Disclaimer: You know how the Rival Together had one song in it? Well guess whose deciding on using a song in this fic? Me! And credit to the musical of 'Count Of Monte Cristo' for the song, "I know those eyes/that man is dead." So while the chapter is gonna start off a bit light, it'll get a bit sad at the end cuz you know...this is me writing. And for your sake, play the song because it's a duet and that's hard to write without it sounding weird on a fic.

Everyone was coming to terms with the loss very differently once the day passed. Some tried to avoid speaking of it while others...refused to let go.

Velvet was an example of the latter. She still believed she could get the Vox she knew back, no matter how the others tried to convince her otherwise. She didn't wanna give up just yet, after all, she didn't have much left in Hell anymore.

Their reputation as overlords was destroyed, Val had died and Vox...well most of him got erased during the purification and what was left went to Vincent, who was damn near an empty shell at this point.

Still, despite it all, she could still find some traces of the person she once knew in him, as scarce as they were. His personality was a lot colder than she was used to, but she could still be the person she once called friend in there, even if he didn't recognize her whatsoever…

'He's gotta be in there somewhere…' She thought to herself, ivory eyes still filled with a glimmer of hope as she stared at him from afar. At the moment, Vincent and Charlie were conversing with each other and while Velvet couldn't pick up what exactly they were saying specifically, she had the feeling it was nothing but flowers and roses given how at peace he was.

She twisted her lip, envy burning in her eyes at the sight of them. Vincent looked...so bloody happy, his usually cold and unemotional mask lighting up, much to Velvet's annoyance. Charlie smiling and laughing like she had not a care in the world, living the dream while Vincent merely watched, emerged in what she was saying.

The Doll Demon clenched her fist, bitterness taking hold,'Grrr...Stupid Princess! How come she gets to be happy with him? He never smiles that way around others! Not around me! It's always a grim and serious expression but when it's her, he's happy as a clam! What does she have that I don't? I'm way prettier than her! Is it because she's pure? That she has that stupid bright smile of hers that draws him in? Well I'll show him! I don't need to be a princess to get my friend back!'

Velvet huffed as she marched over, forcing a smile on her face,"Hello guys, how ya doing?"

Charlie paused,"Uh...we were doing just fine, Velvet. Vincent and I were just talking about Heaven. From what he said, it's really bright and colorful up there! Though there does seem to be a lack of rainbows. Kind of wish I could go up there and spice up the place!"

"I'd love it if you were to visit honestly," Vincent admitted,"Heaven is rather pleasant but I'm certain your presence would bring the world to life even more."

"It can't be that good," Velvet said,"It's probably super boring. Hell is way cooler, you should see for yourself…"

"I've seen quite enough," He replied,"I frankly don't get what anyone sees in this place. It's just a pit of vice and sin, littered with suffering all around."

"Yeah but it's cool if you look for the fun stuff!"

"Like what?" Vincent raised an eyebrow,"I don't recall there being any fun down here. It's just an endless pit of suffering, I don't see how you can have fun in a hell-scape like this…"

"Well I can show you!" Velvet said, grabbing his hand,"Trust me, I know tons of places we can go to now that the Extermination is over! We should really hang out together!"

"Why?"

"To get to know each other silly! We got off to a rather rough start, don't you think?"

"I literally tried to kill you…" He retorted, giving Velvet a disturbed glance,"I don't understand why you're trying to befriend me. Is your memory short or are you just crazy?"

"Probably the latter!" She giggled,nudging his shoulder,"Besides, it was probably just a massive misunderstanding! Ya didn't remember me cuz of that 'purification' thing and it left ya in this sorry state! But don't worry, your good old friend Velvet is gonna help ya!"

Vincent shook his head,"But I don't need help. I feel fine."

"Yeah yeah, sure ya do," She dismissed,"Say, why don't I show ya around? I know some fun places to go around Pentagram City! I'm sure that'll change your mind!"

"Ooh! Can I come?" Charlie asked,"I'd love to go with you guys! You know, to help show Vincent around!"

