The moment the next day came around, Velvet's head was spinning like a whirlwind, her vision blurry as she came around. It was like she had been hit with a freight train going 100 miles per hour."Ugh...Fuck I drank too much last night. Hangovers fucking suck…"

Velvet's hazy eyes turned to the club around her only to notice it had been completely by trashed, Velvet really meant trashed, the inside was almost completely destroyed beyond repair. Trash was littered everywhere and several parts of the club were destroyed, some parts of the ceiling had fallen onto the ground. It was like a tornado had hit the place while she was unconscious…

"W-What? What hit this place?" She then examined the area, noticing that nobody outside of her and Val were present, who appeared to be bleeding with glass shards in his head,"Val! Get up!" She began trying to shake the moth awake.

It took a few moments but Val eventually woke up, his eyes creaking open,"Huh? What the fuck hit me? I feel like shit…."

"I dunno, Val! But look at the club! It's been completely trashed and everyone's gone!"

Val examined the area as Velvet said this, scowling. Even with his hangover, enough of his common sense managed to return for him to become angry over this discovery,"What the fuck!? Who ruined my club while I was out? I just had this place built and it's been ruined!"

Velvet shrugged her shoulders,"Beats me, Val. I can't even remember what happened past me drinking a bunch of wine and passing out. Though…Where did Vox go?" She then called out,"VOX! WHERE ARE YOU!? COME ON OUT!"

Silence was what greeted her back.

She pouted, it appeared that Vox had long since fled the area along with everyone else. She and Val were the only ones present in the building as far as she could tell.

"Ugh! I can't believe him! He seriously just left us here the moment we passed out! Didn't even bother to take us back to the Studio! What the hell is his problem?"

"Hell if I know, it's Vox. Who knows what's going on in that head of his," Val retorted before narrowing his eyes, searching through his coat, becoming more panicked when he couldn't find what he was looking for."Wh-What the? Where'd it go?"

"Where'd what go, Val?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at his urgent tone. Val wasn't exactly one to panic out of the blue so it was strange for him to act like this.

"Angel's Soul Contract! I always keep it in my coat!"

"You do?"

"Of course I do! That thing is priceless! It's one of my most prized possessions!"

"Do you think you misplaced it somewhere?"

"Absolutely not," Val retorted,"I always keep the damn thing inside my coat. I almost never take it out, I couldn't have misplaced it…"

She tensed,"You don't think someone stole it off you, right?"

"It's the only explanation that makes any goddamn sense. I refuse to believe I fucking misplaced it, I'm many things but I'm not a klutz…"

"But who could've done such a thing? Most demons fear you too much to pull a stunt like that on you…"

"Hmmm…"Val rubbed his chin for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he began searching through his memories. After a moment of concentration, it all came flooding back to him. He and Vox were about to share a moment before the power went out. He could remember people screaming in terror at the sudden outage, the noises becoming louder by the second. He didn't get it at first...at least until his memory gave him full context of the event.

"H-Huh? What's going on, Vox? Why is everything so dark...Where are you? I-I can't see ya, baby…" Everything was hazy, his vision was blurry and he could just barely make out Vox's figure in the darkness.

"You can't?"

"No." He swore he could've saw the TV grin in the darkness,"Good. That means that will hurt you more than it hurts me then…"

The last thing Val remembered feeling was something hard and cold being bludgeoned into his head before it all went black, falling unconscious.

Val's eyes narrowed, his fist clenched with unbridled rage,"That son of a bitch…"

"Huh? What happened to Val? You remember something?"

"Oh I remember all right," Val said slowly,"I remember everything clearly. That FUCKING excuse of a Television ran off with Angel's contract right from under my nose!"

"What? No, that doesn't sound like Vox. He would never do that…"

"Well unless my memory is fucking with me, that's exactly what happened, Velvet. The fact that the bastard isn't here proves he knew what type of trouble he'd be in if he stayed and hightailed it out of here before anyone could catch him."

Velvet frowned,"That still doesn't sound like him. There's got to be a reason for this…"

"Whatever his reason is, sure as hell doesn't explain him knocking me out and stealing my property! He knows how valuable that contract is! That thing is my most prized possession and he has the nerve to run off with it he owns it! If Vox thinks he can walk away from this he has another thing coming!" Val then pulled out his phone and unlocked his screen, rushing to his contacts and attempting to call Vox.

