Trapped [in the scary box]

[thisducks]

So, maybe he'd messed up a little in his desire to make up with his daughter and now, he's paying for it. Everything's gone quiet in this big empty warehouse of a space, the room impossible to see into as dark as it is, and it's left him utterly alone with his thoughts. Around his limbs that are slowly going numb as time ticks on he can feel the warmth of the holy steel, faintly echoing the throb of his heart, making a prisoner of his body while the silence does the same to his mind. The latter, for someone like him, is infinitely worse.

It leaves him there to feel like an utter fool, of course it does, and worse that not only does Vox know the ugly truth of his punishment, but so does everyone. The sinners that he only kept in any kind of line through that great deception now can make everything just that much worse. How is he supposed to protect Charlie from their filth now when they know not only can he do nothing for her, there's damn little he can do for himself?

Every time he tries to help the ones he loves, he just makes it... worse. Charlie screaming at him, anger and tears in her eyes, it just keeps playing on repeat in his mind, only as the night goes on to be replaced by her mother. Just how angry will Charlie be with him when she finds out he's gotten himself stuck like this? The abuse his own mind forces upon him drags him further and further down that spiral until his head sags, body slumping as much as it's able in his imprisonment.

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[tvdemon]

There is no swift release this time. Vox waits it out, feeling the rapid movement of the currents as they flow. It's the sort of sensation no mortal could ever hope to grasp, but being a demon comes with senses beyond humanity's scope. It's cathartic, the way electricity just goes whenever it wants and takes the quickest route to get there, mowing down most obstacles with ease. Poetic, even. And opportunities to do this sort of thing come rare, because it's not as if Vox can unleash power surges like these without causing collateral damage. The damage is the point, this time.

In that moment, everything that comes into contact with the currents becomes part of a grander whole, Lucifer's frozen muscles included.

Good times have to end sometime, though. So after about half a minute of that, Vox allows the flow to peter out. There's a few more stragglers- some crackles that disturb the air afterwards, but nothing too major. Vox remains where he is, grinning, waiting to see what Lucifer will say or try to do now once he's recovered. It's like watching a particularly interesting piece of media on TV.

[thisducks]

There's a distinct level of feeling utterly violated, knowing that the electricity is a part of Vox's power and it was running through his body, touching every inch of him in ways that no one but a very select few had ever been allowed. It feels as if it lasts infinitely longer than it actually does, making him lose track of time completely until even when it finally ends, his mind doesn't catch up immediately. No, all of it lingers even after Vox stops his assault. It crackles in his muscles, it short circuits his thoughts, it steals the breath from his lungs.

In the aftermath, it leaves Lucifer hanging there in his cuffs, putting his entire body weight on his wrists as his knees refuse to support him. Little twitches happen in random places - an eye, his bicep, his back - again and again. Finally it feels like he can pull in a breath, though it has a huge weight upon his chest that keeps him from taking a full lungful and instead gives him only enough space to pant like an exhausted dog.

His head hangs, unable to pull it up even though he knows the sinner is still watching him. His first proper thought isn't about Vox and it isn't even about himself, just the ugly repeating notion that Charlie is going to be angry at him for messing things up even further.

[tvdemon]

Amazing. Vox had half expected someone on Lucifer's level to recover faster than this. Fallen or not, the man's still a high-ranking angel. But no, even someone this majestic caves to Vox's inherent power. He really is the strongest Sinner demon in Hell, isn't he? Maybe even the strongest demon, period. Other rings and their rulers be damned. Heaven is going to have to beg for his mercy, and if they're lucky, maybe he'll give it to them.

Content, his cables detach from atop the containment and retreat into his back once more. They can stay there for now. He walks right up to the glass again, pressing a hand against it. Now Lucifer's panting, useless form can be regarded up close, albeit somewhat distorted by the rounding of the glass.

"Do you get it yet? This whole thing is a conduit," he says, because he's built up quite enough suspense by now. He might as well just let Lucifer know what the plan is, so he can despair over that too. "Power travels quite nicely in there. So when the time is right... I'll take some of yours and aim it outward. Just imagine how many angels will fall when Heaven's hit with a taste of its own medicine."

