[IC] Sunrise, Sunset

[TheWendil]

Alarmed for a brief moment, Kiara was glad to discover that Vincent's bullet hadn't found itself buried in her head. "Heh, thank you? If I never met you, I wouldn't be in this mess." She brandished Volunta and began swiping at the gray creatures, striking them at the head. Apparently, their heads really were their weak points, as they fell one by one to Kiara's precise strikes. Soon though, the tavern began to get crowded as the demonic lizards began to slowly overrun them.

Kiara grinned at the familiar scene. "Oh no. This isn't ending like last time." The blade of her weapon began to glow, and the two handguns on each half began firing out silver bullets of energy. She twisted and turned, firing her magic on any of the damned things in sight. "See, you're not a bunch of angry farmers with feelings. Meaning I can do something like. . .this!" Raising Volunta above her head, she brought the weapon down with a flash, releasing a wave of energy that hurtled towards the demons. It was enough to knock them back to at least the entrance of the tavern.

Satisfied, Kiara took Vincent's hand and dragged him out of the window. "Come on! We can lead them out into a larger space." Running for their redeemed lives, Kiara led the two to the last place she had visited when she was alive: the giant fountain in the middle of town. Turning back, she saw that the horde of demons seemed to have multiplied. There were at least fifty of them and they were all charging, spurting out clouds of dust behind them.

Smirking, Kiara pointed her weapon straight at the horde. "You take the left, I'll take the right. Sounds like a good enough plan for you?"

"I wouldn't be too reckless now."

Sandal appeared out of the blue, balancing at the very top of the water fountain. He raised a finger and pointed it at the cloud. "See that? If you breathe it in, that dust will immediately decay your internal organs, making a nice smoothie. So don't screw up."

Kiara blinked. "What? So how do we fight th-hey!" Sandal was gone, leaving the two to their fate. Sighing, Kiara began shooting off more shots into the first wave of demons, hoping to at least slow them down.

"Well Vincent old buddy. Any ideas?"

[AkiBlue]

"Last I recall," He paused to take a few more shots. "you were the one doing the magical stuff that convinced them." These little nuisances were easy to kill, but there was a horde closing them in. They were going to need something to kill them more than one at a time, but that wasn't going to happen. Funny enough, in a cruel twisted way, the two were practically reliving their first death- except with little lizard things. This was an interesting fate for them... If they died of course. Obviously, Kiara didn't plan for that to happen again as she used that interesting weapon she had. "Curious. Where'd you get something like that? You sure you didn't make any deals with the devil for something like that?" He teased as he continued shoot. A bullet at a time wasn't cutting it for him. Slowing them down sure, but not fast enough.

Before he could actually make an attempt to do anything, Kiara was dragging him out the tavern. That's another thing he seemed to get used to. Kiara dragged him around since they had met, but he didn't mind it too much. Although jumping through a window could've been warned. Vincent nearly tripped when he did. "If that works, it works." He replied, still following her out. They were in the middle of town, in front of a giant water fountain, with little demon lizards after them. "This is how my second life starts out." With a sigh he jumped onto the edge of the fountain, balancing carefully. "If it keeps us alive, it's good enough for me." He smirked a little, ready to start shooting again.

Sandal appeared, giving his friendly advice, and then disappeared again. "I'm starting to think you want us to die." He shook his head, shooting at the little monsters again. "Ideas? Ha, how about stay alive?" He looked around, and then at the water fountain. "Well...this shooting isn't going to cut it. Do you think those things can swim?" Before he even explained his thoughts, he shot at the edges of the fountain. Hopefully, with the right shot the water would pour out with enough force to clear them out. Doing so, he realized they'd be pushed into the force as well.

But, Vin realized that too late. With the right shot, the fountain caved and the water poured out. Thankfully, the impulse plan worked and sent the lizards backwards. With the 'small luck' they had, disaster followed. He slipped, but grabbed onto one of the stones that stayed sturdy.

[TheWendil]

Kiara plunged Volunta into the ground to use as a base. Vincent and his "plan" had succeeded in clearing the demons out. . .for now. Right now, they had to hold on themselves. Kiara looked up at the massive structure. Just how much water was in the damn thing? Apparently enough to cause a small flood. Reaching over to her side, she took Vincent's other hand and held for dear life. It didn't take too long for the water to clear out. Guess it was a good plan after all. The remaining demons who weren't flushed away began hissing at them, then turned tail, fading back into a large gray cloud.

