the mobsters.
The distant wailing of sirens outside only increased the tension, and Aimy stood up to inspect the area through the window, almost expecting to see the ominous silhouettes of her pursuers lurking in the shadows. But all she saw were some imps strolling on the sidewalks.
The phone remained obstinately silent, its digital clock ticking away the hours. Aimy's frustration morphed into anxious concern as she paced the confined space of her living room.
Each unanswered call fueled her anxiety, and the unanswered text message hung in the air.
They shouldn't have found her so quickly. At least not now, after an extermination where things were tense in all territories of the city. The Overlords were getting finicky, affecting the atmosphere and the businesses of other sinners. That's why it was odd for guys like them to be working under these circumstances, especially when people of their kind were on the hunt.
In what tangle had she gotten herself into without realizing she left a trace? She considered herself someone very low-key in every aspect, never getting into fights unless it was unintentional, which was the biggest trouble she'd gotten into in recent years. The Voxtagram photos weren't much help; her job was in another district far from her home, and no one had found out which district she lived in so far.
The glow of her phone drew her attention, casting a faint light on her face. A notification blinked on her phone, breaking the silence. A message from her friend finally appeared on the screen. She asked Kitty to read it.
"Sorry, bitch. I was in a pickle. Whassup?"
Aimy parted her lips and sent a voice message.
"Get your fuckin' ass to my apartment. NOW. If don't want me to send all your damn enemies tomorrow the fucking location of your Cherri rattrap hideout."
She flopped onto the bed.
The drinks were already getting to her.
"Ohhhh... You're an ultra FUCKED UP BITCH! I told you we should have exterminated them years ago." Cherri fiddled with one of her little explosive toys, tossing it in the air and tackling it. "They'll find you Mimy, so why don't we better take care of- Wait, what?" Cherri tossed her bomb into the air, but it didn't land back in her hands. Aimy opened the sliding window and threw her friend's toy out into the street. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
"Over my double corpse" She closed the window again and walked back to sit on the edge of the bed. The building shook from the explosion outside. "I'd rather eat my own arm than even see those pricks' faces again."
"Girl, your family is insane, do you really think you can handle them? Open your eyes."
"I can handle it."
"Oh, what will you do? Huh? You'll hide and hope they get tired of you? Really?" Cherri lay on her back next to Aimy's legs, to look at her the clear frustration painted on her face. "Bitch, they've been perceiving you for how long? 40 years? 60 maybe?" Aimy snorted and stood up again "Oh come on, don't be in a bad mood, you know it's true."
"Cherri, I'm not sober yet to put up with your gross foul mood." Aimy pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.
"Mimy, I am 'eating and digesting' this seriously. I just want you to understand me for once. Even if you don't see the problem, it does exist and it's here, with you right now."
"Fuck you."
"Just saying." She let her chin rest on her hand, watching from the comfortable bed as her friend spun around the room burning her head in thought. "The floor is lucky you fly, you sure would have left a nice ditch there."
"Can you just stop there? Don't try my temper" She pointed to the Cyclops woman, who lifted her shoulders lazily "I don't even know why I called you..." Aimy rubbed her hands over her face.
"I already told you, delete them and puff! Goodbye problem. I can give you a hand with that. You know I have quite a bit of influence in some districts." She pulled out another of her exploding toys and did the same thing again, throwing it and catching it in mid-air.
"And how do I know you won't leave me alone if it all goes wrong again?"
"What did you say?" Cherri caught the bomb, but didn't continue to fiddle with it. "Don't bring that shit with you, Aimy."
"Touch a nerve." She let out a nasal laugh. "What's the matter? Did you think I'd forget like the other thousand times? Not even if I lost my head very literally would I ever again ask you to help me limp it back into my body." Aimy dragged a chair from the dining room to her room, set it down in front of the bed, and plopped down on it. She wanted to confront her face to face, but Cherri wouldn't even put forth an effort to humor her. She rolled her eye and folded her arms.
"So you want to throw it in my face. Did I drag you along and force you to come with me? You agreed to do it."
"Cherri." Aimy's antennae tensed.
"Okay, all right. Maybe I didn't tell you the whole truth, but I needed your help! You know I'll protect them both when I become Overlord, you guys are both my adoration... but in the meantime I have to watch my back... Besides, it was for Angel! He's your friend too!!! Don't you feel a little pity for his situation?" Cherri sat down on the bed. "The least we could do was give him a break, don't you think?"
