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The Curse

It had been cold that spring evening, unusually so even for how cold winter had been. Cerberus was strolling home from work in one of the busier parts of town, the five foot ten sixty five kilo seventeen year old feline idly sniffing at the scents along the way. With spring rolling in, he could smell the various scents of females going into their heat cycles. Not that he would take any action, most females had locked themselves in their respective bedrooms to keep themselves -and others- from temptation, and thusly an enlarged family. It wouldn't be long, about a week or so, before their cycles faded as they always did and their presence in society would be less hazardous. A few females still made their way into the world, having either surgically removed the problem or simply by already having passed their biological clock and they tended to be aggressive at this time, irritable and tetchy from their own body reacting to the pheromones in the air.

He was rather jocular this evening; his parents would be proud of his accomplishments during the day. He'd managed to sell nineteen cars in four hours, a record at the car lot he worked at. There would be a nice bonus waiting for him in his next pay slip, hopefully enough for him to purchase the motorcycle he was so interested in. It was a new model, expensive yet stylish; it even had a radio in it that played music loud enough for him to hear, something he would abuse when he rode it in to work. He'd had his motorcycle license for a couple of years now, and he had checked to make sure it was legal for him to ride. He'd been riding a little buzz bomb for a year or more, and it was currently in the shop for the umpteen-millionth time.

Maybe if he'd been riding it, he'd not have had to endure what was to be inflicted upon him.

Quick as a flash, a man whipped from an alley, shoved a bag over his head, knocked him out with a baton and dragged him into the shadows, leaving only a small metal token with an unholy signature upon it in his absence.

The next he awoke, he had been stripped of all clothes and shackled to the floor. His surroundings were blurry, but he could see large wax candles all around him. A powerful stench of burned flesh permeated the room. He could hear voices echo upon the stone floor, walls and roof.

"I told you that I needed a virgin of consenting age! You know what that means, right; I'm not talking with an imbecile? Virgin of consenting age! He needs to be old enough, but he can't be already marked!" The voice of an irritable, and self-important, woman yelled.

"He'll be fine, Darkmother; this boy is only seventeen, it's doubtful that he has encountered a mate." A male, whose very voice sounded of questionable intelligence, replied.

"Seventeen!?" The woman's voice screamed. "He is not of consenting age, then, he cannot be used for the ritual!"

"With all due respect, Darkmother, if we are truly to commit a dark act, what does it matter his age? Does it not only become darker with youth?"

There was a moment of contemplation.

"I guess you may be right. Oh well, let us continue the ritual; immortality waits."

A door opened nearby, metal hinges squeaking in protest as two people in black and red robes strolled into the room. The male a canine, his face mixed with irritation and expectance. The female was a hare, and she looked self-righteous and smug, like she knew things that no-one else did and she wasn't afraid to show it. They stood on either side of him.

"Begin."

The duo started speaking in unintelligible grunts, moans and gibberish, all of which unnerved Cerberus more and more as the seconds ticked by. Black lightning sparked around the room, pages in a nearby book full of unholy scripture and disturbing images rapidly flicked from one side to another in an invisible wind. Cerberus' spine arced in pain as the feeling of something boring through him surged from the ground beneath him.

The woman grinned.

"It's working!" She growled. "With the sacrifice of his soul, we can devour the power of whatever demon we summon and gain the immortality we deserve!"

The door slammed open, and a pair of police barged into the room. The woman spun, a growl on her face, and pulled a pistol.

"Be gone from this place, nonbelievers!"

A shot rang out, and the woman tumbled on top of Cerberus, blood spilling all over the pained feline and the floor beneath him. The pain within became excruciating, like he was being torn apart from within, and he gave a scream before blacking out.

"... How did he survive? The ritual they were performing... he should be dead." A male voice asked, jolting Cerberus awake. He was now lying in a bed of sorts. He was strapped to the bed at his wrists and ankles, and he could tell that he was at least half dressed.

"What does it matter how he survived? His parents will be glad that he's alright." Another male voice replied, this one slightly condescending.

"He's not alright." A female voice growled. She sounded angry. "Mark my words, mortal, he is far from alright."

"Be silent!" The first male voice snapped, followed closely by a hard slapping sound. Cerberus opened his eyes and looked around the room.

The room was brightly lit, white and with a single window to the inside of the building. He groaned and looked down at himself. Nothing misplaced nor any discoloured fur... He was even clean. Someone had taken the time to bathe him while he was out. Two figures in the next room could be seen through the window; both of them looked surprised that he was awake. One opened the door and stepped into the room.

"Cerberus Grizzle," he started, stepping ever closer to the bed, "glad to see you are awake. I'm Captain Michaels of the St. Margarite's Police Station. How're you faring?"

"I feel fine." He replied. "I don't feel the pain from earlier." He moved uncomfortably in the bed. "What happened? Can I be released from these restraints?"

"For now, we'd like to keep you here for observation, we're still unsure of exactly what has happened. As for what was going on back in the cellar..."

The other man stepped into the room. From this distance, he looked like a scholar, and he had a cross hanging from his neck.

"The ritual in question is called 'Huar'liech'." He said. "The ritual, in short, sacrifices the soul of a virgin of legal age to summon a demon, which is then sacrificed to prolong the lives of the summoners. When the woman, Ms. Patricia Hunt, was shot and killed, her blood and soul were consumed instead, providing more than enough to complete the ritual, yet corrupting the proceeding result."

"S-so I'm alright, yeah?" Cerberus asked eagerly. "I-I want to go home..!"

The two men looked to each other nervously.

"No." The scholarly man said grimly, before beckoning through the window.

Another pair of people entered the door, one a police officer wearing riot gear, the second a female in a wheelchair. She was almost undressed, save for a loincloth and makeshift bra. Not only was she heavily chained into the chair, but she looked very disgruntled about this fact. She was cervine of least some basic origin, but she had large horns jutting from her temples, a second pair from below her ears, and she had a large bony growth on her back that curved around her breasts with two spikes. The most interesting feature of her, however, was her eyes. Pitch black. They didn't reflect the lights in any way, making her seem hollow to her core.

"My name is Aloysia." She said, her voice reverberating in disturbing ways. "I am a Succubus, a demon that feeds on the living."

Cerberus tilted his head to one side curiously.

"Well, I can guess how I'm going to be dealt with." He said irritably.

Aloysia shook her head. "No, I was summoned when the ritual went wrong." She said. "I was with my mate, a demon Lord named Caradoc, when he was suddenly being drawn away from me into the living realm-"

"Shorten this, fiend!" The scholar snapped, raising a hand.

"Very well." She growled, cringing from his hand slightly. "When the ritual fucked up, I was dragged into this realm along with my mate's entire being. His power has been locked into your body, turning you into an Incubus. You're a demon, boy!"

Cerberus glanced around the room uncertainly. He didn't know if this was a joke or not, but she seemed very determined.

"I don't feel any different though." He said. "How can you be sure?"

"A demon Lord is a very powerful entity." The scholar said. "And if the ritual brought another demon into the world, it's highly doubtful that he went back to hell. With nowhere else to go, the only answer we're left with, no matter how doubtful, must be the case."

"This has happened before, a few times." Aloysia said. "Rare cases, but they have happened. The mortals in question can switch between their mortal and demon forms, each one showing immunities to the other's shortcomings. While mortal, you're immune to the vulnerabilities of holy water, crosses, prayer beads and other holy relics. When you switch to your demon self, however, you will become immune to damage from most anything other than holy artefacts." She shifted uncomfortably, for what she could, in the chair before continuing. "However, it comes at a cost. You're virtually immortal, as any demon is, but while in demon form you bleed profusely from your eyes, claws, around the horns that will form on your head and from where your wings connect to your back, should you acquire them. The demonic energy within pulses through your veins and arteries, and when all the blood has been purged, you'll turn into a full-bodied demon. My mate's consciousness should, at that point, take hold of your body and your soul will be pushed into the back of your mind, to forever watch the horrors he will inflict." She grinned. "At the rate some bleed, the total draining time can take just under a few hours."