Velvet immediately shot this suggestion down, forcing herself to smile in an overly sweet manner,"No thanks, Princess. Me and Vincent are going with each other. Just the two of us...alone…."

Charlie's smile weakened, face drooping,"Aw, are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm really sure…" She said quickly as she tugged on Vincent's sleeve,"Come on, let's get going! We're gonna have so much fun together! It's gonna be amazing!"

He didn't get the chance to protest as the doll demon began dragging him away, clinging to his waist possessively while Charlie watched from afar, a bead of sweat dripping down her face when she locked eyes with Vincent, noting his bewildered expression as Velvet took him away.

The Princess nervously scratched the back of her head,"Looks like Vincent's got a handful to deal with now. I hope she doesn't go overboard,for both of their sake's that is…"

Vincent scowled, it was currently taking all of his self control to NOT shank Velvet with the angelic spear in his inventory. It was so damn tempting and to ignore the impulse was taking so much out of him, but he remembered that he promised to be 'nice' earlier. Charlie and Alastor had specifically told him to cut down on the cruelty and that his prejudice wouldn't get him far, so he decided to put up with Velvet's irritating presence.

As they walked down the streets of Pentagram City, the denizens of Hell who had survived the Extermination had taken notice of them.

Or more accurately, they had taken notice of Vincent, who despite not wearing his Exorcist uniform, had a visible halo and wings that were in plain sight. You could imagine the panic that went down when they saw him walking alongside Velvet, as demons began to scream in terror,

"OH MY SATAN! THAT OVERLORD HAS AN EXORCIST AS HER BODYGUARD! RUN AWAY!"

Velvet and Vincent watched as the entire city cleared itself, all demons in the surrounding area had fled for their lives in a fit of terror.

"Well, looks like everyone ran away," Velvet mumbled,"Can't say I didn't see that one coming…"

"Whatever," He shrugged his shoulders apathetically,"The less demons around the better. Just tell me we're close to this area because I don't want to be in this godforsaken city longer than I need to be."

"Actually, now that you mention it, it's right over there!" Velvet pointed to an arcade nearby, giving him a cheek grin,"Ever see one in Heaven?"

Vincent shook his head,"I don't recall there being any arcades, at least not any that I've seen…"

"Ugh! Boring! No wonder you're so serious, you haven't had fun since you got up there! As your best friend, you gotta learn to liven up! I'll show ya how! Let's go inside!" She suddenly dragged Vincent to the Arcade, ignoring his shouts and screams she did so.

When they got inside, Vincent shot her a glare,"You know, Velvet, I'd greatly appreciate it if you stopped dragging me everywhere against my will. It's getting rather old…"

She giggled,"No need to be so uptight! You know I didn't mean it!"

"That doesn't make it any better…"

"Quit being so grumpy Vo-"

"Grr.."

"Vincent…" She corrected herself reluctantly,"Look, I get you aren't happy to be here, but I know all you need is to kick back so that you can see the good in Hell! This place is pretty amazing if you look in the right places! Arcades are one of the best and most popular places to hang around that demons of all ages and backgrounds can hang out!"

"Are you certain of that?"

"Obviously I am!"

"Then why is no one here if this place is so amazing?"

Velvet then looked around and saw the entire area was dead, the only people present were them…"Huh? Where'd everyone go? It's usually super popular after Extermination...Unless…" She then looked at Vincent before saying,"Oh. I see now. Looks like our reputation caught up with us. Oh well! It's not like we needed those people anyway! We only need each other and now that we have the place to ourselves, we can really have fun!"

"We can?"

"Yeah! I'll show ya! Let's go get some coins first so we can play the games!"

They headed towards the automatic coin dispenser. Vincent of course expected Velvet to pay the fee, but instead she ended up pulling out her axe and chopping the machine in half, allowing her access to all the coins inside.

"Velvet! What are you doing!?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You're stealing!"

"And?"

"That's illegal!"

"Laws ain't absolute down here, Vincent. Besides, I ain't like there's anyone around it to stop us. You already scared everyone off so I don't get why you're complaining. I swear, Vox never complained when I took coins from this stupid machine…"

"I"m not Vox," He informed her,"Just because he was accustomed to your behavior doesn't mean I have to be. Now put those coins back."