Aimy's eyes widened slightly.
"First: I warned him about the contract, but he accepted it anyway. It's a pity, you're right. It's my fault? Sure it is, and I still regret it every day for putting Angel in the corner." Aimy's voice began to crack. She definitely wasn't sober yet
"Hold on! I-I didn't mean-!" Cherri wanted to make amends for her mistake, but when Aimy started to speak, it was impossible to stop her
"But" Aimy's sweet tone dropped to a scratchy one. "Let me remind you that he stopped talking to me for nine years after we both fought." she began, counting on her fingers. "Second: You'll NEVER become an Overlord. You need souls, thousands of contracts, a district under your control, or recognition from the board, even if it's for your money or connections... And guess what? You have NONE of that."
"Why are you always so pessimistic? Girl, relax..."
"Third: You're meddling with Overlords, Cherri Bomb, precisely three Overlords who have enough power to make you disappear, erase you, overshadow you. So that's more reasons why you can never be an Overlord. And fourth-"
"Gosh, enough! Leave that sharp tongue for Angel, I don't want your sincerity." Cherri held Aimy's shoulders, trying to talk some sense into her for once. "I'm so sorry for what I did, it was my mistake, but you don't have to be so mean to me."
"And fourth." She continued more calmly. "You got me involved in your fucking problems darling, and if Angel's boss hooks you up with him because of me, who do you think will bear the consequences?" Cherri rolled her eye, she hated it when he threw shit like that in her face. "Have you tried calling Angel, did he answer you?"
"Oh come on, now I'm the bad guy?!!! I just wanted to help you and Angel! That's been my only motivation for years!!! And you know that! I just want to protect you! " A few tears escaped his eye. Aimy was not moved at all.
"Well... you didn't succeed pretty..." Aimy pushed Cherri away, taking distance. "Face it, you can't help me or Angel with our problems."
"And why did you call me if it wasn't for help?! Come on, enlighten me, holy Aimy, because right now you're being a asshole to me!"
"I asked for your help to help me think, not to solve my whole problem, Cherri."
Drop the fucking pride, Aimy. I've got mine too but I don't spend my goddamn life moaning to others." She tapped her index finger against Aimy's chest. "I could help you both if I were Overlord, but you never wanted to help me. And you know you can help me.... At least I'd like moral support from my friend."
"My thing isn't lying, so scratch that, Cherri." She smirked. "If you don't make it on your own it would not be your success."
"You are extremely cruel... I should have gotten the idea when I befriended an ancient relic like you." Cherri had lost to Aimy on this occasion, so she could only back down from the fight. The situation wasn't about her or Angel, it was about Aimy.
"You are most unkind... I should have gotten the idea when I befriended an ancient relic like you." Cherri had lost to Aimy on this occasion, so she could only back down from the fight. The situation wasn't about her or Angel, it was about Aimy. "Everything about you changes except what's in here..." She pointed to her chest. "Your thing about the Overlords is so personal, you can't get rid of that stigma you drew on your head since then. drop the prejudice! " She smacked Aimy's forehead, nudging it teasingly to draw a line of peace between the two.
Aimy just sighed. She drew a weak, friendly smile
"Okay, I screwed up. Maybe I didn't think through the consequences with a cool head. But save that topic to rub it in my face later and let's get back to the initial point, what do you plan to do now that you're being hunted? The time will come when they find your house."
"I haven't the slightest idea."
Silence.
Well, that was an excellent way to kill the vibe.
Cherri held her chin, thinking how to help her, what solution they could give her to the problem for the moment, until she opened her eye eagerly and snapped her fingers. "Got it." Aimy's feathers perked up with encouragement.
"You got it?" Cherri nodded eagerly.
"The sewers!" Aimy's feathers dropped again.
"That Weirdsville? Seriously?"
"Just think about it." Cherri got up from the bed and forced Aimy to 'stand' to hug her shoulders. "You told me you usually hide there during exterminations since angels don't go in there. Same with demons and sinners. Everyone knows it's . Sludgehaunts territory. So why don't you use the sewers to get from one end of town to the other? I don't think they'll have a problem with you using it. Those sharks wouldn't dare go through there."