[thisducks]

None of them know or understand. The crown that comes with chains... so much of his power held back not just because Heaven knew what he would do to any sinner, but in order to protect those who remained here who didn't deserve any form of punishment. Chains upon chains, crafted in golden blood, so much of it his own. If he draws on it to protect himself-

-his head jerks up despite the protest of muscles, unable to keep the look of horror that begins to crawl up his face and sink down into his bowels. Take some of his power- anything the sinners would have been able to do wouldn't have touched an angel, but his own-?!

He looks upwards at the device he's been caught in, though he can't tell much of anything from inside of the damned thing. Could this really do what Vox is saying? Then again, how in the hell did Vox figure out just what angelic steel could be fully capable of? Killing an angel is one thing, but to be able to capture, hold, and steal...?

Lucifer grits his teeth as a muscle violently contracts in his neck with a hint of leftover power, but he forces himself to look back to Vox. "I have no idea what you're messing with. You might think you do, but you don't, and it's going to come back to bite you harder than you've ever dreamed."

[tvdemon]

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea, actually."

Vox had been paying extra close attention during the big battle against the exorcists and their leader. He's even watched a lot of it on repeat. Adam in particular caught his interest, not just because of how he kicked Alastor's ass (boy did he rewatch that bit a lot though), but because of the showdown against Lucifer. There was an insane amount of raw strength on display there. Adam blasted Pentious's entire blimp into oblivion and acted like it was only a casual, quick little move. Like lifting a pinkie finger. Archangels and those ranked above them... Vox is sure they could decimate all of Hell in a matter of seconds, if they so wished.

He won't let them. He'll take control of that decimation and turn it right back around towards Heaven.

"But hey, you should be happy," he continues, tapping the sharpened ends of his fingers against the glass again. "You get to play a real important part in freeing your people from Heaven's judgment. Once I take over both realms, I'll make sure to be a much more benevolent god than that fucker upstairs ever was."

... Well. Maybe. Probably. It depends how he feels. Anyone who crosses him gets to suffer forever, of course. But those who play by the rules? He'll get them nice things. Why not?

[thisducks]

Lucifer doesn't want to think about what Vox probably jerked off to, watching that shit on repeat.

That sound is infinitely louder inside of the containment glass, as if designed just to torture the one inside more than it already does. Really, more like the inside curve of the glass amplifies it, but either way, same end result that makes the growing tension headache threatening at Lucifer's temples give tiny spikes of pain. It twitches another muscle by his eye before he snorts, swallowing down the bitterness of metal from his tongue.

"When you're proven wrong, and I know you will be, I'm going to enjoy watching every second of your fall. People won't just stand by and let you do any of this, never mind even get another step further on this stupid plan of yours." No matter what, even if Vox really can manage to do as he threatened and take energy from him, he knows that both Hell and Heaven will have those who stand up against him. Even the tiniest mouse, backed into the corner by a cat ten times its size, will fight back.

Within Charlie lies a strength she doesn't even understand, one that can rise hand in hand with her heart that gathered so many to defend the hotel. Even if she's angry with him, he still believes in her.

[tvdemon]

C'mon Lucifer, give him some credit. He just had feral sex with Valentino while the mental image was still burned into his mind. He's not that much of a loser.

A loud snorting sound escapes Vox. The sort of sound that can't slip out in any genuine way, since he doesn't have a nose. No, he actively has to mimic it. By now, that's second nature to him, along with all other facsimiles of human behavior his body can't quite accomplish through natural feats.

"You know, Alastor has been saying that kinda shit for days already. And so far? It hasn't done a fucking thing to slow down my roll. Makes me wonder when you snowflake naysayers will finally admit that I've won. Maaaybe... When I'm crushing some angel skulls beneath my heel?"

He does expect Heaven might try something. He also knows that if they do, he'll be able to fire back. It'll be justifiable selfdefense at that point, and the people will see it that way too. So really, he welcomes anyone to try coming at him.

[thisducks]

That isn't much better. Except for Val, maybe.

Vox really is excellent at faking it, isn't he? Hopefully also not for Val as well. Just like he has to fake treating his fellow Vees as actual equal partners in their rise to power.

Fuck, it's gotten to the point I'm agreeing with HIM of all people? The thought crosses his mind and makes his nose wrinkle up before he snorts in return. "Because I've seen this kind of shit before, boobtube. You really think you're the first sinner to try and pull off some kind of big flashy uprising against something or other? Not even close. Even humans have tried it, from what I've heard." Well, mostly read, but Vox doesn't need to know that.

When he tries to flex his hands in their metallic prisons, he realizes he can't feel them at all anymore, not even sure if they obey his command to open up. Somehow... he has to get out of here.