Thoroughly soaked, Kiara got up and began attempting to dry her coat off. "That's odd. Do you think they hate water or something? Or do they just think it's holy water?" She looked up at the fountain again, this time expecting Sandal to appear with an answer, or at the very least a smart ass reply. They were met with neither, earning yet another sigh from Kiara. "Well, at least now we know what they hate. Sorta." Taking out Volunta from the ground, she was about to place it away in her coat when she paused.

"You wanted to know where I got this weapon, right? Well rest assured. I didn't get it from some shady being. At least, I'm pretty sure I didn't." She began to scratch her head in thought, her hair already a wet mess from the shower. "It's a long story. Like, really long. Epic drama long! Ok, I guess not that long. It's sort of a. . . hand-me-down." Well you didn't hear that everyday. "Anyway," she continued, "It's not that special. Just a few energy attacks really, and even those just use up the basic amount of magic for me."

Raising an eyebrow, she looked quizzically at the gun still in Vincent's hand. "What about you? Got any riveting stories for that pea-shooter?"

[AkiBlue]

Vincent stood up with Kiara, staring down at is now thoroughly wet clothes. "Well look at that. It worked." He chuckled and shook his hair, although it was probably going to be wet for awhile...just like his clothes. "Hmph, we'll have to get some new clothes, or walk it off and air dry." He chuckled a little at the second idea. That would be a sight to see. Two travelers, soaked from head to toe, walking into the next town. With her comment, Vin looked around, expecting Sandal as well. But, he was a no show- which was probably a joke as well. "Whatever the excuse is, it did the job."

He moved around a little, getting the excess water out of his clothes. It made him feel a lot lighter. "Your weapon? Oh yeah." He looked over at her as she dramatically explained how dramatically long it was- er, wasn't? He didn't try to keep up with her... "So it's just a gun. Sure. The magic gun is normal." He flipped his own gun around on his fingers. "This nice gift was my father's. He gave me... Well a cursed gun. I didn't bother listening to the entire backstory...or I normally fell asleep every time he explained... But, it's a gun that never runs out of bullets- and with a click here, it shoots more than one bullet at a time. But you know," Vin shrugged and walked around the remains of the fountain. "Just a pea shooter."

The male looked around the town they had been killed in. "It's been kind of quiet... That's pretty odd. Do you think they left after they killed us? Or are they...hiding." The thought of them all peeking through windows made him look around suspiciously. "Those guys might've spotted us and are planning to kill us now. Ehh." He shook his head and sighed. "But it's not like they have much of a chance now considering a crazy demon and his pet will be destroying the town and trying to kill us too." Which then reminded him, "So what do you suppose we do until we reach Judgement day for a second time?" He stretched his arms over his head and sighed. "I saw we take residence in one of these places and sleep in. Who knows, maybe Sandal will grace us with something...useful." Vincent only said it to hear Kiara's retort to it. And because he slightly expected Sandal to add his two cents into the matter.

As he waited for a reply, he walked out of the wet sand into a much drier area.

[TheWendil]

Kiara shrugged at his suggestion. "Sounds like a plan to me. Though I doubt Sandal would actually help us in our little quest. But it's worth a shot asking."

"The answer is still no."

Sandal appeared before them this time, trademark smirk at the ready. "This is your journey. Not mine. Plus, if you two do actually screw up, I can always fetch two more suckers to get it right. As many as it takes." He grinned at the thought of finding more competent employees, but Kiara would have none of that.

"You're certainly putting alot of faith in us," she said, trying to wring out as much water from her hood as possible. "If you're saying you work for God, why can't he just fix the problem Himself? He's omnipotent right?"

"Oh yeah definitely," the cowboy responded. "Hell, Big G could probably write off this whole story if He really wanted to. . .let's just call him D for now."

"Er, D? And what do you mean story? In case you didn't notice, this is real life. Not some story out of a book."

Sandal chuckled lightly before glancing at the still night sky. "Consider "D" an inside joke. As for the story bit, keep telling yourself that kid."

Confused and annoyed, Kiara crossed her arms. "Look, are you gonna help us or not?"

"Sure I'll help you. There's an empty shack over there." Sandal pointed to the left of him, indicating a small cottage apparently void of any residents. "Just watch out for the child. She has the potential to . . .hinder your quest significantly.