"B-but I regain blood in my mortal form, don't I?" Cerberus asked nervously. Aloysia shook her head.

"No. Once it is lost, it remains lost. There's supposedly a spell to keep you to yourself and remove my mate's consciousness from your body, but I don't know it. An angel will arrive in the morning to kill us, or banish us back to the demon realm. Either one hurts like you wouldn't believe, so I suggest you say goodbye to your loved ones"

The scholar became quite irate. "This is no place for you to spread your propaganda, harlot!" He yelled, slapping her across her face quite hard.

"Hey!" Cerberus snapped, straining against the leather straps that bound him. "Stop it!"

The scholar turned and gave Cerberus an astonished face. "You want me to show sympathy to a demon?! Are you out of your mind, boy?!"

"You may be striking a demon, but you still strike a female!" Cerberus growled. The leather straps around his wrists groaned against him.

Aloysia sighed. "Calm down, boy." She said distantly. "I'm a demon, remember? This is hardly what I would call the worst I've had."

"I said be silent!" The scholar snapped, raising his hand again.

The room's shadows lengthened.

A figure, seemingly shrouded in perfect shadows, stepped out from a darkened corner. He was feline, his eyes nearly black and a dark, shadowy halo floated above his head, and he turned his eyes on the Scholar. Aloysia started to panic, her eyes going wide and her feet, for what they could, scrabbled at the ground beneath her.

"G-g-guhh-gohhh-God..!"

The feline stepped over to Aloysia and the Scholar and grabbed the man's still raised hand, lowering it to his side.

"You would do well to know your place, Samuel Opal." He said, his voice like echoes and yet powerful all the same. "As a man of holy scriptures, you act in poor class. Though a deity I may be, ungodly behaviour is still something within my power." He turned to Aloysia and leaned in close. "It's been a while since I last saw you, Succubus, I still recall you fleeing my blade with your so-called lord." He said, earning a growl from her throat. "However, this is hardly the fitting position for you." He reached down with a hand and tapped her chair. The chains and manacles binding her to the wheelchair vanished in the blink of an eye, and she looked down at where they had been almost in awe.

"L... lord?"

"You cannot be stuck in a wheelchair if you are to teach young Cerberus how to harness his powers now can you?" He asked rhetorically.

"What makes you think-"

"Think your words through wisely, Succubus; they may well be your last." The deity warned. "If you and he are to survive through the weekend, you might want him ready for what comes."

"Why the hell would you want us to survive the oncoming Angels?!" Aloysia shouted angrily, rising from the chair. The god, however, merely pushed her back into it gently.

"I have my reasons, Succubus." He said distantly. "Until the Angel that is being dispatched arrives, Cerberus will have unlimited access to his demonic powers with no repercussion; you will still bleed, but the demon within you shan't gain any foothold on this night."

The god moved across the room and put a hand on Cerberus' shoulder gently, before unstrapping him from the bed.

"Why are you, a deity, a being of holy might, being so... forgiving on these demons?!" The scholar snapped, turning on the god. "They're your enemies!"

The god gave a gentle chuckle. "Judge not lest ye be judged." He said. "They have yet to prove themselves forces of good or evil in this world; Cerberus was unfairly brought into this all, a realm he didn't even believe in before today, he deserves a chance to defend himself." He turned on the Scholar and crossed his arms. "Three days, three angels." He said. "Each shall be more dangerous than the last, a test of his endurance of spirit and will. If he can succeed in surviving through all three, I shall lift his curse without any repercussions on his physical or spiritual being. Only Cerberus may accept the challenges of the angels."

"And what about my mate and I?" Aloysia inquired sharply. "You would kill us to save this boy?!"

"Ah, Succubus, we shall see how you have changed when the time comes." The deity said. "Your mate is already dead; should Cerberus fail, I shall send my own archangel at him, and I have no doubt he will prevail. If, however, you have learned how precious life is, and can value others as much as yourself, then we shall see if you have the right to live." He leaned down to her face with a gentle, almost fatherly smile. "I can just as easily convert you into one of my Angels as destroy you; the choice shall be yours come Sunday night."

Aloysia hissed at him. "You ask me to betray my brothers and sisters so easily? You gods are all the same; petty, selfish, arrogant and self-righteous!"

The god chuckled as he straightened his back. "We shall see." He said, before starting to evaporate into black mist. "We shall see..."

The Angel of Might.

Aloysia leaned against a wall, waiting impatiently as Cerberus told his parents that something had happened, and he'd be home the next day. He said his goodbyes before hanging up and turning to her. She beckoned him over, and he moved to her side.

"Alright, we'll need a large, open space that can take a beating." She said.

"We could use the underground car park?" Cerberus ventured. "It's usually empty and locked up at this time of night."

She shook her head.

"No, it needs to be very open." She said. "Like a field of stone, a quarry would be good."

"The only open field that springs to mind is the skate park down the road, should only take us a couple of minutes to get there."

She waved him off. "Lead the way. Tell a cop; else we might get into trouble from his chums."

Cerberus nodded and led her to the front door of the hospital, telling the officer who had wheeled her chair in where they would be. He nodded, informing the central office about the information, and the duo left the hospital; Cerberus held the door open for her before leading her down the street to a small enclosed skate park. Thankfully, with eleven PM having rolled in, the park was empty, and they soon moved to the largest of the pools. Aloysia crossed her arms and stood in front of him sternly.

"Alright, we'll start with the basics." She said.

"Inside every demon are special abilities, Angels also possessing them, and they're called Affinities. Certain Demons, like War demons and Suffering demons are capable of inflicting pain upon touch. Pestilence demons can cause plagues the likes of which the world rarely sees, and there are more, far more complex powers that are difficult to explain. We also come in types; I myself am a Hurler type; I can use magic for prolonged periods of time, as the growth on my back stores immense amounts of mana that I can draw from. There are also Fliers, Brutes, and Archetype, who're far more powerful and capable of all of the different type abilities.

"As a demon, your first power is complete command over fire. Depending on the type of demon you are, other powers are also available. As an Incubus, your particular prowess is over fire and emotions, but you should also have brute strength far greater than that of any mortal, and an affinity with shadows and stealth. Incubi have, in the past, made great assassins amongst the demon ranks. Incubi and Succubi feed, normally, on the electromagnetic energy that mortals possess. As a demi-mortal, you create your own electromagnetic energy, and thusly don't feel the hunger that we usually do."

Cerberus tilted his head. "Then what's with the whole sex thing?" He asked.

Aloysia laughed nervously. "Oh, that." She said dismissively. "In truth, we only need to be close to mortals to tap into the energy, but, well, we found that it's easier to get our fill if our meal doesn't run away; who would run from a beautiful male or female who is only interested in one thing?"

Cerberus tugged his collar. "I don't wish to be rude, but, well..."

"Hmm?"

"You're hardly what I'd call beautiful." He admitted. "Pretty, yes, but not quite drop-dead gorgeous."

She laughed. "When we're feeding, the person we are feeding from can be easily manipulated; we use our control over emotions to appear as they would desire in their eyes. The process, though claimed to be evil and used for dark purposes, is nothing more than us needing to eat, as all living entities do. No life force is drained, no soul corruption; pleasure is gained, yes, but it's just a welcome advantage to our feeding." She shifted and put a hand on her hip. "As far as I am aware, no mortal has ever died from our feeding process directly." She shifted again, getting her weight where it would be most comfortable on her light, weak looking frame. "Anyway, we have become distracted." She said. "Within you is power, it's like a feeling, as if you're flexing all your muscles, which draws it out. Attempt it."