Velvet rolled her eyes,"Can you stop being so whiny? They're just coins. It's not like I'm stealing real money or anything…"

When he refused to stop glaring at her, Velvet put her hands in the air and shouted,"Alright fine! I won't take all of them!" She stuffed an adequate amount of coins in her pocket while leaving the rest in the broken machine, folding her arms over her chest,"There! Are ya happy now?"

"Not exactly. I would've preferred you put them all back, but given it isn't real money, I'll at least look over it for now…"

'Thank god! He's so damn uptight about this shit!' Velvet sighed in relief,"Good. Now let's go and play! I know just the thing to get you up and going!"

"You do?"

"Yeah! It's right over here!"

The duo headed over to a large water based game with two guns stationed at the front. Velvet sat down and motioned for Vincent to follow afterwards, him reluctantly doing so. He then asked,"What are we doing here again?"

"To play the game! Don't ya know how this works?"

"No…"

"It's easy! All you gotta do is aim at the target with the water and hit as many targets as ya can! Do ya get it?"

"Err...I think…"

"Great!" Velvet then inserted several coins into the slot, causing the game to start. Some overly obnoxious music began to play as demonic looking ducks appeared in three rows, all of them doing different directions.

They began to fire water at the targets, hitting as many as they could manage. Vincent didn't seem to care much, merely shooting what he saw while Velvet was the exact opposite, absorbed inside the game and being overly competitive,"Aw come on! Don't tell me that's all ya got! This is child's play!"

Vincent scoffed,'Hmph…' He don't particularly care, it didn't seem all that interesting to him and he wasn't seeing the fun in it…

Needless to say when the game ended, Velvet had more points than he did by a large margin with the words on screen saying,'Play 1 Wins!' Velvet cheered in celebration,

"Hell yeah! I won! Yay!"

'Whatever..' He rolled his eyes before noticing one of the ducks was looking at him oddly. He didn't understand at first, at least until he got a face-full of water splattered onto his face, causing him to scream,"RRRRAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!"

Velvet immediately burst out laughing, as if she had anticipated that happening,"AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Shut up!" He hissed,"This isn't funny!"

"Yeah it is! You look so weird with your hair wet! You should see yourself in the mirror!"

"I'd rather not…" He growled, doing his best to ignore the fact his hair was currently drooping in his found himself becoming more irritated the longer he heard Velvet laughing at him and claimed, embarrassment taking over.

"If you find it so funny, why don't we have a rematch? I bet I can win if I actually put in some effort."

She mocked him,"Oh really?"

He sneered,"Most definitely. Now put in those coins, I don't want to look as though I'm bluffing…"

Velvet did as she was told, starting up the game again. This time, Vincent had his game on and he began firing his shots as fast as possible. Velvet was genuinely caught off guard by how fast he was, as he was shooting so many ducks down that it was impossible for her to hit any herself.

Predictably, the game said,'Player 2 Wins' and Velvet found herself hit with water, causing Vincent to cackle in amusement,"Not so funny now, hm?" He then paused when he noticed her smiling,"Why are you smiling? Do you find losing funny?"

"Nah. It's just not the first time I got wet," She admitted with a smile,"Back when it was just me, Vox and Val we used to go here for fun. Val never really liked playing the games with me and just watched but Vox did and he usually won these games. Looks like you still have a sense of competitiveness in you after all…"

"That's hardly saying much…" He replied.

"Aw come on, you know you had fun…" She giggled,"Come on, Vincent, don'tcha wanna play something else?"

"Like?"

"Look around! There's tons of things we can do! Like Bumper Cars!"

Vincent looked at the cars wearily, noting the lackluster state they were in. It looked like the Arcade didn't manage certain rides, likely because the owners were cheap and didn't care for the riders safety."Are you certain we should ride on those? They look rather damaged…"

"Aw don't be a worry wart! They've been like this for a while! And you know what they say, the more dangerous the more fun the ride is!"