Needless to say, Val wasn't at all pleased when he heard an automatic message say,"Sorry, but the number you're trying to call is no longer available."

"Dammit!" Val cursed,"Fucker changed his number!"

"No way…" Velvet reached inside her bosom where she kept her phone and tried to contact Vox, believing that Val was bluffing. To her shock, she had gotten the same automated message."He really did change his number...But what for?"

"To avoid us," Val retorted,"He knew that we'd confront him for his actions and made sure we couldn't directly contact him. What a coward. Guess we'll need to try a more indirect method. I got some of his associates on speed-dial, I'll see if I can get anything useful out of them…"

Surprisingly, the phone began to ring and after a few seconds, someone picked up on the other end, causing Val to put it on speaker.

"Hello, Valentino. This is Nathan speaking, I believe it's been a while since we have met. I didn't expect to see your number on my phone…"

Val narrowed his eyes. He had met a lot of Nathan's in his life but he remembered this one was a imp male with neat hair and large circle glasses over his head, a typical dork that he imagined most would shove in a locker when given the chance.

Regardless, Val was only here for one reason. To get information.

"Cut to the chase," Val sneered,"I want to speak with Vox. I know you have his new number, give it to me now…"

"Oh...That's why you're calling. I figured you'd say that. Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with such information. Not only because it would go against my orders, but Vox has made it abundantly clear that you and Velvet are not allies anymore. I can't go into details, but long story short, you cannot rely on any of the workers Vox has under his command for any of your films. I doubt you were aware of this and even if you were, you probably don't care but you know all those films you've produced over the decades of your partnership? Well, half of that belongs to Vox and he's taken what's his. Prior to this, Vox has been giving you leeway and letting you have more of the money but now that Vox has separated himself from you, he sees no reason to give you that benefit anymore. This goes for everything you used to co-own as well as while you still have a certain amount of ownership over things, unless you owned it first, Vox has claimed the things you used to sell together as his property. With that being, the vast majority of things the three of you profited off of go to Vox and while I doubt you and Velvet will be poor, it'll be significantly harder to live your lives without Vox who has been shielding you two from the full expenses of your lifestyle. I doubt you two even realized how dependent you were on him until now. But I'm going to be blunt here, you two are on your own. And one last thing, Vox wanted me to tell you something since he knew you'd call. He said,'Fuck you, you overgrown rat, rot in the darkest pit of hell and stay there along with the rest of your shitty empire.' I don't personally get why though, you're already there but whatever. See ya never, asshole."

Before Valentino could say anything else, the imp hung up. Val snarled,"Why that little bitch!? How dare he hang up on me!"

Velvet merely stared down at the ground before saying,"You don't think that Nate guy was serious, right?"

"I doubt he was lying," Val retorted,"He'd be pretty insane to make up that shit and given what Vox pulled on me, it makes perfect sense. It appears that Voxy is trying to run away from us for some reason. I don't know what prompted this reaction, but that won't stop me from taking back what it is mine. Vox will not get away with this!"

"So what now?" Velvet asked,"Vox has separated himself from us completely and now we're left with less stuff than we did now. What should we do?"

Val scowled,"I say we regroup first and then focus on our next move. Vox has already crossed the line but we can't strike without knowing what we're fully up against, especially since Vox has made it so that we can't contact him. We should head back to the Studio and try to focus on what we do afterwards."

"But what about the club?" Velvet asked, motioning to the destroyed area around them,"It's completely ruined. Who knows how much money it would cost to fix this..." It would be fairly expensive, especially with all the things Val had installed. With the way it was, nobody would ever set foot in it again.

Val made a face,"I'll find a way to deal with it. Thanks to Vox causing a power out, people must've lost their shit and caused chaos while we were unconscious. The damage will cost a lot but I should be able to handle it. Come on, let's go to the limo and get back to the Studio…"

Velvet nodded, quietly following Val as they left the building.

When Velvet and Val got back to the Studio, they noticed how empty it was, the silence was eerily quiet.

Usually Vox's workers were hustling and bustling whenever they entered the front but it seemed that everyone had already packed their bags, leaving not a trace of them behind.

