About 45 minutes later, Vaggie was waiting in her room wearing a light periwinkle sleeveless, sweater blouse, a violet-colored skirt that almost went down to her feet, and purple sandals with her pink ribbon tied as a headband around her head.

Vaggie was sitting there anxiously wondering what kind of shape Angel was in when she finally heard the locks on her door turning.

Vaggie turned her head to see Alastor open the door, step into the room, and hold open the door for Angel.

Angel entered slowly on his crutches. He was wearing a white shirt that looked like Alastor's with the black cross in the center and black pants and black shoes. Angel's fur was clean and his knee was rebandaged firmly to make walking easier, but Vaggie could see the dark circles under his eyes and the way his weak, thin limbs and frame struggled to move across the room.

Despite all this, Angel still flashed a weak smile and said, "Hiya, toots. How's it going?"

Vaggie stood up, walked over to Angel, and replied kindly, "I'm okay. You look better than I thought you would, Angel."

"Alastor cleaned me up," Angel said.

"He did?" Vaggie asked.

"Yeah," Angel replied with a sarcastic smile. "He gave me a bath, brushed my teeth, and finally rebandaged my stinky, busted knee. Wasn't that nice of him?"

"Yeah," Vaggie said taking another step closer to Angel. "Let me help you get to the bed."

"No need to trouble yourself, dearest," Alastor said suddenly popping up between them. "I'll move this giant cripple for you."

Alastor snapped his fingers and suddenly Angel was hovering through the air with Alastor's magic until he was sat down on one end of Vaggie's bed.

Vaggie quickly took her seat on the other side of the bed, and Alastor turned his attention to the familiars pushing in the carts with the delicious omelets on them.

Angel took the opportunity to reach out his third pair of arms until his right hand touched Vaggie's and held it in his palm.

Vaggie turned and looked at Angel who gave her a wink and a warm smile before quickly retracting his hands again.

"I heard that, Angel," Alastor said turning around while the familiars pushed the carts in. "That is your one and only warning. Touch my bride again and you'll be returned to your room without your breakfast. Is that understood?"

"Alastor…" Vaggie tried to argue.

"Whatever you say, daddy," Angel interrupted sassily unbuttoning his shirt to let his chest fluff out as the carts with their omelets, orange juice, and side of fruit settled in front of him and Vaggie. "I'll…Oh, my God.."

Angel's eyes fell on the first real meal he'd have all week and his mouth visibly watered.

Angel wasted no time. He thanked God under his breath, picked up his utensils, and dug right in.

Vaggie was about to devour her own omelet when she looked up and noticed that Alastor was still standing there with his wide, toothy grin.

"Well?" Vaggie asked suspiciously.

"Well, what?" Alastor quipped amusedly.

"Do you plan on standing there the whole time? Don't you need to eat?"

"I ate while I was preparing the omelets, dear."

"You didn't answer my first question."

"I'm here to observe, Vaggie," Alastor said tilting his head in amusement.

"Observing?" Vaggie asked incredulously. "Are we just lab animals to you?"

"I think he means 'chaperone,'" Angel said before swallowing his bites of omelet. "Isn't that right, Alastor?"

"That is correct, Angel," Alastor replied.

Angel smiled and seductively unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt to uncover his chest fluff while saying, "Now, who's the bluenose, Alastor?"

"That would still be you, Angel," Alastor said.

Angel cocked his head playfully and retorted, "Really? How so? All I did was come to save a damsel-in-distress."

"I believe my note made it clear that was Vaggie was in more than safe hands," Alastor retorted back.

Angel scoffed and said, "Knowing how Vaggie feels about you was more than enough cause for alarm."

"Angel…" Vaggie pleaded.

Alastor chuckled darkly and said, "Tell me, Angel. How did you get to my home in the first place? I don't exactly advertise my manor's address. You had to find it out somehow. So, tell me. How did you do it?"

Angel dramatically leaned backwards and said, "Vaggie threw a radio at my head. After that, I just can't remember a thing…"

Alastor sighed and said, "You still refuse to cooperate after everything you've gone through? Oh, well. So be it then. After the auction, you'll be the problem of whoever buys you."

Angel rolled his eyes and said "Whatever" before going back to his eating.

Alastor allowed Angel and Vaggie to eat for several minutes in disconcerting silence.

Vaggie could feel the heavy tension in the room. Angel was so nonchalant, but inside, she knew that he was as scared as she was. It was all she could do to keep up a brave front as they both finished their meals.

It was at that moment that Alastor finally spoke up and asked, "Are you excited about the auction, Angel?"