"That's it...!" Aimy paused, and her wrinkled expression became smooth. Her feathers rose in hope. "That's actually a good idea"
"Why are you so surprised?" Charri dropped the arm that hugged her friend's shoulders. "Aimy."
"I'm sorry! I never thought you'd come up with good ideas. I didn't even think about that chance."
"Hey! I'm not stupid, just too lazy to show how smart I am. You're saved that I don't show my full potential babe, because I'd smash you into the ground." She folded her arms, pretending to be mock offended.
"I wonder if they won't have a problem with that... After I separated from the group, I didn't face them again..." Aimy grabbed her bag and phone, in a few minutes it was her turn.
"You won't know until you try, so cheers! Good luck!" She gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek. She walked over to the window, quite at ease with accomplishing her goal.
"Wait!" Aimy held onto Cherri before her foot passed the window sill, keeping her from leaving. "Won't you come with me?"
"Oh, no, no, no... NO! What are you thinking little witch! If those guys down there see me they'll want my head, you're the only one who sympathizes with those weirdos."
"But Cherri-"
"Bye bitch!" and jumped out the window.
Aimy was left holding Cherri's hand in the air.
Okay, Aimy has a solution for now. It was a good beginning. The sharks will soon realize their new means of transportation, but they wouldn't dare go down there, they're too much of a pussy. But that didn't mean they wouldn't wait for her outside the sewers. If that happened she would go live with the Wendigos and misfits down there.
She needed a solution, a real solution, one that would settle this cat and mouse game for good. At this point he just hoped it would fall like a miracle from the sky. If not, she could get ready to set up a whole ecosystem underneath the pentagram city.
Revolutionary idea for a person who would not be revolutionary at all.
.
.
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𝓥𝓥𝓥 NOTES | This chapter is a bit short, but if I continued it, it would be too long... Anyway... Hello again!
𝓥 01. | This chapter was going to start out very different, but after I finished it I decided to edit it.
Soon, very soon, the Vees will be in action. I can even say that in the next chapter they will be introduced to the story.
While in Hazbin Hotel they explain the role of the Vees in hell, it is not fully developed, they leave the ideas up in the air, and I will take them and build on them using also theories and headcanons that fans have made these last weeks.
It should be noted that both Valentino, Velvette and Vox have personalities depending on the people they are dealing with; the personality they show to the rest of the sinners, the personality they show to superior entities, and the personality they show to each other as partners/family.
I want to write something along the lines of the day to day life of these three characters, how their job works and how they stay on top constantly. What is their purpose, and their intentions. Also, I want to focus a little bit on the perspective of the three of them about what happens in hell.
𝓥 02. | By the way, what did you think of the hazbin hotel ending song?
God, I screamed at my tv screen when I saw Vox and Valentino kissing. Please! Don't call me dramatic, we StaticMoth shippers have been asking ourselves for 4 years how the hell those two were kissing! Because I'll be honest, I found the idea of Valentino kissing a screen funny!
At least they took away one big doubt.
They also confirmed (in case it wasn't clear before) that they are a couple. Many fans are wondering if Velvette is in a polyamorous relationship with the two of them, but I honestly don't think so (for now) since they haven't given us as such a hint or clue that she is dating either of them. From the information I have, she only treats them as friends (and yes, her conversation with Vox in chapter 3 doesn't seem compromising enough to me to confirm that she's dating Vox). Also, she gave Vox and Valentino their space during the duet during in the season finale song, and was only included when they sang " the Vees" together.
I would like them to have a polyamorous relationship, but if not I don't see it as a bad thing either.
𝓥 03. | By the way, some drawings and doodles of Aimy and company are already posted on my Twitter!
I'd love for you to go and follow me, I'd like to upload comics about my fanfiction later on, and some drawings of the Vees. I find their designs very beautiful and fun to draw.
Something I would like to do in the future is to make an animation, but for now I see it impossible. Not because of time, because I write and draw anywhere and anytime. At the moment my only means of drawing is my phone. I'm looking for a graphic tablet to use with my laptop, but for now this is my situation.
By the way, I am very active on Twitter, so if you want to interact closely with me do it there. On Wattpad I'm only present when I'm going to update.
That would be all for now, Yureiid says goodbye.
See you in next updates!
I will leave you some drawings I made of Aimy that I have not uploaded to tt.
February 6th. ──
2024. ──