Cerberus nodded faintly, closed his eyes and focused. He let himself relax, before tensing himself completely. His eyes flicked open, an ungodly red glow shone from within, and blood started to seep from his eyes. Like a fire had been started within his very core, his body became warm and small crackles of energy flicked off of him. His clothes changed, seeming to become more sturdy yet more revealing, his claws became sharp as razors, and a pair of horns erupted from his forehead, causing more blood to drool across his face. A smaller pair jutted from the back of his lower jaw, curling slightly, and a large pair of wings sprouted from his back. The glow from his eyes faded, and he looked down at himself.

"Whoa..." He mumbled. "I didn't think that I'd bleed this quickly..."

Aloysia stepped over to him and walked a circle around him, looking him up and down as if inspecting him.

"Impressive." She said. "You're a flier with wings like these." She said, tugging a wing. "Can you flex them?" He answered by stretching his new wings out fully, flapping them and actually gaining about a foot of height before landing again and folding them up. "Very nice magical aura too... You might actually be an Archetype and not a flier..."

She stood where she had been standing before and held a hand out, causing a fireball to appear in her palm.

"Magic is easy to learn, but difficult to master." She said. "Fire, for demons, is second nature and should be something you can do reflexively. Some magic can drain mana from your body, which can be replenished, by Succubi and Incubi, by feeding on electromagnetic energy from living beings." She pulled her hand back and swung the fireball in his direction. "Let's see how well you can control it."

Cerberus slapped the fireball out of the air as the flaming missile barrelled towards him, swinging his hand downwards. The fire roared around him, growing more voluminous as his hand moved. He stopped in a mimic of her original pose, now holding a fireball roughly the size of his whole body. The air around him glowed gently, and his eyes shone red before he closed his fist and the fire vanished. Cerberus's ears noticed her clapping.

"Marvellous! Marvellous!" She cheered. "Such fantastic control; you could become quite powerful given enough practice!" She moved closer and nudged him playfully in the ribs with her elbow. "We could do quite some damage to this city if you know what I mean."

"I'm sure I do." Cerberus replied, shifting uncomfortably.

Aloysia giggled; something that Cerberus didn't think she'd have the capacity to do.

"Now then, we move onto the more delicious powers;" she started, moving away from him slightly, "the powers over emotions.

"It takes practice to master this power, though most Incubi and Succubi are very well versed due to our feeding practices. First off, you must be able to see your target; eye contact is not vital, but being able to see them opens the gate into their mind. After this, you need to project your mind out to them. It is a difficult feeling to instruct, but try imagining what it feels like to have your brain outside of your skull."

Cerberus raised his eyes to her and grinned a little. "You mean like this?"

Aloysia staggered for a moment, the sudden wave of conflicting emotion more than she thought he could throw at her, more than she'd ever felt before. Guilt, hatred, happiness, regret... even an alien emotion she'd not felt in millennia but still knew how to label struck her mind- love.

"St-stop!" She snapped. "Cerberus, stop!"

The feelings faded from her mind and she regained her composure.

"Fuck Cerberus;" she huffed, "that was intense!" She shot him a glare. "Don't ever do that again!"

Cerberus chuckled. "Sorry, Aloysia."

Up in the great heavens, the shadowy deity stood with an angel kneeling at his feet. The jackal angel of Anubis kept his eyes averted from the holy being; despite his detestation of this god, he still had to obey Anubis' commands, and as such he was to obey this god.

"Milord, what do you wish of me?" He asked.

"Acim, general of Anubis's armies, I have a... task." The god replied. "As all angels have been informed, there is a pair of demons loose upon the mortal plain."

"Yes milord." Acim affirmed. "We have been instructed not to assault them."

"That instruction is mine." The god said flatly. "And it is for good reason; I wish to test them. Angel, your next mission is to challenge the male of the pair. He is a powerful foe, and I would advise caution."

"You- I would be sent to battle this demon alone? What if I am to fail?"

The god chuckled. "Then you fail." He said bluntly. "You will be in no peril of death, I have made sure of this; the final blow may be brought upon you or them, but only they can die."

"But the boy... he is an innocent."

The god nodded.

"Your duty is clear, angel; go with my blessing."

He started to walk away, and the angel grabbed his shoulder.

"Milord, why did you put them together? The boy and the Succubus?"

At this the god chuckled once more.

"To show them the way."

Cerberus and Aloysia had long since finished training, him showing prowess with his abilities to rival that of her own, possibly owing to the powerful demon whose powers he controlled. She'd warmed up to him considerably; though for demon standards not killing him and drinking his blood is a friendly gesture, he'd actually managed to get her to open up and talk to him about herself.

She'd been with her mate for many millennia, almost as far back as she could remember; he had always been strong and ruthless, taking what he wanted, even other females, and butchering those in his way. For a demon, this was fairly normal behaviour and she'd never questioned it. She'd bared many offspring for him and he'd tolerated the fact; if he hadn't she'd have become his next meal or just a smear between his claws. Her last birth had been a female, a rare happenstance amongst demons, and she had been particularly attached to the fledgling demoness. Eventually her daughter disappeared, just as a great feud between the powers that ruled the demonic realm broke out, and her mate revealed that she had been butchered by another demon lord.

She'd never found out which one, though.

"To kill is but our nature, Cerberus;" she mumbled, "but to kill a young female of our own kind who had not yet bred? Pointless. Unlike Angels we require procreation to survive as a species, evil souls will only provide about fifty demons each before reincarnation, and even then we get mainly males. Females are extremely rare, and killing one only endangers the future of our kind. We're bought and sold like property, and wise males treat us like valuable and rare metals with the fragility of glass, yet we have our very existence controlled by our lords. Greatlords, those of us who rule over entire breeds of demons, like Ushriacht the greatlord of Succubi and Incubi, have many females in what can be considered, for our realm, grand palaces to cater to their comfort; we are still to them as sex slaves are to mortals, though often we are treated far worse.

"As demons we can take the abuse, it is as normal to us as breathing is to mortals, and I myself have been on the receiving end of brutality more than any mortal could take and survive. Hate begets hate, rage is the mother of pain, and pain is the mother of fear; we fear our lords, but if we didn't in some way belong to them or follow them, we would simply kill them and take their position.

"I do not trust or respect you, Cerberus; I fear the power within you, and that is as close to the emotion of 'love' that a demon can feel for another that is not their child." She hissed at him sideways. "I have loved but one being in my many, many years, and she has been dead for millennia."

Cerberus cringed under her relentless gaze as she finished, nodding faintly. He'd known, as everyone knows inherently, that demons were cruel, unforgiving and violent, but he'd never given it much thought. The last ten minutes of conversation had included content that made his stomach roll in ways that made him hurt as if stabbed. He sighed and stood, offering out his hand. She looked at it critically before putting hers in his, and he tugged her from her seat.

"I guess I should thank you for at least telling me about all that." He mumbled.

"Demons do not give thanks." She snapped.

"Then isn't it a good thing I am no demon?" He shot back. "I-"

He cut himself short, breath catching in his lungs as a feeling like a blade being pressed against the back of his head made itself felt. In a flash he tackled her to the ground and looked over his shoulder worriedly.

"You feel it too?" She asked idly. "That, boy, is every fibre of your being telling you what is coming.

"Your first angel is here."

A thundering bolt of light struck the ground, white mist pouring off of the figure that stood within. Cerberus tugged Aloysia to her feet and hurried to a nearby shed, standing near it worriedly. The angel turned his face to them.

Six foot eight, average muscle tone and fur the tone of chocolate, the angel wore but a loincloth to cover his intimates, bracelets on his left arm and an ankh on a golden chain around his neck. He held a polearm roughly the same length as his body was tall, crescent-shaped blades on either side. The jackal clicked his neck and bared his teeth.