Things only got worse when they took the elevator and made it to the top floor. It was like the Studio had become a ghost town from the upper layer, as it became apparent that only Velvet and Val were there. Even though physically the Studio remained stagnant, the vibe that things had been broken beyond repair remained, filling the atmosphere with a sense of dread.

To say that it got bad to worse was an understatement. Things didn't improve once they got inside as the calls started coming like wildfire.

Val was talking with people on the phone, his expression becoming more angry as the seconds passed,"What the fuck do you mean you're not working with me? I'm your fucking boss! You have to do as I say! You can't just back out of a deal, Henroin!"

"Yes I fucking can!" A gruffer and more masculine voice shot back,"You're not as profitable to hang around. You lost a load of income and with that TV out of the picture and I ain't gonna sit here and watch my profits drop."

"Even if you do, where the hell do you think you'll get someone better?"

"There are plenty of people who are more profitable than you Valentino," Henroin stated,"Now that you ain't calling the shots, I'm certain that everyone who used to supply you shit for your whore will fuck off and find better people to do business with. If you want a steady supply of drugs, you're gonna have to go find someone desperate enough to deal with your ass cuz no one around here wants to deal with you. And you know what? I can't say I ever really liked doing business with you. You always raised the prices on shit whatever you got in a bad mood and treated us like toys, like we're your sluts. But now that's all over because that TV ditched your little trio and your little empire is falling apart. Have fun picking up the pieces, you'll need it, haha!"

Val growled, wanting to just throw his phone or destroy it. But then he got another call. He was hoping that it was something good for a change, but was dismayed when all the people he had done business with began calling him and telling him that their deals were off and were backing out and other calls came about his clubs no longer being his.

To summarize what was said, Vox had pretty much destroyed the remaining V's reputations and made their business partners want nothing to do with them.

Apparently Vox jumping the ship had caused a domino effect to where people at best were weary of the other V's and wanted very little to do with them business wise. Even in such a short time frame, Vox's absence had been noticed as everything the V's once owned had belonged to him, leaving them without as much income as they had previously owned.

Vox being the multi-media giant he was, had left a gaping hole with his absence and it was becoming more and more noticeable by the Vox around, the Triple V couldn't function, as those who had once down business with them quickly lost interest and moved their business to more profitable replacements as Val often made things overly expensive and controlled the markets.

This included all the clubs that Val had co-owned with Vox, all of them had gone to the TV Demon and people quickly saw he wasn't as profitable to be around. The few clubs that Val owned completely to himself weren't as popular and likely would decline in traction.

Within the span of a day, Val's empire began crumbling as the only property he owned by himself were a handful of clubs and his employees, but who knows how long he'd be able to keep them if he couldn't manage his business properly.

Without his assets, Val wouldn't be able to afford keeping them under contract and given how he treated them, most would take that opportunity to run for it. He had already lost his number one cash whore thanks to Vox's meddling, he'd lose his entire empire at this rate.

"Dammit!" The moth demon hissed, eyes burning with blinding rage,"How dare that motherfucking bastard! Thanks to that TV he's got everyone to turn against us! I'll be ruined if I don't do something…"

"Val…" Velvet started,"I-"

"What!?" Val snapped,"Can't you see I'm busy, Velvet!?"

She flinched, Val usually didn't yell at her unless she had done something wrong or if he was in one of his moods. She knew better than to get on his bad side and said,"I just wanted to tell you something…"

"Ugh..What is it? I've got a lot on my plate as it is, Velvet. You know, thanks to the work of that traitor. He fucking ruined everything and our empire is fucked if we don't find a way to fix this."

"The Varks are missing." She sounded on the verge of tears, her pigtails rising with great emotion.

"And?" Val asked,"Who cares about them? Is that what you came here for, Velvet? You've got to be fucking kidding me, you seriously came to bitch at me because you care about Vox's pests that he has lounging about this Studio without a care in the world. About the only good thing is that they're gone…" Val then narrowed his eyes at Velvet's expression,"Oh come on, don't tell me you actually cared about those oversized abominations did you, Vel? They're just overgrown fish and you don't even own them. What's the point in caring for something that you don't even own?"

"I may not have owned them but I still care about them. I took care of one while Vox was gone and I wanted to know where he went."

"Who knows?" Val retorted,"Vox either took them with him or gave them away. Given Vox seemed to plan this attack on us ahead of time, it's likely those sharks were handed over to a subordinate so that we couldn't use the sharks as leverage to get Vox to come out of his hiding spot. Too bad he did, else those sharks could've been used as a bargaining chip. Now we have nothing to use against Vox to confront him about his actions."