Unless no one knows he's gone. No one cares he's gone. Why would they care? He's messed up so much with Charlie and even his fellow Sins, not one of them would think twice about him. Nor... should they, really.

[tvdemon]

The protest really means nothing to Vox. What does he care whether other Sinners or humans have tried it before? Those people weren't him, and he doubts any of them had a secret weapon like Vox's own up their sleeve. The difference between those losers and him is that he'll actually pull it off, so it's wasted effort to even talk to him about this.

"Yeah, uhuh. Okay. I'll log that one away," he says in the most impassive tone a person could ever muster. It seems like Lucifer is still not getting it. Still thinking there's some way out of this predicament. Vox considers the issue for a second, then decides that maybe the best course of action is to let Lucifer get just a whiff of freedom, only to snatch it away again. Lift his head up out of the water for a gasp of air, then hold him back under.

His would-be lips press together, but that doesn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling upwards into a mean grin. He steps away from the containment, to the nearest control panel, where his hand lingers near a button. "You know what? I'm feeling generous. So how abooout we discuss this without any of that pesky glass in the way?"

His palm smacks down and the button is hit. Instantly, the glass barrier is raised upward, out of the way. The very top and bottom of the containment remain, leaving Lucifer's feet and hands firmly restrained by the mixture of angelic steel and cables, ready to conduct the angel's power. The air within the rest of the room isn't all that much fresher than inside the dome, though. It reeks of ozone from the earlier electrocution, and that very distinct staticy tang that comes from one too many electronic devices.

[thisducks]

Almost animal like, Lucifer tenses at first when the glass suddenly slides up and away, leaving nothing between him and Vox. The remaining pain vanishes under the brief moment of adrenaline, the action of instincts that shouldn't be a part of a creature that cannot die and really, should never have known pain. His Fall taught his body, mind, and soul all about pain and while Vox's electricity hurts in a unique way, it can't touch the depth of pain the Fall had caused within him. Doesn't mean he wants to experience any of that pain - Fall or being fried - again.

Somehow, he doubts he's going to get that pleasure. Vox wouldn't be doing this if he doesn't mean to fuck with him, he's sure of it, but there's frustratingly little he can do. With the glass gone, he can faintly hear the hum that just barely registers on the range of hearing, the combined sound of many devices working ceaselessly, and one of them is standing in front of him.

"Yep, that sure changed the scenery." The air feels even thicker as it comes up around him, a stench different than his own sweat and the faint traces of apple that cling to him endlessly. Still, he watches Vox closely, trying to figure out what the sinner's planning.

[tvdemon]

Vox doesn't make any real moves right away. He steps right up to Lucifer, leaving about five feet between them, then begins to slowly circle around him. His hands are folded behind his back as he walks, gaze sweeping up and down the fallen angel's restrained body. He chuckles. It may look more sinister than it actually is for now, since the assessment Vox finally voices is: "Wow, I keep forgetting how short you are. Crazy."

In fact, he's pretty sure Val could accidentally step on Lucifer. A hilarious mental image, and maybe something to try out some day. At some point, Vox will get bored with Lucifer and then Val can have him as a toy. Not just yet, though. For now, the king of Hell is all his.

He keeps walking until he's directly behind Lucifer, then comes to a full stop. Two strides is all it takes to close the distance, and his hand moves up to the angel's hat. Is that snake (halo...?) sentient enough to try and fight back, or can Vox snatch the hat away without any trouble? Let's find out.

Vox learning from the bestest boy

[thisducks]

The way Vox moves reminds him of something, he realizes all at once, tracking the sinner as he passes around out of his field of vision, picking him back up as soon as he's back in the corner of his eye. He's prowling like a shark, circling its prey with the same cold eyes. It's unnerving and that's what he imagines that's exactly what Vox is going for.

Then the sinner goes for a fucking short insult. It completely kills the mood entirely and just makes Lucifer roll his eyes, staring forward again.

Followed by two quick steps that makes Lucifer tense up sharply, unable to see what Vox is going for and his imagination supplying plenty of possibilities that use claws or electricity once again, but the asshole manages to catch him completely off guard by going for his hat of all things. There's a flare of crimson in his eyes as he grits his teeth, body briefly pulling at the shackles as the hat parts from his head. If the snake is alive, it doesn't seem to react-

-but the hat itself certainly does. "Hey!" Separated from Lucifer, it disappears within a few seconds, cut off from his will and power. It's a part of him as much as a limb, born from the time of his creation. There's a reason it remains with him regardless of the form he takes on.

