Complicated and Sad \\ RADIOSILENCE

[8] - Power

📻 ┃⤷ Alastor's POV

It was early in the morning, weeks after the child incident, and Alastor had found ways to distract himself- one of which was teaching and helping Vox. Today, Alastor was going to help him with growing and controlling his power, and he knew this was going to end up being a long day.

He sat in the living room and slowly drank his bitter black coffee as he read an old newspaper, waiting for Vox to wake up. He was growing slightly restless, but he tried to stay patient. Vox's habit of sleeping in late was fairly annoying.

After 2 hours of waiting, Vox finally walked out into the living room, his screen barely visible as he dragged his feet. He paused, shook his head to turn his screen fully on, then looked over at Alastor. "Oh. Good morning."

Alastor looked up, happy that Vox was finally awake, and stood up. "Good morning, sleepyhead! I have the day all planned out." He walked over to Vox, smiling widely. "What do you think about practicing and growing your power today? Hm?"

Vox looked blankly at Alastor, blinking a few times. "Uh... sure?"

"Fantastic!" Alastor clapped his hands together, eager to get started. "Go ahead and get ready. We're going out by the old abandoned street on the edge of Pride Ring."

"Why out there?" Vox yawned, crossing his arms. "That's so far."

"Because it's safest, and we won't have to worry about anyone seeing us or interfering." He patted Vox's shoulder, then forcefully spun him and nudged him down the call. "Now, go, get ready!"

"Okay, okay! Jeez." Vox grumbled as he walked back into his room, closing the door.

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About an hour later they got to the old, abandoned street. Alastor stuck his cane out in front of Vox to stop him, then walked ahead a bit and stopped a bit away from Vox, turning to face him. He spun his cane then set the end on the ground, leaning his hand on the top.

"You've been working to grow your power for a while now. You've obtained a few dozen souls and you've started your company, which is running successfully. If we're being technical, you may be considered an overlord."

Vox's screen lit up and he grinned, but Alastor held a hand up to stop him.

"However, you're weak compared to the other overlords. Comparing you to myself would be unfair, so we won't go down that road."

Vox frowned, crossing his arms. Alastor grinned more, finding Vox's change in expression to be amusing.

"I have faith in how much you'll grow, but you can't be too cocky yet. You need to learn how to control your power. It'll become harder to learn if you spend all your time growing it." Alastor put both hands on the top of his cane and leaned his weight on it, smiling. "Do you know how to harness your power to use?"

Vox stared at him, then shook his head. "No, I don't."

"We'll start with that." Alastor spun his cane again and crossed his arms behind his back, holding it. "Everyone's power feels different to them. Clear your mind and focus on that feeling. It's very subtle, but with silence and focus you'll be able to sense it."

He watched as Vox closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was silence for a long while. Finally Vox opened his eyes, looking back at Alastor. "It feels almost electric."

Alastor nodded. "Good. Now, concentrate on that feeling. Try to physically use it."

Vox blinked a few times, clearly confused. "What is this supposed to do?"

"Do you want to learn?" Alastor tilted his head, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Well... yeah."

"Then follow what I say and focus." Alastor answered simply.

Vox rolled his eyes but nodded again, closing his eyes and focusing.

There was more silence. After a few moments, Vox's hands began to spark with cyan electricity. Vox yelled and opened his eyes, shaking his hands. "Ow! What the fuck?"

Alastor laughed, finding the entire ordeal to be funny. "That, my friend, was your power. You'll get used to it, don't worry." He looked around for a moment, then pointed his cane at a nearby pile of old boxes. "Now, try to use your power for destruction. Aim at those boxes and shoot your power at them."

Vox looked over at the boxes, then back at Alastor. "Shouldn't I work on trying to handle my power first? Getting used to how it feels, the pain?"

"The feeling is worse when you use it to fight, so by physically using your power you will grow immune to the feeling a lot faster." Alastor looked back at Vox, his ears twitching and his grin widening. "Think of your power like new shoes. When you first put them on and walk around with them, they're uncomfortable and stiff, yes? But as you walk in them more, they begin to feel more comfortable and flexible, and before you know it they feel perfectly fine on your feet."

Vox turned to face the pile of boxes, clearly hesitant, but then took a deep breath and harnessed his power again, flinching from the pain as his hands sparked with cyan electricity again. He lifted his arms, aimed at the boxes, then shot some of the cyan electricity at the boxes. The boxes exploded in a puff of smoke and cardboard pieces.

Alastor smiled more, clapping his hands. "Well done! That was very good for your first attempt."

Vox was panting slightly, his hands shaking. He looked down and saw burns all over his hands, and he frowned. "I'm not sure that was worth it."

Alastor paused, then walked over and took one of Vox's hands, looking down at it and examining the burns. He noticed Vox's screen brightening slightly, thinking it was from pain, and he held the back of Vox's hand to avoid touching the burns on his palm.

"We'll figure something out to avoid you getting burns from this." Alastor sighed and let go of Vox's hand, looking back at him. "Gloves might work. Your power seems to spark on the outside of your skin, so maybe gloves will transfer those sparks to the outside of the gloves."

Vox nodded slightly, looking back down at his hands. "I'll figure something out on my own. You've already helped me enough."

"Nonsense, I can help with this issue as well." Alastor crossed his arms behind his back again, offering Vox a more reassuring smile. "We'll figure something out."

Vox looked at him, smiling slightly, then nodded. "Thanks, Al. I appreciate all the help."

Alastor nodded. "You're welcome, my friend. Let's go find you something, now. It won't be good if you continue practicing and hurting yourself."

Vox nodded again, his blue screen turning a slight purple on the sides. "Alright. Sounds good."

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▪ Word Count: 1112
▪ Date: May 30th, 2024
▪ Credits: Universe + characters belong to Vivziepop. Fanfic story by me (promised.stars)
▪ Reminder: Nothing that happens in this story is canon to the Hazbin Hotel plot/lore. Ideas + events that happen are based off theories