Angel scoffed in disbelief and replied, "I don't think excited is the right word for it."

"Well, you should be."

"Why?"

"Because I've given so many of your old friends a chance to purchase you and a little something extra."

"What might that be?"

"Your soul."

Vaggie and Angel's mouths fell open almost at the exact same time.

Vaggie looked at Angel fearfully who shuddered briefly before regaining his composure and replying, "What?!"

"It's true," Alastor said summoning a glowing orb in the shape of a heart that Angel knew indeed to be his soul.

"How did you…?" Vaggie asked while Angel sat there in stunned silence.

"I took it from his old master, Valentino," Alastor interrupted. "I know the rules surrounding overlords and those contracted to them. Unless I hold the soul, I can't give the contractor away, so I got the soul."

"Valentino would never give me up without a fight," Angel said giving Alastor a pointed look as his hands balled into fists. "How did you get Val to hand me over?"

"That is nothing for you to worry about, Angel," Alastor replied in a dismissive, upbeat tone. "But Valentino is invited to the auction, so he has the chance to buy you back if that's what you're really worried about."

Angel sneered and said with a confidence he was far from truly possessing, "I ain't worried, strawberry pimp. Thank you though."

Vaggie anxiously looked at Angel and then at Alastor as the soul disappeared to wherever Alastor kept it. There was nothing right about this. Souls were a commodity in hell and those with the power to trade them almost never gave them not, especially if the contractor was someone as lucrative for their owner as Angel was. Valentino did not give Angel up. Vaggie knew it and Angel knew it.

"How did you get Angel's soul, Alastor?" Vaggie asked out loud.

Both Angel and Alastor looked at her. Angel gave her a pleading look to not press the matter further while Alastor simply looked amused.

"Oh, my dear, it is so sweet for you to worry about my well-being…" Alastor began.

"I'm not," Vaggie interrupted.

"…but you should know by now that Valentino doesn't stand a chance against me," Alastor continued without acknowledging the insult. "He didn't put up any fight at all when I took Angel's soul and we parted on friendly terms. He's even coming to the auction tomorrow for a chance to buy Angel back."

"Okay," Angel said with a smile as he went back to drinking his orange juice.

Vaggie was surprised at Angel's response until he saw Angel's hands gripping onto the comforter on her bed for dear life.

"I'm inviting some of your other associates too, Angel," Alastor said.

Angel looked up from his drink and replied, "Is that so? Who all are you inviting?"

Alastor's smile somehow grew wider.

Vaggie narrowed her gaze on Alastor as she realized that he was about to pull another stop.

"Well, if you must know," Alastor began unable to completely conceal his excitement underneath his calm, businesslike demeanor. "I've invited Valentino, of course. I've invited Vox and Velvet, as well as many other overlords and minor kingpins that you might recognize, including Cherri Bomb, Sir Pentious, and…Who am I forgetting? It was on the tip of my tongue. Oh, yes! Your family!"

Angel's eyes flashed in panic as he immediately spat out his orange juice on the plate in front of him and started coughing on whatever he managed to swallow.

Vaggie turned to Angel fearfully, and completely disregarding Alastor's warnings, put a hand on Angel's back in support, and asked, "Angel? Angel, are you alright? Angel?"

Alastor's smile did not change at all while Angel's coughing subsided. He didn't even seem to care that Vaggie was touching Angel as he nonchalantly walked up to him and handed him a handkerchief to wipe his face with.

Vaggie snatched the handkerchief from Alastor, wiped Angel's face, and said, "Angel, are you…?"

Ignoring the pain on his busted knee, Angel got to his feet, slid the cart away, grabbed Alastor's collar, and yelled straight in his face, "You invited my fucking family?!"

Alastor stood there relishing the physical pain, fear, and anger behind Angel's eyes for just a second before he gently pushed Angel back onto the bed and said, "Yes, siree. Your father Henroin and your older brother Arackniss, if I'm not mistaken. I thought that since they're your blood they'd like the chance to bid on you. They were more than happy to accept the invitation when I contacted them. It seems that they have been waiting for the right opportunity to reunite meet you…"

"You son-of-a-bitch…" Angel spat out angrily clenching his fists.

"Angel, stop!" Vaggie said pleadingly grabbing onto Angel's arm to hold him back.

"What's the matter, Angel?" Alastor asked cocking his head back innocently. "Isn't the possibility of reuniting with your family a good thing?"

"You've talked to them!" Angel snapped back. "You know exactly why I don't want to see them ever again, ya bastard!"