Still, he tries to twist and look back at Vox, teeth still gritting in anger. "What was that for??"

[tvdemon]

Vox couldn't not go for a short insult. The myth of height being important lives within him, as many other pointless of prejudices do. Besides, he thinks he's funny.

He really just kinda wanted to hold the hat. See what sort of fabric it's made of, and whether the thing tries (and fails) to make Lucifer look taller than he really is. Like platform shoes, but for the head. Toss it aside, maybe step on it... The possibilities are endless. He wasn't expecting much to happen, which is why the sudden disappearance of the object catches him by surprise. He stares down at his empty hand, then further down towards the floor. He looks back up to verify whether the hat reappeared on Lucifer's head, but it didn't do that either. It's just... gone. What the fuck-

The sequence of events was so absurd, an amused chortle escapes him. Now Lucifer is left hatless and there's really no way to undo that. It's funny.

"Ha! That was a neat little magic trick! You really are a fucking circus clown, aren't you?" he asks, smirking. Either way, now that the hat is gone, Vox is free to set a hand down on Lucifer's head. His long, claw-like fingers dig their way into fluffy blond hair to feel the scalp below.

[thisducks]

In many ways, the myth of the importance of height was a prejudice even angels carried. How many times had Emily been looked down upon compared to Sera? And then there had been him as the smallest of all the high angels despite the immense power he held and the importance of his gifts. Now, it's just a cruel irony that leaves the King of Hell smaller than even the vast majority of sinners!

Vox only gets that brief moment of curiosity fulfilled - the hat is significantly lighter than it looks, almost impossibly so. Beneath his fingers, the material of the brim is very strong and there's the brief feeling of something like silk yet thicker. Then gone, just like that, as if it's never been.

Lucifer just looks flat, maybe ever so faintly annoyed. He knows where the hat has gone, though if he had to actually explain it to someone they'd be there for hours. That faint annoyance becomes far more severe when those claws come through his hair, making the immediate need to pull his head back surge up. Only the knowledge that likely as soon as he tried, Vox would tighten his fingers and he'd end up with his hair being pulled in a way that definitely isn't in the fun way, keeps him from jerking back as much as his constraints will let him. The hair tangling around the electric blue claws is silken soft, thicker than it looks, dense.

"Only see one clown here, and I'm looking at him." While his mind actually thinks of Mammon, the only real clown in his circus, and oh how the Sin thought it hilarious because it hid the real truth of what he is beneath his 'fun' exterior. The reason many people thought of clowns as frightening, rather than funny... he knows the pain is coming, but it'd come whether he opened his smart mouth or not.

[tvdemon]

Fuck that's nice hair. It's hard to find anyone else in Hell who has anything like it. Most Sinners either have no hair or something not quite natural, like Velvette does. Or it's matted and disgusting, like they're an animal that just got into a bloodied fight. Something soft and divine is unnatural in a place like this. Vox wonders whether all angels share this trait. He'll find out soon enough. Maybe he'll shave a few angels, just for fun.

Vox's claw strokes downward, from the front of Lucifer's head towards the back, sharp tips of his fingers running along the scalp quite purposely. Not enough pressure to draw blood, because that'd mess up that nice hair of his, but definitely enough to be felt. Meanwhile, his other hand lands on Lucifer's shoulder. Vox is still standing behind the man, which makes it all too easy for him to stand even closer and press himself up against Lucifer's back.

"What is that smell?" he asks, his screen close to the angel's ear. "I know it, I just can't place it."

It's something he hasn't smelled for decades. Not in its true form, anyway. Replicated in its Hell form, sure, but not genuine. It's nostalgic. Smooth. Fruit comes to mind. (It's apple.)

[thisducks]

The drag of claw tips against his sensitive scalp could almost be something sensual in another time and place. Hell, he'd always loved Lilith doing it to him with her nails across his scalp, down his back, along his thighs... here, it just makes his nose wrinkle up in disgust. The last thing he wants is to equate anything of Lilith's doing with what this disgusting sinner is-

-his eyes flash wide, lips fully retracting back over his teeth into a silent snarl as Vox leans into him. From this close, just as Vox is doing to him, he is forced to pick up on the alien combination of scents that are a part of Vox's being - plastic, heat, copper, and things he can't quite put into name that have to compete with some kind of chemical cologne that given the situation all make him want to gag. None of that is helped by the ozone still lingering in the air.

