Max teleported in a soft ripple of shadow, reappearing atop a rooftop in the Pride Ring—right behind Vaggie.
The city sprawled beneath them, neon lights flickering against the smoggy crimson sky. Vaggie stood at the edge of the roof with her spear strapped to her back, staring out into the distance, her arms folded tightly like she was trying to hold herself together.
Down on the street below, Max was pretty sure he saw Angel Dust physically dragging Sir Pentious down a flight of stairs while the Egg Bois cheered in confused encouragement. Pentious hissed something dramatic. Angel smacked him with a shoe. Max blinked.
Typical.
He walked toward Vaggie quietly and rested a hand on her shoulder.
She jolted, hand flying to her spear.
"Oh—it's you." Her voice was low, tired. Not angry. More… worn down.
"What's got ya so down?" Max asked, trying to soften the mood. "You're not thinking of jumping, are ya?"
"What? No. No, no." She let out a small, humorless chuckle. "Not the type."
She exhaled a long breath and looked back out over Pride.
"I just… I keep trying to help Charlie. I keep trying to make this hotel work. But nothing ever goes the way it's supposed to." Her shoulders slumped. "Every time we fix one thing, something else falls apart."
Max sat down on the ledge beside her. "Hey, you're too hard on yourself. If it were easy, the hotel would have a line around the block."
Vaggie's eye flicked down, finally noticing something.
"…Why did you change our rings?"
Max tilted his head. "Huh?"
"The rings," she said, sitting beside him. "They don't look the same as before. I didn't think they were too much."
"Oh—right." Max lifted his hand. "Had to make them less noticeable for the Overlord meeting. Didn't want everyone asking questions."
He waved his right hand over his left, and the rings shimmered back into their original form—detailed, personal, unmistakably bonded.
Vaggie smirked a little. "Good. Everyone would've been pissed if you changed them permanently."
"Well, I'm not suicidal," Max said with a shrug.
Vaggie's smirk faded. She gripped the edge of the ledge hard enough that the stone cracked under her fingers.
"Do you have any idea how I can help Charlie? Because I'm trying, Max. Harder than I've ever tried for anything. And Heaven moving up the Extermination just—" She clenched her jaw. "It's like they're purposely making this impossible."
Max leaned back on his hands, exhaling softly. "Just keep trying. Seriously. Hell's a lot different than humans think. If Hell was what humans believed it was, Loona probably would've been biting my bones by now." He gave a small laugh. "Hell's more indulgence than punishment these days."
Before Vaggie could respond, Max's phone started buzzing loudly.
He fished it out of his pocket and answered.
"Hey Loona, what's up?"
"Max—Max, I'm so, so sorry," Loona said, sounding absolutely wrecked. "I almost made a terrible mistake."
Max blinked. She only sounded that guilty about one specific thing.
"Ah, you went to the surface and saw Vortex with a bunch of Succubi."
There was a pause.
"…How the hell did you know?" Loona demanded.
"Babe, your dad was ranting about them earlier. Something about a parking spot? He didn't explain. And relax, okay? I'm not gonna leave you over a small mishap involving Succubus magic—especially 'Veronica' level potency."
Vaggie raised an eyebrow, eavesdropping without shame.
Loona sounded stunned. "How do you even—?"
"Loons, I've been with you for a while. I know you've got abandonment issues. You told me after drinking from my flask—you know, the one with Beelzejuice." Max smirked. "Also your fear of needles. And that cute birthmark on your—"
"OKAY—fine!" Loona cut him off. "I get it! Just—just come get me, alright? I need a break." Max heard rustling on the other end. "Also, uh… the Harvest Moon Festival is in a few days. We were kinda invited."
Max blinked. "The Harvest—oh shit." He smacked his forehead. "I mixed up the star alignment with the festival date. I'll need Satan's approval to go. I'll ask Stolas to smooth that over."
"Good. Call me when you're close," Loona mumbled before hanging up.
Max lowered his phone and looked at Vaggie. "Well. You want a ride back?"
Vaggie shook her head quickly. "No thanks. Loona already told me it's… uh… not safe being your passenger."
Max winced. "One time. ONE TIME I teleported sideways—"
"Uh-huh." Vaggie stood, dusting off her skirt. "But seriously… thanks. For listening."
She walked toward the access door, her posture still heavy but steadier than before.
Max watched her go, Pride's neon skyline washing over him.
"Well," he muttered. "Guess I'd better go rescue my wolf."
Dark wings of shadow curled out behind him, and Max vanished with a soft crackle as the rooftop went still again.