Velvet averted her gaze, rubbing her arm in discomfort, tears welling up in her eyes. Even if she didn't own Vark, she felt his absence made the situation worse. Val then grabbed her chin,"Am I seeing tears in those eyes of yours, Vel?"

"N-No…"

His grip then got tighter,"Don't lie to me, babydoll…It's not a good look on you. You know Daddy doesn't like liars…"

"I know, Val. I'm sorry…" Velvet replied,"It's just that...I miss him…"

"Who? The Shark? Who cares? It's just a pet, once we get back up on our feet again we'll find another pet that can fill in the gap, one less annoying one is…"

"I'm not talking about him, Val…"

"Oh...You're talking about Vox, aren't you?" Val asked, Velvet nodding in response,"Well you need to quit thinking about him. Vox is the reason we're even in this mess. This entire situation is his fault and holding him in high regard is ridiculous after what he did to our empire. He's ruined everything and he NEEDS to pay for what he's done with his life…"

"Does it have to go that far? I don't wanna kill Vox…"

"Yes, sweetheart. Vox has declared himself as the enemy and if we leave him alive, that'll give off the impression to other demons that we'll let this shit slide. Vox needs to pay for what he's done and like all problems, they're solved with a holy bullet against the bastard's skull," Val sneered, a wild grin growing on his face at the prospect of ending his former lover's life,"Don't you understand, Velvet? You of all people know how things work down here. Vox is a traitor and he has to die for what he's done. I know you'd prefer it didn't come to this, but Vox no longer considers us his friends so it'd only be fair to return the favor. Understand, baby?"

Velvet nodded,"I understand, Val…"

"Good, now go run off into your room, Vel. Daddy's gonna try and see what he can do to deal with the situation at hand…"

Velvet turned her back before storming off into her room.

Val began trying to think of what to do. He wanted to get back at them all. Not just Vox, but everyone who betrayed them. Henroin was one of the people he never liked working with, attitude aside he was just hard to be around. It was clear that their partnership was rigid, even ignoring the fact Angel was his son, which no doubt made things more tense between the two criminals. Vox dropping off the boat was just a convenient excuse to get Val off of the customer list and a good one at that.

Still, considering the contract with Angel had likely been nullified, Val had to focus on other targets. He knew Angel was staying at that stupid inn and if he did show up, it was unlikely he'd be able to get past Lucifer's spawn who practically guarded the place.

Suddenly, an idea came to him. He did remember that Henroin had another son. He had seen him before during the meetings. He was basically a shorter Angel Dust with large red eyes and messier hair. Considering he just lost his biggest money maker, he knew he'd need someone to replace Angel given his iconic status as a porn star and Arackniss wasn't too bad on the eyes for someone who was likely heterosexual.

Sure, he was a bit short and...gruff, but Val was certain the attitude could be managed and that his appearance could be altered enough to be suitable for the public. Just a little trim and some...additions would suffice to make him a new star.

Now all he had to do was hunt him down and bring him back to the Studio. It wasn't impossible and he could easily have his men surround the area so that he could get his hands on him and drag him back.

"Perfect…" He smiled to himself,"And once I get Angel-Cakes back, they'll be a hit together…" The money that would be made off of them would be insane.

It would be foolish for Val not to take his opportunity, especially while he still held power. So he got on the phone and called his men in order to prepare for an attack, telling them to arm themselves.

Thanks for 7,772 views! Tell me what you all think below and feel free to ask questions.

Enigmus-288: Eh, I understand. Also lol, don't worry, Vox gave them a summarized version of events to save him from going insane. That'll happen in a future chapter, right now we have to deal with some things first before we get to them.

Mitsuru6: Ha lol, I just don't ship them. Like honestly, Idc about Alastor being shipped with anyone, at least not enough to where I'm gonna push them together now. Tbf, Vaggie's reaction has more to do with,'Why is Vox the chosen one?' Because honestly, does Vox really strike you as someone who'd genuinely pray for help? Not really. Ignoring the fact Vaggie doesn't trust people in general, Vox kind of is...Vox. Good intentions or not she really just doesn't get why Vox would get chosen over literally everyone else.