"Cerberus Grizzle." He boomed to them.

"Oh shit, that's a Harbinger of the Embalmer! An Anubian Angel..! They're made of brute force, few demons have managed to take one on and live! This is bad, bad, bad!" Aloysia hissed worriedly.

"Cerberus Grizzle," he boomed once more, his attention on the cat entirely; "I have arrived to challenge you for your fate."

"Who challenges me?" Cerberus snapped back. "I find it somewhat disadvantageous for you to know my name and me to not know yours!"

The angel grinned, finding his brash and refreshingly open statement somehow humorous.

"I am Acim, Harbinger of the Embalmer."

"Acim?! Oh fuck! You're being challenged by the general of Anubis' armies himself! No demon has ever bested Acim; he once fought the greatlord of pestilence Yuyukani alone and came out the victor! That fight alone toppled the control of power amongst our ranks for centuries!" Aloysia worriedly blabbed.

"Stay here." Cerberus hissed. "Don't get involved, okay?"

"What?! You can't hope to take him on alone!"

"Just do as I say!" Cerberus snapped. "Remember what you told me, about your daughter?"

She nodded to him.

"Would you wish that on your mother?"

She blinked at him. "N..no."

"Then stay here and stay safe." He hissed to her before striding to a clear spot in front of Acim.

"A proper challenge is courteous." Acim announced. "It is strange that I find one who gives the same courtesy to not immediately assault angels."

Cerberus nodded and gave a polite bow, which Acim reciprocated. "So... how does this work exactly?"

"Well..." Acim mumbled, swinging his polearm and swiftly bolting forth, slamming a blade between Cerberus' feet. "We do combat, until one of us cannot."

Cerberus narrowly dodged the blade as it was swung back up at him from its indentation in the ground. Acim swung around and managed to hook the back of one of his ankles behind Cerberus' neck and brought him crashing to the ground, where the feline barely managed to roll away from the polearm which was swung to strike the concrete beneath him.

Acim growled, missing Cerberus once more with his weapon. "Where are the powers you demons love so? Come on! Stop running! Fight me!!"

Cerberus grabbed the shaft of Acim's polearm, allowing the additional momentum to throw him back to where Aloysia hid worriedly. He misjudged his timing however, and struck the side of the building she was hiding behind, bouncing off of it painfully and displacing dust from the ceiling.

He groaned as he got to his feet, rolling his shoulder painfully.

"Alright then..."

Acim charged him, the blades of his weapon arcing to meet Cerberus up high, and Cerberus flexed his hands.

"Like a reflex."

His hands clapped on the blade in mid-arc, flames roaring around his palms and the concrete cracking beneath his feet as his wings flared behind him and his demon horns emerged, erupting from his skin and bleeding without end. Acim leaned in close, grinning inanely as he put yet more strength onto the shaft of his weapon, the blade slipping in Cerberus's hands and steam streamed from the boy's palms.

"You feel that burning feeling in your hands?" Acim asked, "That is the natural destruction of demonic creatures upon contact with holy artefacts." He paused as he felt the blade slip another half inch in Cerberus's burning grip. "It is the impending end."

Cerberus growled through his pain, gritting his teeth and trying to hold the blade in his hands tighter.

"I see you." He said through his teeth.

"I see your end, Demon."

Cerberus grinned and lifted his face to look the Angel in his eyes. "No, no; I see you!"

His eyes shone, and the Angel yelped, all of his strength being removed from the weapon and pulled back as he reflexively withdrew, the pain in his head only increasing as Cerberus gained his focus. Acim shuddered and fell to his knees holding his head in pain as Cerberus moved forth, only to punch the Angel squarely across the face and kick his weapon away from him. Acim cringed as Cerberus pulled back a flaming fist, his eyes aglow. Through his pain, the Angel managed to utter a few words.

"I... Submit..!"

Cerberus lowered his fist and his demonic features retracted, leaving him blood streaked, and he fell to his hands and knees in exhaustion. For a minute or two, this was all that transpired between the pair, and eventually Acim stood and retrieved his polearm.

"Not bad for a fledgling." He said. "Had any other Angel taken that, they would have been incapable of speech afterward. As per the terms, you have won, I shall retreat for now. I would watch yourself, however, do not take this victory to your head; I shall not be the most challenging of your engagements."

Cerberus nodded, still panting as he stood and offered a hand out.

"It was fun."

Acim smiled and shook the feline's hand. "Yes, it was."

With that, Acim exploded into glowing white smoke which rocketed towards the sky.

Aloysia watched Acim ascend back to the holy realm, keeping her eyes on him until the glowing white mass had vanished from sight. Still, with him gone she couldn't shake the sense, there was still an angel about. Nervously she looked about, spying a masked figure watching from an alleyway. She stood and hurried over, following them into the dark alley.

She got a decent distance into the dead end, right behind the figure, before it turned and grabbed her throat.

"Want something, Demoness?" He asked.

She couldn't shake the feeling that he was staring right through her, into her very essence, and the thought made her feel very, very insignificant.

"What do you want, Angel?" She managed to growl at him.

He chuckled. "Just observing; we are always watching, you should know that." "Surely the Blind Watcher sees all without aid of lackeys." She hissed.

"The Shadowed has cast his own over you and your ally; only through missives can he see what transpires. Personally, I must say I am disappointed."

"Disappointed of what?"

"Of Acim mainly; that he let a Demon finally best him I find... most displeasing."

"Whatever."

The Angel lets go of Aloysia's neck and backs up a step, turning to face the wall to his left. "Young lady, I would heed Acim's warning," his face turns to her, again the feeling of being stared into makes itself felt to her, "there are far more dangerous encounters to come."

With that, his form exploded into glowing white smoke which zoomed off into the sky.

She watched as he, too, vanished into the heavens before considering his words. He'd called her young. Her. She was well over eight million years old, though admittedly she never felt -or acted- a day over twenty five; for something -some_one_- to consider her young... they would have to be ancient... just who the hell was watching them..?

It was a thought that worried her.

The Angel of the Abyss.

Acim knelt before Anubis, his weapon tossed in a corner and his face beaten. A soldier before his highest commander, he never spoke until prompted by the deity. It was his first loss ever, something which Anubis was finding only as infuriating as the fact that he had lost to a Demon who didn't even fully comprehend his own power; a fledgling. He raised his arm to take another swing at the Angel when another voice filled the hall.

"Anubis, spare him."

The deity growled and glared at the one who had entered.

"You dare tell me what to do?!"

"I am certain that Acim has a perfectly reasonable reason why he didn't even fight to his full potential down there. You could have crushed him, Acim; you could have smeared him across the land like paint. Why? Why relent? Why show weakness?"

Acim looked over at the shadowy god and chuckled.

"Because he would have shown it for me." He said.

"Meaning?" Anubis probed angrily.

"The girl is a full-fledged demoness; she would have no qualms with killing me, but the boy... the boy is, well, just a boy. He would have beaten me into submission if he had to, but I could tell there was nothing he could really do against me; he was just too inexperienced. But still... if he were in my shoes, I'm certain he would have done the same."

"Which is?"

"I allowed him to live because he... he is still not ready to be killed by our hands. I showed him mercy because he'd do the same, he's... he's a good kid."

Anubis growled irritably.

"Lord Anubis, the boy is unlike any Demon we've ever met." Acim said. "He caught my blade in his bare hands. No Demon who has ever attempted that before has managed it, or been able to withstand the pain of touching a holy weapon. He didn't even use his demonic powers until he absolutely had to, most Demons would use them relentlessly." Acim stood and spread his stance, as if to show a point. "The boy is different! Despite his corruption, he still shows signs of a pure soul, who am I, a being of the righteous and good to taint that by having him kill me? I... I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had damaged his soul so..!" He clasped his hands together pleadingly. "Please Lord Anubis; forgive my transgressions, but I did what I felt was right!"

