Chapter Text
Vincent had found it most concerning that the seal upon the door to the Underworld had faded, and yet, Asmodeus hadn’t seemed to have emerged from it—or even made any effort to threaten him after their brief battle, in which Vincent had sealed him, as well as Hades himself, behind the door.
What were they waiting for? Whatever the answer, it couldn’t be good.
He headed for his study, intending to try to do some scrying and see if there had been any signs of Asmodeus, but he was surprised to see Daphne already there, glumly sitting on the couch with her phone in her hand.
“Where’s everyone else? What are you doing up here all alone?”
“They’re all in the game room playing something,” she said, dully. “As for me, I’m just doomscrolling.”
“…Forgive me, but being 2000 years old lends itself to the reality that I can’t be informed of every single newfangled aphorism that makes its way into the vernacular lexicon, in spite of how verbose I may be in multiple languages myself.”
Daphne finally looked up, snarking.
“And you like showing that off, too, huh?”
“Well, I got you to forget your woes, if only for an instant,” Vincent pointed out. “What’s troubling you?”
Daphne sighed, looking back at her phone.
“The world’s going crazy, and in the middle of it all, my parents hired my old school bully to a spot on the Board of Directors of the family business just to spite me into turning away from journalism and going into the business to counter his bad decisions.”
“Yes, I recall that,” Vincent said. “And I said that it was their loss, for you are too strong to bend to such manipulation and they were fools to attempt such a thing.”
“…Am I too strong, though?” Daphne replied, staring at her phone again.
Vincent arched an eyebrow.
“You were determined when this first happened—what has changed?”
“This,” Daphne sighed. She took a screenshot and sent it to Vincent’s crystal ball. “This is an email from my boss, Mr. Appleton at the Chronicle.”
“…He wants you to cover the company press conference on account of the fact that you would know more about the company than anyone else on the paper’s staff,” Vincent read.
“…He’s not wrong,” Daphne said. “But I’m going to have to go there and watch my parents get chummy with Red Herring and ask Red what his plans are for my parents’ company.”
“…Have you considered explaining to this Mr. Appleton about your delicate family situation?” Vincent offered.
“Yes, I considered it. And then I rejected it. A good reporter needs to cover things of all kinds—even if they are uncomfortable on a personal level,” Daphne said. “Besides that, I want to prove to Mr. Appleton that I’m dependable.”
“…And doing this as an act of defiance against your parents doesn’t factor in this at all?” Vincent queried. “I know you, Daphne—I’ve told you how much you remind me of myself at that age. And I certainly let my pride goad me into decisions that I would later come to regret very deeply.”
“They provoked this—both of my parents,” Daphne said. “After our big fight, we said that we would try to make it work—and then they went and did this, because they knew I’d hate this decision, but they’re still within the limits of our deal. So I’m going to be within my limits, as well.”
“What does Shaggy say about this?” Vincent asked.
“I haven’t asked him yet, but I’m sure he’ll try to talk me out of it,” she replied. “But I’ve got a full head of steam going, so I’m sure I won’t be dissuaded.”
“Ah.”
“…What about you?” Daphne asked, with a pause.
“Well, I’ve already told you that I don’t consider it a particularly good idea,” Vincent reminded her. “But, in a case like this, I will stand by whatever decision you make. And, at the end of the day, you have a family with all of us—never forget that.”
“I won’t,” Daphne promised, managing a smile now. “It’s the only reason I’ve been able to take this without really losing my cool.” She got up and hugged him. “Thanks.” She sighed again. “Guess I’ll go tell Shaggy and the others about the press conference, then…”
Vincent watched her go, and then returned to his task at hand—scrying for any sign of Asmodeus.