Back in the sky, Cherri summoned a bomb and threw it in Valentino's face, but he avoided it.
"Cheryl, if you don't stop struggling, I'm going to drop you," Valentino said.
"That's kinda the point, motherfucker!" Cherri yelled summoning another bomb.
Valentino tightened his tight hand on Cherri's wrist, forcing her to drop the bomb.
"No more of that," Valentino chided gently.
The bomb fell and exploded below them.
Cherri started attacking Val's wrist to make him let go.
"As frustrating as it is baby, I really like that you don't know when to quit," Valentino said, impressed at her efforts. "That'll be good."
"Good for me," Cherri retorted. "Hell for you!"
Cherri then sunk her teeth into Val's hand to make him let go.
"AAGHH!" Valentino roared out releasing Cherri as he forced his hand open.
Cherri fell out of his arms and dropped a bunch of bombs on the ground to cushion her fall. The bombs exploded forcing Cherri upwards and helping her grab a fire escape on the side of the building.
Valentino growled in frustration as he looked downwards and tried to see through the smoke.
He had flashbacks to Cherri's tantrums from when she was a toddler and remembered how he handled her behavior back then.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same," Valentino said, as he landed on top of the building Cherri was climbing down and morphed back into his humanoid form on the building, dressed now only in his underpants, fishnet leggings, and kinky boots. "Up to me to take care of you again."
Cherri climbed on the fire escape and began her descent. Not seeing her father anywhere, she climbed down the fire escape onto the street below.
However, Valentino hopped on the streetlamp, wrapped himself around it like one of his pole dancers, and twirled his way to the street below where Cherri was standing.
"'Sup?" Valentino asked, hopping off the lamp only to lean on it and offer his daughter a cigarette. "Want one, darling?"
Cherri looked him up and down with disgust and walked past him.
"Fucking nasty," Cherri said, walking away in the opposite direction. "What did my mom ever see in you?"
"She saw the sexiest beast on earth and in hell," Valentino said, posing suggestively against the streetlamp.
Cherri glanced back at Valentino, scowled, and said, "You disgust me."
Valentino playfully scoffed and replied, "It was enough for your mother."
"God, you're making me sick!" Cherri yelled back.
Valentino backed off the streetlamp with a lit cigarette in his mouth as he followed Cherri's walking. With his larger size and longer legs, he caught up to his daughter in no time.
"So," Valentino began. "Are you finished with all this? You're tired. You're injured…"
"That's your fault," Cherri interrupted.
"And it's time to go home," Valentino finished.
"Like hell!" Cherri screamed before squealing out in pain. "Owww! God dammit! I'm not tired! I've dealt with worse than this! Just leave me alone!"
Cherri clutched her wounded shoulder and kept walking.
"Hmph," Valentino scoffed under his breath before he softly blew a puff of smoke.
The smoke trailed in the air and snaked around Cherri's torso and inched her backward until she was pushed back into her father's arms.
"You're hurt, Cherri," said Valentino, holding Cherri in a soft hug. "You got wounded in battle, and we can fix that."
"It's your fault!" Cherri growled as she pushed Valentino away and waved away the smoke. "I can take care of myself. I have been taking care of myself and Angel for decades. I don't need you!"
"I believe you, but I'm not about to leave you hurt and without your daddy's protection so you may as well come. Otherwise, I'll just have to keep fighting you until you submit," Valentino replied, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Besides, if you come back willingly, I could rethink his punishment."
"What?" Cherri asked, turning around where she was.
"If you came back with me, willingly I'd add, then I could go easier on Angel for this betrayal. I won't kill him at the very least," Valentino reasoned.
"How do I know you would keep your word?!" Cherri asked. "At least, without giving my soul to you like you made Angel do!"
"I don't want your soul attached to me like that!" Valentino chuckled. "But- You're right. I may not. Though, that's a better offer than me having to drag your butt back and crucify all of him."
Cherri turned around, walked back to him, looked at him angrily, and said, "I hate you. I will always hate you. But if you spare Angel, I'll…I'll go back with you. But only if you spare Angel's life! But you must give your word! If you don't, I won't rest until I bring your studio down. You got it?"
Valentino grinned and said, "That's my girl."