Alastor tutted and said, "Angel, there's no reason for that sort of language, especially not in front of a lady like my beautiful bride…"

"Oh, shove it!" Vaggie yelled. "You know what you've done!"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Alastor replied with a light chuckle. "All I've done is grant an opportunity for a prodigal son to return to his family."

Suddenly, without warning, Angel jumped from his spot on the bed on top of Alastor knocking the both of them to the floor as Angel's hands wrapped around Alastor's throat.

"Angel, stop it!" Vaggie pleaded as she flew over and tried pulling Angel off Alastor.

"Run, Vaggie!" Angel replied without breaking his concentration. "If Alastor has gone this far to screw me over, what do you think he's got planned for you?! You have to go!"

"Not without you!" Vaggie retorted. "Come…"

"NEItheR Of YoU ArE GoinG ANyWheRe…"

In the blink of an eye, Alastor was standing up and holding Angel by the neck as the room around them filled with static, Alastor's antlers grew, and his eyes turned into radio dials.

Vaggie froze in fear while Angel struggled to reach his feet to the ground and loosen his neck from Alastor's grip. Both of their eyes bright in absolute terror as they wondered what Alastor would do next.

However, instead of violent display of power they were both expecting, Alastor cut out his static, returned to his normal demeanor, and dropped Angel on the floor where he fell over writhing in pain and struggling to catch his breath.

As if forgetting anything had just happened, Alastor sighed and said, "Angel, what's done is done. You having a violent outburst won't change anything."

"My violent outburst?" Angel asked incredulously. "You got a screw loose if you think I'm going home with my shitty family."

"What a ridiculous statement! I never expected you to go home with any of your potential buyers willingly," Alastor replied with a dark chuckle as he reached out a hand towards Angel.

Angel stubbornly pushed the hand away and tried standing himself up using the bed as support before Vaggie quietly pushed past Alastor and helped Angel get to his feet herself.

Alastor watched on disapprovingly without breaking his smile, shook his head, and said, "I can't believe you find such an unsavory character to be your friend, my dear."

"You're the unsavory character, asshat!" Vaggie spat back as she helped Angel sit back on her bed.

"Babe?" Angel said weakly grabbing Vaggie's shoulder.

"Angel?" Vaggie asked, turning around to see Angel start to lose consciousness. "Angel, what's happening?"

"Why don't ya ask the stag?" Angel said angrily leering at Alastor as Vaggie helped him lay down on the bed.

"What the fuck did you do?!" Vaggie yelled at the Radio Demon standing in place with his smug smile.

"Oh, Vaggie, Angel is not in the best mood right now," Alastor said as he slowly lifted his hand to show the freshly-emptied syringe. "He's so cranky and irritable and not at all pleasant to be around. Surely, a nap would do him some good. Don't you think?"

"You cheating bastard…" Angel muttered just loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Now, now, Angel," Alastor interrupted wagging his finger disapprovingly. "You got to bathe and eat your breakfast, but you repaid me by attacking me and upsetting my bride. Now, you can rest while my servants fix your knee until it's time for you to wake up to relieve yourself and eat lunch."

"You motherfucking…" Vaggie snarled.

"Vaggie, it's okay," Angel interrupted, his eyes struggling to maintain consciousness. "I'll be fine. But listen. The moment I'm gone, Alastor has nothing on you. So, please, give him enough hell for the both of us."

With that, Angel fell asleep on the bed.

After a moment of silence, Alastor said, "Strange. The serum usually takes less time to sedate people. He must have more tolerance..."

"Why the fuck did you do that?!" Vaggie snapped furiously.

Alastor struck his cane on the ground, instantly summoning his familiars who pushed out the carts and carried Angel's limp body back to his room.

Vaggie tried to follow them, but Alastor grabbed her arm, pulled her in close, wrapped one arm around her, held her chin up with his free hand, and said, "Honestly, dear, because I thought that we could use some alone time. With everything going on, we've been so busy that we haven't had much time to enjoy each other's company."

Vaggie glared angrily, wishing her stare was strong enough to bore eyes through Alastor's damn skull.

Alastor smiled and said, "How's about you and I go into the city for some last-minute preparations for tomorrow?"

"Forget it," Vaggie said as she shook out of Alastor's hold and attempted to walk past him to get to Angel's room. "I'm not helping you sell Angel. There's no fucking way!"

Alastor chuckled as he grabbed Vaggie, pulled her back into his arms, and said darkly, "Vaggie, dear, I'm not asking you if you want to accompany me. I'm telling you to."

Vaggie felt a shiver run down her spine and a gulp go down her throat as Alastor summoned her purse, took her arm in his, and merrily walked her out of the room and down the hall.