"What child?"

"The one behind you." And he was gone, leaving the two stuck in the middle of town alone with a wide eyed girl still staring at them.

"Oh. . ." was all Kiara muttered. That child.

---

Webster shifted his crimson eyes in the direction of west. Not too far now until they reached their destination. Everything was still in the night wind. Perfect even. So why was there a shift in the night air. The Devil tipped his hat lower before turning to his assistant. "It looks like those pets you sent aren't coming back for a while. And that means we actually have someone worth killing this time.

[AkiBlue]

"Of course the answer's no. Even after we worked so hard." Vincent turned to see Sandal once again. This angel was quite interesting... "That doesn't sound very 'righteous and pure'- or whatever. Just grab some more people to do it if the previous die? Hmph, luckily you won't have to worry about that. Kiara is right. You did put a lot of faith in us." With a confident nod, all though even he knew it was more bark than bite, he then added. "We'll get this job done."

He listened to Sandal's explanation of why 'Big G' couldn't- or wouldn't fix everything. It was one of those mysterious answers, but Vincent thought it over while they rambled.

'Our are lives really just a storybook for him? Wouldn't that mean he knows what's going to happen next? Wait, that means he knows the ending too! Hm...what's your game 'G'...?'

The other part about 'D' slipped over his head. He couldn't figure that one out. Instead of explaining his thoughts, he refocused on Sandal and Kiara as they chatted.

'Look, are you going to help us or not?'

Vincent could hear the annoyance laced in her tone, so he gently patted her shoulder. "Don't let him get to you. You know he does this just to mess with you. Besides, I'm pretty sure we need to stay calm in order to get this accomplished."

An eyebrow raised when Sandal said he'd help them. That was new. Was it some sarcastic joke again? He further explained it was for residency and Vincent couldn't help but smile a little. "Perfect we can go re-"

"What child?" He spoke in unison with Kiara, having the exact same question.

Vincent looked behind him as Sandal disappeared. And sure enough, there was a little girl peering at them. Seeing no parent insight, he looked down at her a little awkwardly. "Uh, hey kid?"

He wasn't even close to thinking about parenting... Hopefully the two didn't have to become babysitters. Hopefully that wasn't the hinderance Sandal was talking about.

"Are you lost?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rebel looked around, noticing the night air change as well. He only adjusted his vest and continued walking. This was a lot of walking... Thankfully, like Webster had mentioned earlier, they were almost to their destination.

With a playful pout, Rebel spoke. "And I thought the humans would've just frightened and died. Everyone wants to die the complex way these days." Rebel chuckled as he continued. "But that's fine by me~"

"Hopefully, they really are worth the fight. That'll be fun. Of course they'll die, but it's nice to know they care enough to give us entertainment." He laughed a little at the thought.

[TheWendil]

Kiara stared back at the girl with a dumbfounded expression. Where had she come from? She didn't have the chance to voice those words as the little girl crossed her arms and gave them both a glare. She wore a black and white dress that really didn't seem to match the whole western feel they were supposed to be feeling. For kid, she had long black hair and looked no older than 10. 11, 12 maybe? Who knew. But what was most interesting were her eyes. They were a stark purple. And they still continued to glare at the two.

"Well? What's the problem?" she asked, ignoring Vincent's question.

Kiara blinked. "Excuse me?"

The girl shook her head in annoyance and pointed a criticizing finger at the two travelers. "Stop playing dumb. Only little kids do that kind of stuff!" Kiara resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the irony before her. The girl continued with, "The problem? The one where you two are supposed to be dead? Then you got brought back to life? That problem?" Still nothing but blank stares. The little girl tapped her foot in impatience. "Great. I come out all the way here to fix the problem only for you idiots to stand around like. . .idiots! Do you know who I am?" The girl pounded her chest proudly before giving them a smirk. "I'll tell you who I am. I'm Mary, the Angel of De-aagh!"

A stray demon that chose to hide in the shadows leapt at the small girl. In flash, Kiara brandished Volunta and shot the lizard with an energy shot. Placing the weapon away, she couldn't help but grin at their new arrival, who was still shaking. "Oh? What's wrong? Scared of a small fry like that?"

"S-Shut up! I have to clean that up you know!" Walking over to the dead demon, Mary kicked some dirt over the corpse before it began to deteriorate into shadows.