Valentino wrapped his arm around Cherri as he called the limo on his phone.
"I think they should have captured Angel by now," Valentino said. "If they haven't, we know he'll come back for you eventually. For now, let's just go home."
Cherri pushed him off her and stepped away.
Valentino put his arm around his only legitimate daughter again and said, "Come on."
While they waited for the limo, Cherri glared at Valentino and pushed his arm away from her.
"Cheryl, baby, please..." Valentino said, trying to hold her against his side again.
Cherri wordlessly shoved him off her and looked away.
"I said I was going home with you," Cherri snapped. "I never said you could touch me!"
"Well, at least let me give you something," Valentino argued.
Cherri looked up and asked, "What?"
"I want to show you that I don't want to hurt you," argued Valentino. "That I want us to be in the same space without a bomb having to explode."
Cherri rolled her eye and said, "Well, I don't trust you, so I'm not sure how that's supposed to happen."
"We will learn to," reassured Valentino.
"How?" Cherri asked.
"We can start by leaving the past where it belongs," Valentino said, cupping Cherri's chin.
Cherri looked at her father incredulously and shook her head out of his hand.
"No," Cherri said. "I will never forget my mother. I can't. I remember how you made her cry and how you hurt her. I remember how strong she was and what a good mom she was to me. I can't forget how you hurt her! I won't! Even if I could, I cannot forgive or forget how you've treated and how you're treating Angel! I know all about it! Everything you've done! I may have been a pyromaniac but you're a monster! I will never forget that…AHHHH!"
Cherri clutched her shoulder and grimaced in pain.
"Where's that limo?" Cherri asked in annoyance, gritting her teeth in pain.
Valentino remained silent for the couple of minutes it took for the limo to roll up before he finally said, "And exactly how loyal were you to your mama once you were older? Because considering how destructive you are, always acting as if you're the epitome of anarchy and not to mention the fact that you are here, in Hell. I doubt it very much. So that begs the question baby, what gives you a moral high ground in this?"
Cherri gave Valentino a look that could have killed him before she turned away angrily.
"I've changed," Cherri muttered. "You haven't. And I don't hurt the people closest to me."
"Is that right?" Valentino asked, sliding into the damaged limo, retrieving his coat from the inside, and putting it back on.
Cherri gave Valentino a steady glare, trying to keep her composure between the pain in her shoulder, her worries about Angel, and her righteous indignation.
Valentino simply smiled, patted the spot next to him, and said, "Come on, Cherri. Let's go."
With tears in her eyes, Cherri climbed into the limo and sat down on the opposite side of the limo. She tried to ignore the guilt eating at her soul and refused to even look at her father.
"Take us home," Valentino said to the driver.
"Alright," the chauffeur said. "Angel's already back at the manor."
Cherri's eye widened in terror.
"And that doctor I asked for?" Valentino asked.
"He's there too," the chauffeur replied.
"That's good to hear," Valentino said.
Cherri shook both in pain and worry over Angel.
Valentino saw her fear and breathed smoke over in her direction. The smoke wrapped around Cherri's waist and pulled her over to his side.
"Just try to relax," said Valentino. "It'll be okay."
Cherri panicked and tried to pull out of his smoky grip as it pulled her next to him.
When Cherri was close enough to grab, Valentino gripped onto her hand and held her head on his fur collar.
"Let go of me!" Cherri yelled fruitlessly trying to shake out of his grip as Valentino held her down with three arms while using the fourth one to stroke her head.
"Just rest your pretty eye," Valentino said, rubbing her hair. "It'll be okay."
"I told you!" Cherri yelled struggling while feeling unexpectedly sleepy. "I'm not...tired..."
"See? Ain't that comfy?" cooed Valentino.
"It…sucks…" Angel complained as the smell forced her to relax into Valentino's arms. "What is…this…perfume?"
"Oh, just a little something that Baby Doll and I make," explained Valentino. "It's a perfume made from the smoke I naturally produce and other soothing properties. I hope you enjoy it."
Cherri tried pulling away, but it was no use. Her eyelid was feeling too heavy, and it finally drooped shut.
"Underhanded motherfucker," Cherri muttered frustratedly as the perfume finally put her to sleep.