"Who the heavens says that!?"

"I dunno but that's the motto I'm going by!"

Vincent facepalmed as Velvet hopped in the car and waved to him,"Hop on in!

Against Vincent's better judgment, he entered the cart. He grabbed the steering wheel and drove around, accidentally bumping into a wall in the first go. The ride was rather shaky and he was reluctant to put his trust in such a contraption."Ugh...this ride is so unstable…"

"Hey Vincent!" Velvet cooed,"Why don't ya come and rev up your bumper against mine?"

His composure faltered, staring at the pig-tailed woman in a stupefied state."VELVET! What is wrong with you!?"

"A lot actually!"

He ran right into that one….

Regardless, that didn't stop him from calling her out,"Velvet, stop saying inappropriate things while we're playing the game!"

"But I wasn't!"

He sent her a look.

"Alright maybe I was! But I'm serious, we should crash our bumpers together! Because that's the whole point of the game!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yup! After all, what could possibly go wrong!?"

"You are really trying to jinx us aren't you?"

"Quit a baby, it's just a game! Now come on, let's floor it!"

He reluctantly did as he was told, flooring it along with her. The moment Velvet and him crashed, Vincent was stunned when their cars exploded. This explosion was so powerful that Velvet's car literally flipped over while Vincent's lay on the side, heavily charred and damaged.

He coughed as he forced himself from the wreckage, thanking his heavenly durability that granted him extra durability. He looked up at Velvet's car and shouted,"Velvet! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a bit stuck!" She responded,"Honestly I didn't think the explosion would be that powerful. Guess I really underestimated it."

"Wait...you knew that would happen?"

"Yup! And wasn't it fun?"

He scoffed,"Your definition of fun is very different from mine…" He then removed himself from the wreckage and approached her, using his strength to rescue her from the car that was currently on top of her.

"Oh thanks...I could've gotten out myself though…"

"You didn't seem intent on moving so…."

"Hey it wasn't like I was in any danger. I'm already dead."

"With your carelessness I'm impressed you aren't double-dead by now. Perhaps this is why people had to watch you to ensure you didn't hurt yourself in an accident…"

"Hey that's not true…" Velvet shrunk at the look he gave her,"Alright maybe it is. But even then, I don't get why it matters since only holy weapons can kill me."

"Because it's still stupid to get yourself hurt for no reason. Which is why I'm picking the rides from now on…"

"But-"

"No buts, Velvet. That is final…" He then grabbed her hand and led her away.

'For someone with no memory, he acts very similar to how I used to remember Vox being. Even has the same reactions whenever things explode in his face...literally…'

And so, all the other activities were things that Vincent selected. All the attractions he chose were 'safe'(or in the very least didn't result in possibly injuries occurring).

So far, they had played a motorcycle race game, a pin-ball machine, bowling and even whack-a-mole, causing them to earn tickets in return.

The last game was apparently super addicting as they both kept dispensing coins in to see who could get a better score.

As you could imagine, Vincent was always the better of the two, much to Velvet's frustration as he just kept winning all the games they played. Needless to say, Velvet eventually got pissed and broke the game by quite literally swinging her axe at the moles so that she could 'win' only to later realize seconds later after her tirade that she broke the game completely…

Long story short, Vincent scolded her for this and after she whined at him for not letting her win, 'bought' a large stuffed teddy bear from the long abandoned prize counter with the tickets he earned to compensate…

"I can't believe you seriously destroyed the whack-a-mole game with your axe…"

"What? I was angry you kept cheating…"

"I wasn't cheating!" He hissed,"Just because I'm better than you at a game doesn't mean I'm cheating!"

"That's exactly what a cheater would say!"

"How do you cheat at whack-a-mole!? It's literally a game where you hit a rodent, it's one of the most simple games here, you can't cheat at it!"

"You can cheat at anything if you're smart enough!"

He smirked playfully,"Well I didn't. I just used my natural born skill to win. Perhaps if you practiced you'd be able to win as well…"

"So where should we head next? Because I doubt you're gonna let me play another game…" She said while clutching her new teddy bear.