"Well. . .don't see that everyday," Kiara said.

Mary made a point of sticking her tongue out at the dissolving demon before glancing at Vincent. "You're nice. I like you!" Granted, he hadn't been the one to tease her, so that made sense. Mary hid behind Vincent and grabbed the tail of his shirt before peering out and sticking her tongue out at Kiara. "I don't like that meanie."

"Why you. . ." Before Kiara could finish the statement, she noticed the section of Mary was grabbing was beginning to disintegrate, much like the demon's corpse. "Er, Vincent? You may wanna get away from that girl. Like, now," she said slowly, not wanting to alarm him that his clothes were practically being eaten away.

[AkiBlue]

Vincent stared at the girl. She had to be 11 or so, with oddly purple eyes. And to be so young, she was so angry... Why was she glaring at them? What did thy do to deserve such hostility from a kid? "What...problem? There's a problem?" She then ridiculed them for not being dead, only making Vincent blink in confusion. "Yeah well..." He ran fingers through his hair. "I do believe that's the opposite of a problem." His eyes went over the girl once more. She definitely looked human, but so did Sandal and he knew what situation that put him in. So, this could only get worse, or get better. ...And by that glare, better didn't sound like it would come fast enough.

"Sorry kid, I don't." He responded before she began to boast about who she was. Well, all she got out was the fact that her name was Mary and she was an Angel. Angels...Angels were the good guys. But then his thoughts returned to Sandal. Sure he was a 'good guy' but he sure didn't act like one sometimes. 'Uh, no offense.' He thought, not knowing what kind of powers the guy had. Pun phased by the sudden commotion, Vincent then watched Kiara shoot down a stray lizard demon. "Hm, he must've escaped the currents. Well, he's dead now."

He watched as Kiara teased Mary and then Mary kicked dirt over the corpse. "You're an angel." Slowly, Vincent's brain was racking over the details, even though they were few. Despite not expressing it, he was pretty smart. The shadows seemed to eat at the demon, and Vincent narrowed his eyes. Eventually, he was going to place his finger on it.

"You're nice. I like you!"

That snapped him from his thoughts, and he looked down at Mary. He chuckled lightly and then smiled. "Thanks kid." Before Kiara could strangle the kid, he put his hands up to stop her from going any farther. "Kiara relax. She's just a kid...I think. You arguing is only making her-" Feeling the light tugging on his clothes, sent a few cold chills down his back. The sudden indescribable feeling almost made him sick to his stomach. "W...Huh?" He snapped out of it and glanced down at Mary. "She's not going to bite, relax. I thought angels were the good ones."

Turning around to pat her head, he then noticed the fabric of his clothes disappearing. "Whoa." He stepped forward, pulling away from Mary. "I understand you're upset but you can't destroy my clothes. I kind of need these. Even if they're wet." That's when it him. The pieces of the puzzle and all that jazz. "Angel of Death. That's what you were saying wasn't it? You were planning on doing that while afterlife thing?" His clothes were less of his worries now, at least it didn't deteriorate entirely. He was still covered, at least from what he could see.

"Oh, I'm Vincent by the way, but you can call me Vin. And that's Kiara." If she was the Angel of Death, it was probably for the best to stay on her good side.

[TheWendil]

Mary beamed widely at Vincent before casting a smug look in Kiara's direction. "See? He's smart and nice. He figured out who I am!" The girl pounded her chest a second time before starting over with her riveting introduction. Riveting to her mind at least. "Mary, the Angel of Death. That's me. And you two cheated me out!" She crossed her arms and began to pout at the sudden position she was thrown into. Should she just kill them now and set back the balance? But that would be messing with the orders of the Big G. Who else would have brought these two losers back to life?

All the color from Kiara's face briefly drained for a few seconds before she recovered herself. "You're. . .the Angel of Death? Aren't you a bit. . . I dunno, young to go around taking people's souls?"

"I'm not actually a kid ok?" she retorted. "You humans are all stupid you know. Just cause I look like a child doesn't mean I am one." A few beings would heavily disagree with that statement but only a certain few dared to call her out on it. And those were usually the real power houses. Mary shrugged, as if making a decision. Which she apparently did. "Ok, listen up. I'll let your little stunt slide for now if you show me a place to stay. Ooh, and food. I want food too. I'm hungry! And a restroom. I need to use it bad!"