What's all the worse is he knows precisely what Vox is asking about because Lilith had always told him how she loved his scent, before and after their Fall. That nothing in Hell smelled quite like him and that was how she preferred it.

...wait.

How in the hell is Vox smelling anything at all??

"You don't have a nose." Spoken so bluntly on the back of the realization that it actually almost makes him laugh despite the predicament he's in. "How do you smell anything at all? Do you just have smell receptors on that screen or something??"

[tvdemon]

The bluntness of the questions is so heavy-handed, Vox just has to laugh again. It's a mean little cackle, still uttered quite close to Lucifer's ear. His hold on the man strengthens, fingertips digging their way through fabric into shoulder. Meanwhile, his other hand gives those blond locks a little tug.

"Oh, I can do it all. Eat, drink, smell, feel, taste..." That last word is very purposely given a suggestive undertone. "It's a little different from how it felt when I was still alive, like there was a complete reworking of the nervous system from top to bottom. But it works."

That's really the best compliment he can give his afterlife physique: It works. He has a fucking TV for a head, and that sucks, but at least he's not too limited in the simple things. He can keep upgrading for more efficiency, too. Still, he's not vain enough to think it's a fully flattering look. He would've loved to still have an actual face.

[thisducks]

Lucifer's head tilts back instinctively to try and ease the pull on his hair, though it does tell him on doing so that it bares his neck in the process. His shoulder tenses further, but more so does the rest of him as his nose wrinkles up hard at Vox taking on that sort of undertone with him. Even the very idea makes him shudder just slightly, teeth on edge.

"Oh, how wonderful for the rest of us." Giving back the kind of tone that suggested just how little he wanted to do with the idea of Vox and sex. Never mind that he wouldn't want to touch any sinner - ew - but he hadn't touched, or been touched, by anyone since Lilith left. Part of it, the majority of it, just didn't feel... right, even if she had been gone for so long and he had so many questions about... things. The rest? Mattered a whole lot less, though depression could sum it up.

It occurs to him that Vox is likely getting off on this tiny bit of power he's got right here and now.

And people wonder why he hates sinners so much.

"A face just made for television."

[tvdemon]

There was a time where Vox would've been much more restrained and discreet. He would've held back those more suggestive feelings and inclinations, associating them with something that just Should Not Be Done- somehow even more shameful than murder. But then he got to Hell and realized, hey, it's not a big deal. Hedonism is rampant here. He loosened up, then met Valentino and got exposed to so much more. Now he no longer really knows where that old line is. He's gotten desensitized to a lot.

He is taking a lot of delight in being this close to Lucifer, though. It's a very particular position of power and control that's hard to replicate.

A low chuckle rumbles within him, and he keeps stroking the man's hair for a little longer. "It is, isn't it? Made for television, and so much more," he murmurs. With that, his hand finally withdraws from atop Lucifer's head. As for the one that was still resting on the man's shoulder, it shifts sideways, Vox's fingertips coming to rest against the back of Lucifer's neck to prick the bare flesh.

[thisducks]

This is all just some sick power game, he tells himself. That's why Vox is practically petting him, nothing more. It doesn't matter that the tips of those claws send a confusing shiver down his spine that twists somewhere lower, it's just- just a reaction of his body. There's no feeling proper left in his fingers to ball them into fists, so he does the next best thing and grits his teeth together, eyes falling shut.

Just a power play. That's all that sinners want - more power. Their wet dreams are all about the idea of endless power as if it's some finite thing that they need the most of in order to achieve their every desire. It's a lie. It's all a lie because they'll always want more.

"Then you should go find some idiot dumb enough to want to sit and watch you." As if he doesn't spend an inordinate amount of time watching terrible shows in the privacy of his bedroom. As if he hadn't been doing just that before 'Charlie' called him. You're such a fool-.

[tvdemon]

Lucifer is right about one thing; Vox does want more. He knows he should probably stop before things escalate to a certain point, but another part of him can't resist the temptation to keep going. Keep pushing boundaries, keep crossing lines, see at what point Lucifer will buckle and ask him to stop with a genuine plea.

"No, no, that would be too easy. Boring, almost. It's much more fun to try and change the minds of my haters."