"Anubis, spare Acim, he is right."

Anubis growled in his direction.

"Would you punish him so if he had failed against my Archangel?"

"Of course not." Anubis snapped. "No Angel can best an Archangel; there is simply no match for that power in even a hundred Angels."

"Then spare him, for my Archangel would have deliberately lost to Acim also, for much the same purpose. To teach him."

"And what, exactly, was learned from this little experience? Hmm?"

"That even against all odds, the weak can win."

Anubis grumbled. "This is still an insult beyond reproach, I will not stand to have my finest Angel humiliated."

"To teach is not an insult; I assure you, the lesson learned goes to more than just the Demons."

"Your riddling ways will be the end of you someday."

"That day is not today, however."

Another Angel, this one clad in silver and with a mask across his face entered the great hall; he stepped up to the feline god.

"Lord, you are requested by my own Lord."

"Very well. Anubis, I wish you a good day."

With that he strode out, leaving Anubis to his own frustrated thoughts.

With a growl he waved to Acim. "You are dismissed, Acim."

Acim bowed. "Thank you, Milord."

Aloysia was tugged into a taxi by Cerberus, the car rumbling off into the city. She looked about disinterestedly at the people they were passing. She sighed in a bored manner, while the world itself had changed drastically in the time between when she had last been here and the present, the people still displayed the same attitudes as always. She could smell their greed and arrogance, she could see the way they clung to rights they believed they had over others to get where and what they wanted, hear the lies and distrust they had for one another.

"Nothing changes." She mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"People. They still use others as tools, manipulate others for whatever ends they want. The world is still as full of corruption and sin as always, nothing changes."

"The world still has good in it, always will." Cerberus said matter-of-factly. "There are still those who do good at the expense of themselves. Faith in those people drives others on. It's the people at the top who ignore those at the bottom who corrupt the world."

Aloysia sighed. "And yet, they are the ones who believe they have every right to enter heaven, even going out of their way to buy themselves entrance."

Cerberus sighed and looked down. "Though I've never been a believer, I've always hoped that, if there really was a heaven and hell, then no amount of money would buy their way. The corrupt cannot pave their own way, it must be followed through deed."

Aloysia stayed silent at this.

The taxi stopped in the city and Cerberus paid before they exited the cab. They were out front of a mall, and Cerberus led Aloysia inside to a clothing store.

"What're we doing here, Cerberus?" She asked irritably.

"Getting you dressed." He said, moving over to a rack of shirts and taking a likely-looking shirt and holding it against her front.

"Wh-"

"Hmm, yeah, too much pink." He mumbled, before putting it back and retrieving a black one.

After a few hours, Aloysia had been dressed in an ensemble of black jeans with matching undergarments and a black shirt which said 'eyes up here' with an arrow pointing to her face. She didn't seem to mind the change in attire, and walked alongside Cerberus as they moved through the shop silently, shifting her shoulders every now and then to get used to the constricting brassier, which she was unused to. They stopped for lunch in the food mall before Cerberus hailed another taxi and instructed him to take them to the beach.

The shadowy deity sighed as he stood before another god and an angel wearing a mask.

" I have been informed of a pair of demons down in the living world." The god said. " And that they have already bested an angel sent to remove them."

"Yes."

" They shall be dealt with."

"In due time."

"Lord, the boy is dangerous." The angel said.

"No more dangerous than you are."

"You say that aware that I am an Angel of combat, yes?"

The shadowy deity grits his teeth irritably.

" You are not using mortals as toys."

"No mortals are being manipulated, I swear it. The boy died during the ritual, he survives only because of the demon possessing him."

" It is not up for debate, I have already sent a messenger to dispatch an Angel from our rank."

The god seemed genuinely irked.

"Thrum, I have specific reasons for the-"

An Angel hurried up to the throne, and he saluted upon reaching them.

"Lord, I have dispatched an Angel." He said.

"Who?"

The Angel looked thoughtful. "I believe his name was Gargamel."

"What?!"

" You sent who?!"

The Angel nervously took a step back. "Y-you did order a random Angel, Milord."

Thrum stroked his beard worriedly before looking over at the Angel who had stood there all along.

" The boy had best be as good as you say he is." He said. " If not better."

"I shall observe, Milord."

After paying the taxi fare, Cerberus and Aloysia stepped out onto the beach. It was a small beach, oddly vacated for the time of day, but with the sun high in the sky it was still a welcoming sight. They walked idly down to the sands, and Aloysia stepped over to the water's edge, staring out at the sea.

"We have something like this at home." She said. "Only it's an ocean of boiling blood."

She let the water lap at her feet, and she stepped back for a moment as the water receded.

"I... did not burn." She mumbled.

"The Ocean is far from Holy water, Aloysia." Cerberus said. "Water must be purified and blessed first."

She stared out across the water which seemed to go on without end. "It's... odd." She said. "There is a word for this, but I cannot recall it."

"Beautiful?" Cerberus suggested.

She nodded. "That's it. I suppose I should offer my gratitude for you bringing me here; it's something I can think of before we die."

"Oh, there are better things I can show you." Cerberus said slyly. "You just need to give me some time."

She nodded faintly before twitching, Cerberus also twitching irritably, a familiar feeling back.

"Middle of the day?!"

"The sun is high, it is to their advantage; light is their strength." Aloysia grumbled.

A figure erupted from the ocean, getting closer and closer to them before slamming down in the sand nearby. He stood at about six foot tall, his body black as the night sky. Pulsing yellow orbs rested on his hips, either side of the top of his head like animal ears, and two on his back, protruding from his shoulder blades. He wore a loin cloth adorned in reds and whites, and he wore a white mask which covered only half of his face, a single eye, blood red, swivelled towards the demons. The mask featured lines which looked like blood streaming from the single eye.

"Oh no..!" Aloysia breathed worriedly. "Run!"

"What?"

" Run!"

The Angel flexed his hand and the very sand around them exploded, throwing up walls of dirt and stone dozens of meters above their heads.

"What the-"

"We can't fight that!"

"What is it?!"

He spoke, his voice like deepest thunder. "I am Gargamel." He said. "Angel of the forgotten god, Hakmath the Void."

"Horror stories are told about the Faceless angels." Aloysia said, actually shaking in fear. "How they once fought alongside other Angels until they sacrificed their comrades in a single assault on a Demon army; an assault which sunk Atlantis to the depths of the ocean and killed over two thousand Angels and ten thousand Demons."

"A calculated move." The Angel rumbled.

"After that, the Gods had them all but culled, reincarnating all of them bar a select few."

"I am the Angel who sank Atlantis, the greatest of all Faceless." He said coldly.

Aloysia grabbed Cerberus and dove, pulling him to the ground. A rush of power surged above them right as they dove and the wall behind them exploded. She pulled him back up and kicked off the ground as the Angel slammed his fist into the sand where they had been.

"He won't hold back!" Aloysia snapped.

"Then neither shall I!"

Cerberus pushed her off of him and leapt off of the sand, his wings and horns appearing quickly as he barrelled towards the Angel, who stood his ground.

Cerberus landed a fierce kick to the Angel, managing to launch him into the dunes, but the Angel only stood once more.

"His body is invincible!" Aloysia shouted. "Only the mask can be threatened! Faceless are spellcasters!"

Cerberus cringed as the Angel held out a hand and a pulse of energy launched itself at Cerberus, who only just managed to dodge it and watch it soar over the ocean, causing a wake behind it and exploding violently in the water.

Cerberus dove under the next magic pulse and surged towards the Angel, who waved his hand. The earth on which he stood rose into the air and towered over Cerberus. Not to be deterred, he slammed a fist into the stone, cracking it and causing it to crumble back down. The Angel landed behind him and waved his hand again, causing dozens of energy pulses to form and barrage Cerberus. The feline dove and weaved, managing to dodge the barrage only to be tripped by the very earth beneath him, which had become a quagmire.