"Well there was a roller-rink that we haven't tried just yet and assuming those skates aren't explosive, I doubt we'll be having a repeat of the bumper car incident…"

"Oh come on, that was fun!"

"For you perhaps, not for me…"

"Still, are you sure about this one? I don't know how to skate…"

"Neither do I, but it's one of the few attractions that isn't going out of it's way to harm us so I don't see why not…"

They went up to where the roller skates were being kept and grabbed a pair that fit them. Velvet of course grabbed the black and dark pink rollerblades while Vincent had icy blue and grey skates. The moment they got on the rink, Velvet rushed forward in excitement only to stumble and fall on her face the instant she made contact with the floor."Oof!"

"Uh...Velvet? Are you alright?"

"I'm OK!" She proclaimed with her thumb up from the ground,"Just a bit...clumsy…"

"Of course you are…" He then picked her up and said,"Perhaps rushing onto the rink was a bad idea.."

"Oh so Now you tell me? Gee I couldn't have figured that out by now.."

"A little reminder doesn't hurt.." He said,"Though for further reference, I suggest you hang onto me because it's clear I have better balance out of the two of us…"

"Oh yeah? Show me then.."

"Gladly.." He then swept her off her feet(literally) and skated across the rink with her hand in his, pushing his wings to maintain his momentum.

Velvet felt scared, fearing she would fall and immediately clung to his chest, staring up into his eyes. The bitter frost and contempt he once held for her had subsided, though the natural coldness remained.

The longer she stared at him, the louder her heartbeat became. Despite everything, she could still see the man she called friend inside of him, he reminded her so much of him that she convinced that the Vox she knew was still inside that cold husk, ivory eyes glimmering with a small hope that it could be true...that she hadn't lost everything from her old life…That perhaps, he did remember her to an extent and that she could bring him back.

As they skated, she could feel his hands around her waist, his eyes now staring into her's, silence pervading as they danced together in the abandoned arcade, slowly taking in each other's presence.

She then reached up and gently caressed his face, softly singing as she gazed up into his eyes,"My God, my heart beats faster! And my mind is racing. Could it be...? Could it be that you've come back to life?"

Vincent's expression changed, he remained silent but his narrowing eyes became more apparent as she continued to sing, taking in her words one at a time.

"I know those eyes, following me. Dark and familiar, and deep as the sea.I know that face, strange though it seems. Younger and kinder, it haunts all my dreams. How can you stand there, a whisper from me? Yet somehow, be so far away?"

He looked away, discomfort growing in his icy blue orbs, a scowl beginning to grow on his lips, barely keeping it together as the notion of being someone he wasn't got to him..

"In eyes once familiar, a stranger I see. With so many words left to say…"

Suddenly, Vincent snapped, his tone becoming betrayed and cold,"This man is dead, he is no more! He died a little each day…Like a thief, the Château d'If has stolen him away!"

The Doll's eyes widened as she felt Vincent move away from her, now shouting at her,"The mind plays tricks!" He proclaimed, his voice growing with more conviction,sticking his nose up at her,"You are confused! The man you seek is long gone! Dead and cold. A story told, by those he trusted, those he loved, and those who then...moved on!" He averted his gaze.

Velvet continued to reach out to him, Vincent keeping his distance with his skates,"I am a ghost, just a mirage."

She still called out, eyes filled to the brim with pain as she tried to call out to the person she lost, clinging to the hope that Vox was still in there as they sang together,"There in that voice…"

"Who chases traces of you…"

"...Traces of you….Dark and familiar, and deep as the sea…"

He then shot back,"This man is dead, he is no more.."

Yet she still persisted, a deep set of denial in her heart,her voice creaking, almost desperate,"I know those eyes…"

"And though it's torturing me…"

"Torturing me.."

Their voices were weighed down with agony and pain, Velvet continuing to try and reach out to him not only emotionally but physically while he kept backing away from her to the best of his ability.

