Meanwhile, Angel sat in his cage struggling against his straitjacket, hoping and praying he could find some flaw in its design that he could take advantage of to escape. But no matter what he tried, Angel could not break free from his restraints.
Angel finally leaned back against the bars of the cage and let out a deep sigh. He didn't notice the red smoke seep under the emergency exit door and push it open from the other side.
"Fuck," Angel muttered to himself. "Vaggie, please hold on. I hope you're doing okay…"
"I'd be more worried about what I'm going to do to you once we get back to the studio, Angel Cakes," an all-too-familiar voice interrupted.
Angel felt his heart stop as he turned his head towards the source of the voice.
To his terror, Angel saw Valentino walking towards him and swinging the keys with his driver and bodyguard following behind him.
"Val?!" Angel yelled in terror and surprise.
"You thought I would let Alastor take you away from me?" Valentino replied with a scoff. "You know better than to underestimate me, dear."
Angel felt his heart drop into his feet as Valentino approached his cage.
"But I thought…" Angel said at almost a whisper.
Valentino leaned against the cage door, flicked his tongue over his teeth, and said with a wide grin, "That's a sexy look for you, Angel Cakes. A straitjacket really suits you, especially considering your behavior lately. When we get back to the studio, we will have lots of new films with you in that straitjacket."
Valentino stuck one key in the keyhole and attempted to unlock the cage. When that didn't work, he tried the other one and got the door open.
Angel shook himself out of his fearful stupor and stammered, "I…I can't go back with you."
Valentino grabbed Angel's cheeks and squeezed hard while snarling, "Do you think you have a damn choice!"
"You lost the auction and my soul!" Angel said through Valentino's grip.
"Our contract still remains, Angie," Valentino said, yanking off Angel's muzzle with one hand and holding him dangling above the ground with the other. "Only Lucifer himself could break it. Overlord or not, Alastor cannot get in the way of that."
Then without a word, Valentino dropped Angel on the ground with a thud.
Valentino then stepped back, tossed the keys to his bodyguard, and motioned for his servants, "Get him into the limo and make sure he doesn't scream that much."
Angel coughed out loud as he tried to get himself off the floor. He knew this moment would come. He had been avoiding work and Val for a few weeks before this. Vaggie was right. Angel had changed and Valentino and his bullshit were something he didn't want to be a part of anymore. Angel knew he had to speak up now. No matter what the consequences were.
So, as the two henchmen were sitting Angel up and unlocking the shackles on his feet, Angel looked at Valentino determinedly and said, "No, Val! I'm not gonna…"
"You're not to speak, Angie," Valentino interrupted.
One of the henchmen shoved a thick ball of cloth into Angel's mouth and tied the gag around his face.
Angel shook his head desperately trying to get the gag out of his mouth while the other henchman finished removing the shackles from Angel's feet.
"Walk Angel to the car," Valentino instructed as the henchmen got Angel to his feet. "And be quick about…HEY!"
Angel took his chance. As soon as the shackles were unlocked and he was on his feet, he bolted across the room and away from Valentino and his henchmen. He ran down the hallway towards the ballroom, hoping to get Alastor's attention.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the hallway, Molly and Vaggie burst out of the room with the tentacles and shut and locked the door behind them. They leaned against the wall for a moment, panting for breath. Their clothes were ripped, and their hair was disheveled, but besides that, they had emerged unscathed. They had made it.
"You okay, toots?" Molly asked with an exhausted smile.
"Yeah," Vaggie replied with an exhausted smile of her own. "Thanks. I owe you one."
"It's nothin'," Molly replied. "I know what it's like to be pushed around by men with large egos. I'm always glad to help another girl out. But I'd be lyin' to say I couldn't use your help with Angel. I know this is risky, but we have to get him out of here…"
Vaggie held up her hand and said, "You don't need to ask. I'll do it."
Molly replied with a smile briefly before they heard running from the other side of the hallway.
Before Vaggie and Molly even had much time to think about what they had just heard, they turned around to see Angel running in a straitjacket and moaning into a gag.
Upon seeing his sister and his friend, Angel stopped in his tracks and gave out a "Mmph?!" of surprise.
The trio spent a second looking at each other in surprise before Molly noticed the smoke behind Angel's head, grabbed Vaggie's hand, and made them both disappear.
"Angel, get over here! It's behind you," Molly cried as quietly as she could while Vaggie took a moment to be surprised at her newly invisible state.