"You cannot win." Gargamel rumbled.

Cerberus growled and pushed up onto his feet, running at the Angel who only swung more magic his way. He managed to dodge most of them, but one struck his shoulder causing him to yelp in pain and hit the ground, rolling to a stop. His shoulder was burned horridly, like he'd been splashed with boiling water.

"Stay down." The Angel growled as the earth began to quake, his magic starting to be concentrated. "Inferior beings shall learn their place. You cannot win."

Cerberus growled again and rose to his feet, once again storming toward the Angel.

"Yes... I... can..!"

The ground beneath Cerberus's feet exploded, the very earth attempting to grab his feet and catch him, but missing by inches as he barrelled towards the Angel. As one finally caught his foot, Cerberus threw a hand out and launched a powerful fireball at the Angel's face.

For a brief moment, the world stopped.

The fireball exploded against the Angel's mask, causing him to scream in pain. Cerberus rose a third time, the Angel's magic having ceased with his distraction, and grabbed the Angel's shoulder before landing a fierce, fire covered punch to his mask, cracking it. The Angel screamed and vanished, reappearing over the ocean, and held out a hand.

Blood seeped from the crack in his mask.

"I shall bury... Everything..!"

The ocean receded, and the horizon turned darker, surging closer and closer to the shore. Magic pulsed along the oncoming tidal wave, the water groaning as parts of it froze, giving it razor-sharp shrapnel which tumbled and scythed.

Cerberus stepped to the edge of the beach and held out a hand as the water struck.

A wall of fire exploded into life, and the water striking it only bounced back harmlessly before settling back to the level it held before. Cerberus lowered his hand and fell to one knee, exhausted after using so much magic at once. The Angel stepped in front of him and grabbed his throat, lifting and holding him aloft as he slowly choked the life out of him.

"Learn your place."

Cerberus lifted an arm and pointed two fingers in a gun pose in front of the Angel's mask. Weakly he wheezed through his choking throat.

"Bang."

Magic erupted from his hand and the Angel's mask exploded into shrapnel, the shards of which faded into smoke as they struck the sand. The Angel's body let go of Cerberus's throat, dropping him as it dissolved into ash and spread into the sea.

He quickly retracted his power and coughed, attempting to catch his breath. Aloysia hurried over and tugged him from the sand.

"Thank you." He managed to wheeze.

She said nothing, just blushing and nodding faintly.

He took his phone out of his pocket, noticing the time was almost four in the afternoon, and sent a message to his parents that he'd be eating dinner out this eve.

Aloysia looked over her shoulder, noticing the Angel from before was watching them. He exploded into white smoke and ascended back towards the heavens at her noticing him, however.

"C'mon." Cerberus huffed, tugging her arm eagerly. "I know a place we can go get some dinner."

The Faceless Angel stood before Thrum, who bore down on him furiously.

" Explain yourself, Gargamel!"

The Angel remained silent.

" You know the rules of engagement as well as the next Angel, your terms of continued existence hinge on you following those to the letter!"

The Angel continued to remain silent.

" Your little stunt down there could have destroyed the whole city and killed thousands; do you remember what happened the last time you did that?!"

"Every day, Lord." He hissed in reply. "And even then you did not understand the necessity of the situation."

" There is never a situation in which the murder of thousands is necessary!" Thrum boomed angrily, the air around him boiling with righteous fury. " You are lucky it did not come to that, or your Angels would be no more!"

The Angel hesitated at this threat; his small band of Angels were all that remained of the Faceless; to wipe them out would be to end any belief left in the oldest of deities, and he had no question that Thrum would follow through with the threat.

"It shall not happen again."

Thrum leaned his face down to the Faceless Angel's equivalent. " See that it does not." He growled before the Angel faded into mist, teleporting back to his kind's realm.

Thrum huffed and returned to his seat, sitting and giving an irritable sigh.

" It was a good thing you were there to observe all of that." He said to his Angel.

"Yes Milord."

Thrum sat in silence for a few minutes, judging the souls of the dead that stood patiently in line for their turn before sighing.

" I sense you have something you wish to say." He said to the Angel at his side.

"If I might, Lord, perhaps the Shadowed was right in his methods concerning the boy."

" How so?"

"The first Angel he sent his way was to teach a lesson, that even the small can be strong." He reminded idly, watching the souls be judged with little interest. "Perhaps he had an Angel lined up for further lessons? Perhaps he does not intend for the Demons to lose at all."

" They are enemies of everything we stand for, how could he..?"

"Lord, the Shadowed has always had a... peculiarity to him. While we have sat up here in heaven and judged, waging war with only those who seek to destroy, he was out in the world observing. His methods, while unorthodox, are more of a father trying to teach a wayward child. We may even have aided him with his 'teachings' with the last conflict."

" What in creation could that have possibly taught anyone?"

"Many things, my Lord; 'Power is not everything', 'perseverance in the face of impossible odds may lead to success', 'belief in yourself can achieve greater things than acceptance of limits'..."

" Words are going to be had with him." Thrum grumbled.

"Yes my Lord."

Faith of the Faithless

---

Cerberus and Aloysia arrived at Cerberus's house after dinner, the pair having enjoyed their meal considerably. At least, up until someone had threatened Aloysia and they had to leave once Cerberus had nearly beaten him into unconsciousness. She was a bit confused as to his reaction, but... she found it somehow nice that he'd gone out of his way to defend her like that.

They wandered in the front door, Cerberus using his keys to allow them entrance, and met his parents in the living room.

"Cerberus! We were so worried; are you hurt? We heard there were explosions at the beach!" His mother snapped, leaping up from her seat and embracing him.

"I'm fine, mum, honest." He said. "This is Aloysia, she's a friend of mine; she's a little down on her luck, so I sort of offered her to stay here with me."

His mother eyed the female in question critically.

"She's a little on the skinny side." She hissed. "And her eyes..."

"I'm a demon." Aloysia growled.

"I hope that won't be a problem." Cerberus mumbled worriedly.

His mother worriedly looked to her husband. "N... no, no problem..."

Cerberus nodded nervously and tugged Aloysia. "It's been a long day, so it's probably best we both head off to bed..." He said. "G'night mum, nighto dad."

With that he pulled Aloysia up to his room, where he slammed the door and locked it.

The hours progressed slowly, and Aloysia had accepted Cerberus's offer to share his bed, if only to allow her to feed from the electromagnetic field his body produced. She didn't sleep, unable to find comfort in the bed with him for some unknown reason. Instead she moved into the hall and sat on the carpet, idly mulling over her thoughts.

She'd been with him a day and already she was worried about him. She shouldn't be worried about whether or not he used up his time and ran dry, becoming a full-bodied demon, but... She was worried about when that time came. He... he'd been gentle, something she had never before experienced a male to be; never raising his voice at her, being considerate of her and he'd even worriedly used himself to shield her from the first Angel's presence when he didn't even know what the feeling was.

He cared for her, and the admittance to herself of that fact rose feelings within herself she'd long since forgotten. Friendship, kindness, happiness... even love; she... she wasn't entirely sure about that last feeling.

She had long since forgotten what it was like to love.

Is this what the God had meant by learning how to value others?

The sound of smashing glass crashed from Cerberus's room, and she worriedly stood and swung open the door, only to find the room empty and the floor littered with smashed glass, his window. She hurried out the window, chasing Cerberus's scent to the front yard where several men were bundling him into an unmarked black van.

"Cerberus!" She yelled in earnest worry, running at the van whose doors slid shut and wheels screeched. The vehicle sped on into the night, losing the Demoness in the street.