Kiara's eyes darted around the empty square, making sure no one was out and awake to hear them. "Shh!" Mary ceased her excitement before giving another glare at the older girl.

"You're no fun at all!" She ran behind Vincent again and began pulling on the other side of his shirt.

Kiara sighed. Damn that Sandal. What were they supposed to do with Death herself? Babysit her? Kiara motioned for Vincent to follow her to the shack Sandal had showed them earlier. Mary skipped along, one hand still clenched on Vincent's shirt. His earlier concern about his clothes apparently had no effect on her.

[AkiBlue]

"We didn't ask to cheat death, but you know.. It sort of happened." Vincent shrugged. Death or not, the childish pout she gave was kind of cute. "We can't help the fact that we were given some godly mission. But I'd prefer you not kill us okay?"

And as Kiara spoke, Mary again went into childlike irritation. But even he had to agree with Kiara. But unlike most, Vincent spoke about it, although he was more so thinking aloud. "You may not be a kid, but you sure do look and sound like one. You'd fool any human." When Mary negotiated with them, Vincent grinned a little. "That sounds pretty fair. I want the same thing." A nice place to sleep and nice food sounded wonderful now, but they kept getting deterred from their simple tasks.

"Alright kid," He stood straight and looked around with Kiara. "It's a fair deal. But you're going to have to keep it down. You'll wake the neighbors." Vincent further explained Kiara's silencing. Once again Mary found her way on the back of his shirt, and once again it began to deteriorate.

At first he didn't notice, but then he felt a light breeze on his back. He walked casually along side Kiara, but ended up stopping. "That's... Mary you have to let go of my clothes. I kinda need to wear these you know." He felt most of the back start to go missing. "And now this is just uncomfortable. Hopefully there's extra clothes or something in this shack.." For now, he spared them of taking his shirt off. But if Mary didn't stop, he was going to be without a shirt.

"Do you think you can control that? Or do you need gloves?" Vincent ran fingers through his hair. "...Just, don't grab my pants please."
When they got to the shack, he pushed the door open and looked around.

"Kind of small. But clean. I guess this'll work." Though, he did only see one functional bed- or something resembling a bed. Great, looks like he'd have to figure something out if he wanted to sleep.

[TheWendil]

Mary let go of Vincent's shirt as they arrived to the entrance of the shack. "Fine. I'll go to Kiara instead," she said mischievously. Kiara immediately backed away from the smaller girl.

"Oh no you don't. You're not getting near me with that power of yours!" Mary huffed before catching her eye on the single bed in the room. Without thought or consent, she leaped forward and landed on the bed's cushion. "Mine!" she proclaimed proudly. "You two can go keep guard or something. Isn't that your "godly mission" or whatever?"

Kiara shook her head. Angel of Death or not, she was just a brat. "Our mission is to hunt down the Devil," she told her. "Besides, you're the Angel of Death. Why do we need to guard you anyway?"

At that, Mary's purple eyes widened in shock. "You're going against Webster? Now you have to guard me!" She placed the pillows and covers over herself to hide, as if the Devil would appear any second. She popped up her head from the blankets and looked up at the two travelers. "Don't get me wrong. . . he can't kill me or anything. It's just that. . . he's a big fat meanie! And his assistant is scary too!" She hid herself under the pillow again.

Kiara raised an eyebrow at Vincent. "Well I guess we're staying here for the night. But we should probably guard someplace where we won't be seen. You know, like in the actual shack?" She locked the door behind them and sat down on the ground criss-crossed.

"Rather stay cooped up in here with Death than have another run in with an angry mob."

[AkiBlue]

Even as they were told to keep watch, Vin walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Mary was still child sized so she didn't take up too much space. He leaned against a few empty crates that served as shelves and listened. And as he sat and got comfortable, his lazy tendencies began to kick in.

"Well yeah, what other reason is there to be brought back to life?" Vincent's eyes grew heavy so he closed them, somehow still awake to listen. "Mean or not, you're still Death. You could protect us if you wanted."

Vincent had opened his eyes long enough to see Mary cowering away, and Kiara locking the door. "Don't worry Mary, Webster won't get you. We won't let that happen. Right Kiara?" With a chuckle, Vincent laid backwards on the bed and rested his hands behind his head.