He clutched his chest, both of them crying out,"Can either of us really ever be free? How can you stand there a whisper from me...?" Velvet suddenly latched onto him, trying to rekindle the dance they once had, their eyes staring up at each other with conflicting emotions. His eyes were filled with betrayal and even though they danced together, it was clear there a rift between them as his eyes had grown colder than ice as he refused to look her in the eyes, him attempting to tug away while she still clung to him desperately,"When you are still so far away? And why does the truth seem too hard to be true? With so much broken…"

Vincent then released her, Velvet then caressing his cheek only for him to flinch away,"And so much damage…" The taller male gently touched her lip before baring his teeth at her angrily, closing in the distance between them as he coldly and quietly said,"There are no words left to say…"

The heavenly soul then moved away from her, turning his back on her. Velvet merely stood in the middle of the rink with a solemn expression as the soul-crushing realization hit her,"Vincent…Do you truly not remember me? Not after everything we did together?"

He turned his head towards her, merely shaking 'no' coldly. She stood there in awe...She thought that Vincent would remember if they spent time together but it seemed her assumption was wrong and it seemed Vincent was genuinely hurt by her trying to turn him into the person she lost.

"Vincent! Come back!"

He didn't respond, merely getting further away from her, leaving Velvet behind in the arcade by herself.

'Dammit, Vel. Look at what ya did. You lost another friend…' She looked down in defeat, regretting her choice as she was left alone.'Guess I'm never getting him back...and I drove off another person from me..Just great..'

She looked at the coins in her pocket and headed to the water game a bit to distract herself, trying to play but the moment she started...she just couldn't find it in her to play anymore. So she simply sat there and silently cried to herself...

Vincent left the area, bitterly thinking,'I can't believe her...I thought she was genuinely trying to be my friend only for her to try and make me someone I'm not...And to think I thought we...had something...Should've known she was just trying to get something out of me..'

He then sighed,'Better go head back to the mansion...perhaps I should go talk to someone...Charlie? No...I can't handle optimism now and I doubt Alastor or even Micheal would understand..Perhaps it's time I paid that fusion a visit…"

Thanks for 9,863 views, tell me what you think!

Chronosign: Thanks for the tip, auto correct does that on my doc so that's probably what happened. And yeah, that exchange seems accurate.

Mitsuru6: Not gonna lie, I stared out into space for five seconds like a utter dumbass because I didn't understand the RadioTV thing until I remembered what I typed. Honest to god I'm dense af when it comes to people thinking I'm shipping characters. Lol that shit wasn't intentional but I can see why you thought that now that I reread the chap. It probably isn't helping that due to Alastor's nature, you can end up accidentally shipping him with whoever he interacts with without meaning it. Seriously I ship Vel/Vox and Voxlie more than I ship Al/Vox but I won't judge since honest to god there are far more questionable ships in this fanbase,COUGH! Val/Angel. COUGH!

I get what you're saying but Micheal legit reset him at this point. Like he stripped Vox's demonic nature away completely(and a few other important things like his memories and shit) , leaving Vincent a like fragment in return. Vincent is more or less some of Vox's personality traits twisted inside a divine form. He's basically like a husk of a person and whatever remained of Vox originally that didn't get obliterated in the purification got twisted/tainted.I may sound repetitive cuz I'm trying to hammer it in for everyone reading that the Vox we know is gone and that Vincent ain't ever gonna be like him. No matter how similar he acts, he will never be the Vox people want him to be, he can not be the person they want him to be because his twisted personality and lack of memories prevent this from happening. This chapter is a reminder of such notion as Velvet attempted to get him to turn into the person she lost...it backfired.

And I'll work on it but I have no plans on getting a beta, especially since we're reaching the end of this fic soon. Things are gonna be rather smooth compared to everything else after this. The next chapter will be pretty light-toned compared to what we've been through since I think some happiness would so some readers well.

Enigmus288: Don't worry dude, after this chap the worst everyone has to worry about is just Micheal and Lucifer bitching at each other and Velvet being a bit upset but otherwise, we're moving to a light hearted tone for the most part. Assuming everyone reading can handle that, it should be fine from here. I'm trying to lighten up the next chap so that everyone stops being depressed.