"Mmph!" Angel moaned in agreement.
Angel ran forward to reach Vaggie and his sister, but unfortunately, Valentino's smoke grabbed Angel by his hair and dragged him back into the prop room.
The smoke pulled Angel back to Valentino who promptly slapped him across the face.
"What the fuck is the matter with you?" Valentino snarled before picking up Angel by his hair. "What do you think Alastor would do to you or me if he saw you in the ballroom?! You should be thanking me, you stupid slut! I'm getting you out of this dump and back in my bed where you belong! Besides, from what I remember, you hate your family."
Valentino then dropped Angel on the ground again and began dragging him to the limo by the collar of his straitjacket while his henchmen followed behind.
The henchmen opened the door while Valentino unceremoniously dragged Angel out to the cobblestoned parking lot. One henchman bolted to the limo at the other side of the lot while the other one walked behind Angel and Valentino.
Angel, desperately angry and desperate to buy time for Molly and Vaggie, finally managed to spit out the cloth in his mouth and yelled, "I hate you more!"
Valentino scoffed and said, "When we get back to the studio, I'm going to fuck you so hard you won't be able to walk for months."
Seeing that that didn't make Valentino stop his gait, Angel quickly thought of another insult, "Yeah, right. You can't even satisfy that TV boyfriend of yours."
Valentino finally stopped in his tracks, and Angel braced himself for the beating he thought was coming as he heard the limo pull up in front of them.
But instead, Valentino dropped Angel onto the ground with a scoff and said, "I know what you're trying to do, darling, and it won't work."
The bodyguard stuffed the gag back into Angel's mouth and tightened the knot around Angel's head.
Valentino effortlessly picked Angel up, held him in front of his face, and said, "What is the matter with you, Angie? You should be thrilled. You get to go back home with me where you belong, away from the nasty people who made your life so miserable. You don't need to worry. Despite everything you put me through, I plan on treating you well and keeping you safely tucked away until all this drama blows over."
The bodyguard opened the door to the limo. Angel then felt a slight breeze behind him as if someone dashed into the car behind him and briefly glanced behind him.
Valentino sighed sadly and said, "Honestly, Angie, I don't know what has gotten into you lately. Has that princess been putting redeeming ideas into your head? Is that why you have been avoiding me, my calls, and my texts? You were never this defiant before. It's like you've forgotten how good I've been to you. Can't we all just go home and forget this never happened?"
Angel breathed into his gag and allowed himself to do something he had never done during his entire stay in hell. Angel allowed himself to glare defiantly straight into Valentino's eyes.
That look told Valentino everything he needed to know.
Valentino sighed deeply and tossed Angel onto the floor of the limo. Valentino climbed in and shut the door, and the limo began speeding away from the house.
Angel groaned into his gag as he helplessly felt the car moving under him.
Meanwhile, Valentino crawled over to the window between the back seat and the front seat and knocked on the window.
The window quickly rolled down and one of the henchmen handed Valentino a syringe filled with an unknown liquid.
Valentino uncovered the syringe and prepared it for injection.
Upon seeing the syringe, Angel began desperately kicking his legs to keep Valentino away.
Valentino tried to navigate between the legs, but the kicking kept him back.
"I am sick and tired of your bullshit, Angel!" Valentino growled.
"Ffffmmmph mmmmmmph!" Angel snarled back through his gag.
Valentino finally jumped on top of Angel, using his second pair of arms to pin Angel's kicking legs down.
Angel tried to shake Valentino off, but the moth demon laid on top of Angel and finally managed to inject the serum into Angel's neck.
"Mmrph!" Angel moaned into his gag as he felt his senses fading.
"There, that's better, Valentino said, recovering the syringe and stuffing it into the pocket of his coat. "Now, we can both relax."
Valentino then climbed off Angel, placed the helpless spider demon's head into his lap, and began stroking it while telling him all the wonderful plans he had waiting for him once they got home.
"Oh, Angel, you won't have to worry about anything. I'll keep you locked away in your dressing room for the next 100 years. I'll put a TV in there and one of those handheld gaming things that Vox always talks about. You won't even miss going outside…"
Angel blinked his eyes, slowly losing movement of his limbs.
Molly and Vaggie sat near the door of the limo invisibly and helplessly. They wanted to act, but they knew that they couldn't move until they were farther away from Alastor's house. So, they sat there and prayed for a miracle as the car drove on.