She stared at where the van had been, before returning to the house through Cerberus's window. She found his parents standing in the room.

"Th-the demon remains!"

Fury gripped Aloysia's features and she grabbed Cerberus's parents, hoisting them up the wall at arm's length.

"What have you done?!"

The Shadowed god stormed up to Thrum's throne and stood in an angry cloud of black smoke.

"What has been done?!"

" I am unsure, but... they are divided." Thrum replied solemnly. " It would seem that the boy was taken."

"Taken by who?!"

" Religious fanatics of my faith." Thrum replied calmly. " I can see him within one of my churches, it is not of his doing, but I would never send an Angel to fetch him from there."

"Why not?"

" Violence within a religious site dedicated to my order is forbidden, I cannot break this. She will most likely not know of his location. She... they're on their own."

"Like hell they are."

" You cannot interfere as per your own rules." Thrum informed.

"I cannot just sit back and watch as some religious fanatics-"

" You must."

The Shadowed stayed furiously silent for a minute or so, thoughts mulling over in his mind.

"I... They need help." He finally said desperately.

" Then perhaps it is time that you learned something about being a controlling deity." Thrum said.

"Which is?"

He leaned forward on his throne and grinned. " When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."

Aloysia growled constantly, with Cerberus's parents huddling in their room with the door locked to keep her out. She stormed through the house, looking for some clue as to who had taken him, and where. She reached the family room, where something in the darkness fell with a thud.

She flicked on the light and noticed a book lying against the leg of the coffee table, having slid off of the rest of the paper resting atop the furniture. She grabbed the book and opened it randomly, finding it to be full of addresses and phone numbers. Something in her head clicked, and she looked about the room.

Holy crosses, the symbol for the all-seeing god Thrum, were prominently displayed about the room; clearly Cerberus's parents were strong believers. She flicked through the book, stopping when she saw something that irked her, as all religious things do.

523 Fairview Road, Crompville. The address was tagged as being 'The All Seeing church of Enlightenment.'

She grumbled to herself; Cerberus had known wherever they were going, she had no idea where this church was established...

That was when she noticed the road map on the table.

She picked it up and looked through it, finding Crompville on the fifty seventh page.

What had been this houses' street name? Rickton Road? She noted that the church she was interested in was a few dozen blocks away, before slamming the books closed and storming out the front door.

The sun rose, and church-goers arrived at the place of worship, entering the doors only to find a feline strung up on one of the walls, suspended in the brick and stone by two holy crosses sharpened into stakes and rammed through his right shoulder and elbow. He was covered in blood, his eyes red and sore and his facial fur matted with tears. He groaned when a child ran up and tugged him, seemingly attempting to get him down only to stop at his pained reaction.

"No need to stop for his regard my child." A male priest said, walking up. "He's a demon you know."

Cerberus coughed painfully and groaned at the priest. "You... you're a monster."

"From your mouth this means nothing." He retorted spitefully.

"Leading youth to humiliate he who has been corrupted with unholy power?" Cerberus wheezed painfully and irritably, "How much lower can you get?"

"Be silent, demon!" the priest snapped, grabbing one of the crosses and twisting it, causing Cerberus to scream in pain.

The large double-doors to the church burst open and slammed back against their hinges.

Aloysia stood in the door, the air around her warping and bubbling as she built up magic. The congregation, frightened by the full demon standing in the doorway, fled out the emergency exits, leaving the priest to face Aloysia alone.

"He is mine." She growled, taking a step into the church only to step back as her body hissed and steamed.

"You cannot enter this consecrated ground, demon! You shall find no power here!"

Aloysia snarled angrily, her magic flicking out and causing a pew to rise and strike the priest down, drifting to the other side of the church where it collapsed on top of him.

Aloysia took a step.

Her body burned to be within the church, she could feel her skin charring from the consecrated air. Being here would alert every angel within this particular god's army to her presence, but she didn't hesitate to move over to Cerberus. She reached up and grabbed the cross hanging him by his elbow, the wood hissing against her palms as she wrenched it from the stone blood and bone. She reached for the other one and, with the same determined expression, pulled it free of Cerberus's shoulder.

He collapsed down to the ground, where she carefully pulled him onto her shoulder and allowed him to use her to stand and move.

"We need to move." She hissed, helping him limp toward the door and out into the church grounds.

Out here the land was only consecrated around the graveyard, which was well away from the front doors. She worriedly pulled Cerberus over to the church yard's wall and leaned him against it.

"I... I knew you'd... come..." He huffed painfully.

"You'd have done the same thing for me." She replied, before realising that she actually meant it.

He nodded faintly, before motioning to his blood covered side.

"I'm finished." He said sadly. "I... I've lost so much blood, if I try to tap into your mate's power, it'll force the last of my blood out of me." He chuckled humourlessly. "I guess you get your wish; you'll be with him again."

"Cerberus, I-"

She was cut off as a bolt of light stuck the ground and the feeling crept up their spines once more.

The Angel sighed sadly as he listened to Cerberus's heartbeat. It was panicked and afraid; his last moments would be full of fear and doubt. He could hear him crying, more sound which put the Angel in a painful position. The boy didn't want to go.

He shifted his stance and held his hands over his weapons.

"You... you're the one who's been watching us." The demoness said. "Why? Why you? Were you spying on us to see the weaknesses in our abilities? What... who are you?"

The Angel bowed respectfully, his hearing catching up on Cerberus dipping his head in kind. "My name is Saladin; I am the greatest of Thrum's Angels."

"Saladin the Pure..." Aloysia breathed in awe. "Rumoured amongst our kind to be a god who traded his service to Thrum for continued existence... We... we cannot fight this fight; even if Cerberus were not so critically injured, we would stand no chance..."

"You have me at a difficult position, young lady." Saladin said. "He is unable to fight; unarmed and unprotected, to slay him would not be honourable, yet you cannot fight in his position, as per the rules of your contract with the Shadowed."

Aloysia rose from her place beside Cerberus, standing between him and Saladin. "Th-then I will have to fight in his place regardless." She said. "Y-you cannot have him."

"Aloysia... please..." Cerberus huffed, pushing his weight against the wall behind him to stand. "It... it doesn't matter anymore."

"Cerberus..?"

"I'm going to die either way, so I might as well fulfil your wish and allow you some time with your mate, even if only for a short while. Please..."

She looked back at him in shock, worried about his next action as he took it.

His horns and wings erupted from his body, only for him to cringe as his wounds sealed up and red light began pouring from around where his horns had emerged. He had looked down to the earth as Cerberus Grizzle.

He looked up as Demon Lord Caradoc.

In one deft swing he swatted Aloysia away and charged Saladin, who brandished his twin-bladed sword and rolled the powerful demon away.

Aloysia felt something rolling down her cheek as she looked down at the soft grass she had been knocked down onto, and she tentatively touched it with her hand. Water?

Was she... crying?

A foot clad in a boot thudded to the ground beside her and she was gently lifted from the ground, only to be face-to-face with the shadowy god.

"Why... why am I crying?" She asked him, more for herself than as an actual question.

"You cry because you loved him." He stated. "As you were to learn."

She shook her head. "But I've not loved anything for thousands of years, not since my daughter was murdered!"

"Murdered? Do tell, does your daughter look like this?"

He stepped to one side, and Aloysia's eyes stared at the creature behind him. Five foot eight thinly built and with a double-ribcage, the being featured no breasts, but held the familiar hips of a female. She had a halo behind her head, her body covered in a light grey fur, purple hair tied into a loose ponytail and her tail featured spikes of the same red as the horns which curled around her animal-like ears, not unlike Aloysia's own. Her twinkling orange eyes looked at Aloysia with gathering tears.

"W... Wyetta..?"

The being nodded, and Aloysia threw her arms around her, crying tears of joy.

"I was told you'd died! I gave up hope!"