Either by persuading those minds or by crushing them. Both are fun in their own ways. In the case of Lucifer, it'd definitely be the second option. His fingers ease into a rhythmic weaving motion. First one sharp tip pricks at Lucifer's neck, then the next, then the third... And then right back to the first.

[thisducks]

The very idea of begging at a sinner would have him lower than even his lowest points in Lucifer's mind. There had only been one time he had truly begged, pleading for something with every inch of his body, truly meaning it in the most true desperation a soul could give, and he would never allow himself to ever be in that position again if he could help it. Those moments before Heaven's Court, chains wrapped around his wrists, neck, wings... it's far too close to the very situation he's in.

Though he knows for Charlie, he wouldn't hesitate to fall to his knees in order to protect her, no matter how angry she might be with him.

"Good for both of our time, I don't need to hate you. I don't bother hating every insect here in Hell, even if they are buzzing little pests." He snorts loudly, eyes partially opening as he stares out into the utter darkness beyond his spotlight, but every sense is focused on Vox even if he wishes they wouldn't. Trying to figure out what the sinner will do next, failing at it.

[tvdemon]

Insect... Another one of those insults that's intended to have him feel small and insignificant, not worthy of the great king's time. And all it does is piss Vox off even more. It fuels a desire to prove himself. To make Lucifer acknowledge him, one way or another, because being shoved aside like that is unacceptable.

"Buzzing, huh? Oh, I'm very good at that," he says, thoroughly amused. Lucifer really just went right ahead and told him what to do next, even if it was unintentional.

Vox's other hand finds its way back to Lucifer's shoulder to hold him steady, even as the other remains on the back of his neck. His eyes close and electrical currents move through his body. This time, they don't head for his cables, instead leaving him through his claws. As before, the voltage is high and fierce, but it's only a brief discharge. A 'buzz'.

[thisducks]

Unlike the other times, he catches that tone of voice, maybe even some deeper sense than sight picks up on what's about to happen in the split second before it strikes. Just enough for him to tense up- but there's no real preparing for it. It takes everything just to not cry out and give Vox that satisfaction, but he can't stop the way his body arcs up or how violently it sags back down when the charge finishes. Even just that short duration is like a kick in the chest, stealing the breath from him, and leaving him panting there with his head dropped forward.

This is why he hates them. Why he despises them so deep to his bones, despite Lilith's desire to see them rise, despite Charlie's belief that they can rise in a whole other way. In the end, there's too many who are in Hell for exactly the reason they should be, typically only getting worse with the freedom from the mortal coil gives. They have no idea of the gift they were given and so many of them squander it, or worse like Vox earlier straight up fail to even understand the gift it really is!

That dark bitterness comes up as a whisper, just loud enough to be heard from how close Vox is. "Thought you said... you were good at that. Or do you just brag about everything you do... then always disappoint?" He knows it's only going to make Vox more angry, that it's going to result in more pain, but somehow it doesn't matter so much in the moment. There's a brief thought that if he can keep Vox focused on him, the asshole won't be able to focus on his plan, or that he'll fuck up somehow and he'll be able to get out, but really those are a distant second to his own venom that's crept up to the back of his throat.

This is the side of him he never wants Charlie to see.

[tvdemon]

If Vox didn't know any better, he'd think Lucifer was getting off on this. Still, he's not sure why else this fool of an angel keeps baiting him. Maybe he's been stuck in a boring routine down here for so long, he needs something new to feel alive again. Maybe he's just a glutton for punishment without the arousal. Weird if true. Either way, Vox is happy to provide.

"Ooh, I see. The great King wants the royal treatment. Why didn't you say so?"

Vox's hands slip down Lucifer's back, tips of his fingers pulling at the fabric of the angel's jacket as they go. The clothes probably won't tear so easily, but that's what makes it more fun to give them a good tug. Once his palms are down to hip level, they slide forward instead, both of them coming to rest along the gut region. Vox pulls, applying pressure there, stepping forward at the same time to close the distance entirely. His own torso presses up against Lucifer's back, ensuring a tight hold from both sides.

The little crackle of electricity flitting between Vox's antennae is probably an unnecessary warning by this point. It should be more than clear what he's about to do. Still, there was that split second to brace before the real discharge happens, currents blasting at full force from Vox's entire body. It's not brief, this time. No holding back on the voltage. Lucifer gets the full experience of what Vox can do, short of going full demon form.