Age of Anger

Disclaimer: The characters of Retro/Wrath, Sakuroma/Lust, Izzurius/Pride, Insatian/Gluttony, Hivemine/Greed, Velasma, and Serpenscheme are owned by RetroSpecter, and the characters of Ace, Elise, Asim, Jackie, Tayang, and Sven are owned by Kamex. Unless directly stated otherwise by either of them, nothing in this work should be taken as canon to their respective characters or overarching universe- this is merely a fan work, loosely based on their respective canon and with a fair amount of homebrewed content to fill in gaps and flesh out the narrative. Please check out both of their respective content (be it on YouTube, Twitch, and/or Twitter) if you haven't already, and support them however you can!

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The gates of Wrath loomed large and ominous over the rock and dust of Hell's outskirts. They stood as a stark reminder to the souls of the newly damned that once inside, there would be no escape; and to those incredibly few in existence with the means and desire to even try, they made clear that getting inside uninvited would be similarly fruitless.

But gates themselves must still open, and openings might be exploited by escapees and infiltrators alike, and thus even these imposing gates required a guardian- the embodiment of Wrath itself, an armored reptilian figure with acidic claws and control over fire, placed there by powers beyond mortal ken to serve as a deterrent to all unwelcome visitors on both sides.

Said guardian was currently reclining in a conjured lawn chair, bouncing a rubber ball against the thick stone walls as he let out a tired and irritable sigh, idly contemplating (and not for the first time that day) whether his time might be better spent elsewhere.

"Afternoon Retro!" a cheery voice called.

Without looking up or stopping his ball throwing, Retro lazily waved with his other hand. "Hey Velasma," he mumbled.

The new arrival, a figure somewhat like a large brown raptor with a black-green feathery mohawk that extended down her back and tail, eyed him with confusion. "Well, you seem weirdly down today."

"Because I'm generally so chipper?" he replied, equal parts annoyed and genuinely surprised that his scout seemed surprised. "Nothing out of the ordinary happened yet today, so I don't have much to get excited about."

"I figured today would be different in that regard."

He finally looked up at her, suddenly suspicious. "Why would that be?"

Velasma grinned. "A little birdie told me that it's a special day for somebody around here."

"Izzy, you damn blabbermouth-!" Retro blurted, before clenching his teeth.

His scout giggled. "Got anything planned?"

Retro continued to glare at her for a bit, then sighed heavily. "Nah. Nothin' major, anyway. Honestly not fussed about it."

Velasma pouted. "Come on now! I know our clients curse the days they were born, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy yours!"

"Glad to know I have permission." He cocked his head. "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be getting a move on?" He snapped his tail, summoning a flaming hole nearby.

The raptor's playful mock-annoyance quickly changed to a look of genuine irritation, and she ran through the hole in a huff.

"You don't need to be so curt, you know," a voice called down from above.

Retro looked up at the gates, seeing Serpenscheme sitting on a piece of scaffolding. He snorted. "Kinda my whole gig, if you hadn't noticed."

She rolled her eyes. "Counterpoint- you blow off this gig all the time. Surely you can take a break from being so pissy while you're at it? Vel just asked a simple question."