"M... Mother," Wyetta managed, pulling away from the embrace. "Mum; this is wrong, Cerberus needs your help."

"But... but he's beyond help now, Caradoc has taken over his body."

Wyetta shook her head. "Mortals are more resilient than that, he is fighting against father from within, he needs Caradoc to be weakened to even manage to keep a foothold within his own body."

Aloysia nodded faintly.

"But... what can I do?"

"He told you that your daughter was dead, having attempted to kill her several times. Your daughter fled to the mortal plane, and Caradoc lied to you to cover up the truth and keep you loyal." The god informed irritably. "And even Hell hath no fury like a Woman scorned."

Aloysia nodded, searching for the rage and hatred that had momentarily been put aside and harnessing it.

She turned on Caradoc and unleashed her rage-fuelled magic upon him.

Caradoc had barely been holding his own against Saladin, the Angel apparently not even breaking a sweat against the potent being who struggled against him. He'd just managed to gain some space when he was struck hard with powerful magic, the body he possessed arcing its spine in pain and falling to the ground from flight as the magic slammed into him.

'You're losing.'

'Shut up boy, know your place!'

'My place? This is my place! My body, my world, it is you who does not belong!'

'Shut up!'

'Your own mate fights against you; you have nothing_!_'

'This body is mine now; it will do as I say!'

'Guess what, Caradoc? The body was mine to begin with, and I will take it back from you!'

'You? Hah! It is my power that fuels this body, and without it you will die!'

'Caradoc, guess what?

_' Yoink! _'

Cerberus's body convulsed, his eyes became softer for a moment, and he stopped fighting back. He looked at Saladin pleadingly, holding his form as open as possible.

"Kill me!"

Saladin didn't miss a beat, and he moved forth faster than the eye could comprehend, thrusting his bladed weapon through Cerberus's heart.

"Thank... you..."

The boy shuddered, eyes wide, before gasping and sliding limp. Saladin removed his blade, and Aloysia caught his body before it hit the ground.

For the first time in her life, she cried true tears of sadness. The heavens opened up and rain fell upon those standing witness, including the entire congregation of the church.

She'd lost him, the one male who had made her felt like she was worth something. Her mate, while passing with him, had showed her none of this, and went unmourned, but Cerberus... Cerberus had cared for her, and in turn she had come to care for him. It had been a short-lived affair, but there was something about it, something real, that Aloysia wept over too. She had come to love him, and she never had the chance to tell him how much he had come to mean to her.

Two invisible figures near the god shifted, watching.

"This is what the lesson taught." The elder male said. He wore an eye patch over his left eye, and he had one wing and a stump where the other should have been. He spoke to a younger female who watched on worriedly.

"D... daddy, what does it mean?" She asked, unable to look away from the desperately crying demoness.

"Life is a beautiful thing, and the loss of one is the end of a world, think of those you affect when ending life; the parents, siblings, friends... All are affected by the loss. Your mother was the most dear thing in my life, and I loved her with all my heart; hearing that she was pregnant with you made my heart swell, and I treasured every moment with her, but when it came to the end and she was taken from me... I was almost as inconsolable as she is now."

"Why only almost..?"

"Because I had you to keep me going, new life created by the one I loved more than anything, to give me purpose."

"Maimon, another lesson will now be taught." The god said flatly. "To revive the dead in any way is to pervert the balance of the world, and to corrupt the very flow of life. Reviving a single mortal could destroy the fabric of reality itself, and as such we never condone it. However..." He moved over and gently put his hand to Cerberus's head, tugging the feline's soul from the body. "This... will not the same."

He pulled a staff, roughly six foot long, from his sleeve and rapped it against the ground, a scythe blade forming from the crown of the shaft. He carefully cut the tether from Cerberus's soul and quickly grabbed the soul before it could fade.

A pair of scales appeared before him, and he pushed his hand against the underside of the plate holding a red flame.

"This is called creating a Definite Angel." The god said, before adding; "and also 'Pissing off Thrum.'"

Cerberus's soul swiftly formed a body around itself, complete with robes which looked similar to Maimon's own. Demon wings formed behind him, and horns jutted from his face akin to how they did when he was within his demon form.

He looked upon the god distantly.

"Cerberus, you are being given a choice." He said. "You can become one of my Angels, or return to your body and revive."

Cerberus only stared at the god as if he'd gone insane before pointing to his corpse.

"Very well. When you finally do pass, Cerberus, you will be welcomed amongst our ranks; as will Aloysia. You will be given free access to your inherited demonic powers, but shall suffer none of the consequences." He pushed Cerberus faintly, and the feline felt himself falling for what felt like eternity. "Live well."

Cerberus's eyes slowly flicked open, and he looked down at the Demon still crying over his body. Weakly he put a hand to her back, rubbing her gently. She looked up in surprise before throwing her arms around him.

"Cerberus! Oh thank the gods you're alive!"

"One at least..." Cerberus mumbled quietly to himself before gently nuzzling her face. "I'm sorry, Aloysia; it was the only way."

She nodded, her face still laden with tears. The Angel, Saladin, knelt at Cerberus's head.

"Trace the Shadowed has given you your wish, Cerberus; treasure it for as long as you live."

The feline gently hugged the Demon crying happily over him and nodded. "I will, don't you worry about that."

Saladin smiled faintly before his body exploded into glowing white smoke which shot into the skies and faded from view.

Cerberus carefully tried to sit up, Aloysia worriedly assisting him and allowing him to get a glance at her eyes, which were no longer empty voids, but featured white sclera and a purple iris surrounding a black pupil.

"Aloysia, your eyes." He mumbled, getting her attention. "They're different; normal."

"Th... they are?"

He nodded faintly. "I guess you cried out all of the darkness left welled up inside of you," He said, "Which left the beauty behind."

She chuckled at him. "And I thought you said I wasn't beautiful."

He smiled and nuzzled her forehead lovingly. "Guess I was wrong.

"You are beautiful."

Up in the heavens, Thrum bore down furiously on the shadowy god.

" Trace, what have you done?!"

"I gave him the choice, Thrum; it was never going to be without option."

" You have perverted the course of life and death within the living realm, do you have any idea the consequences of this?"

"More than you would think, Thrum." He snapped back. "Mortals do it every day, using their technology to revive the recently dead and give them a second, third or fourth chance; they are as guilty of perverting the flow as I am."

" And about their ascension into divine beings..."

Saladin stepped up the stairs to Thrum's throne.

"Lord, spare him." He said. "Though he has done things which the gods should never truly do, for once, it was the right thing to do."

" Saladin..!"

"You have had me watch them for the entire duration of these trials, and I have done as you asked, and I stand by my opinion. It would have been unfair to leave the girl without him, all alone in the world. She has suffered much as all demons do, but he opened her heart in but a short time, something which is beyond any magic. He would not have made the choice if it were not for his connection to her; he loves her too, my Lord, and who are we to take that from them?" He smiled a little bit before continuing. "After all, the results of your attempts into Angels loving one another led to the death of one of our finest Angels, and the loss of a Sightless to a Shadowed; and while his daughter thrives and grows into a fine young angel, the loss of her mother was too high a price.

"Perhaps, while it is an unorthodox and dangerous way, Trace's way was the more... appropriate way."

"The choice was theirs to make, Thrum." Trace said calmly. "All I am guilty of is allowing them to live together as they chose_._"

Thrum grumbled faintly, aware he'd been argued into submission.

Cerberus and Aloysia exited the taxi and stepped out onto the beach once more, their eyes on the horizon.

"It continues to be beautiful no matter how many times I see it." She mumbled.

Cerberus nodded faintly.

"There are still many more beautiful things I can show you." He said, running a hand along one of her ears gently. "I'll show you them, one day."

"I can't wait." She mumbled, forcing him to smile.

"Me neither."