"I guess that food option will have to wait till morning." He yawned, getting more and more comfortable. "Oh and bathroom breaks... Yeah that'll be your job Kiara." Taking a girl somewhere to find a restroom was not something he wanted to experience. At least not unilateral he was older and had a kid of his own... If these demons and angels would allow it.

"If you need me... I'll be... Guarding." It didn't take a genius to know that he'd probably fall asleep in the next few moments. Fortunately for them, Vincent wasn't a heavy sleeper- so if something bad did happen, he would know it... An possibly try to ignore it.

[TheWendil]

Kiara grimaced at the idea of taking Death to the restroom. Like Vincent, she was exactly looking forward to that eventual outcome, but for much different reasons. Mary giggled at Kiara's expression, finally emerging from her pillow shield.

"You know, I don't have to act like you humans. I can go on without food or a potty break."

"Then why don't you?"

Mary shrugged. "Because other humans would freak out if they knew I could survive without eating. . . ever. And just because I don't need food doesn't mean I'm still hungry." A low grumbling erupted that seemed to prove her point. "See! It's all about pleasing me!"

Kiara crossed her arms. "And what if we don't feel like pleasing your every whim like sane and normal people?"

"Well. . . I could always just kill you two." She said it in a normal manner, as if their lives meant absolutely nothing to her. In hindsight, they kind of didn't. "In fact, I don't even know why I'm wasting my time here. Couldn't I just kill you two and then get it over wit-"

"Ok, ok, I get it." Kiara pointed at the bed. "If we're forced to cater to your needs, then we might as well start with some bare necessities. Go to sleep."

"But I don't wan-"

"You need sleep like everyone else." Kiara's gaze softened just a bit. "We'll protect you. Promise. But you still need to sleep."

Mary gave her a tired glare before huffing and throwing the covers over her head. Several minutes passed, and soon they could hear her slow breathing. Kiara let out her own breath of relief, one she didn't even know she was holding. Did she just order Death to take a nap? Seemed so. Feeling her own strength drain, she chose sit in front of the door as a first line of defensive. Realizing that Vincent was knocked out as well, Kiara sighed and closed her own eyes.

How strange the world was. . .

---

A town appeared in the distance. Nothing special and nothing new. They all looked the same to Webster. Its people all bled the same as well. Tipping his hat, he grinned as the storm of black sand danced around him wildly. "Well now. Looks like we're here early. Might as well send them some a parting gift. Something better than the last one."

The black sand whipped and howled, and soon it rose up and descended upon the town. Like a black plague from Hell, it slithered forward, and an unholy presence slowly inched itself closer and closer to Durgen.

[AkiBlue]

He heard all the commotion and arguing that went on while he fell asleep. Vin trusted that Kiara could handle the situation, knowing she was probably as stubborn as Mary. Once he did shift a little, when he heard Mary thinking about just killing them off. He was about to get up and try to set the peace again, but everything was fine- how it sounded. Soon enough, there was less of Mary jumping on the bed, and she was fast asleep on the other side.

This was one strange life he led. He wondered what his parents would've thought if they could see him now- well, he guessed they could considering random angels and demons were either speaking or trying to kill us...
Or in Mary's case, a little of both.

~~~

"Finally." The demon replied at first with such an exasperated sigh of relief. The walking part of their murderous play was the most boring after all.

Rebel watched with a small smirk. "Oh I wonder how this mystery person- or people face off against that. Sadly, I'm sure they'll be killed before we can see." With a shrug, he walked alongside Webster. "Well, win some and lose some."

~~~

A cold chill went down Vincent's spine, making him peek open one eye. At first he assumed Mary had gotten closer which would've meant another article of clothing, or himself would be disappearing. He didn't really think about that much when he decided to fall asleep at the end of the bed.

Eventually both of his eyes opened and his head lazily turned to where Mary was sleeping. Nope. She hadn't moved from her side- sure she moved around on that side, but stayed in that area.

Slowly, he sat up and yawned. For some reason, the feeling of impending doom would not go away. And it was rare that he had such moments. Maybe it was just the thought of him having to face the Devil soon, along with meeting his death once- and then meeting Death herself. This happened all in the course of... A day or so?

Well, it didn't matter. Life was happening now. He stood, slightly refreshed from his cat nap and walked over to the door. He opened the door slightly, just to peek out and see if the town was awake. Apparently, it was still pretty early, because no one was out yet. His vision cleared up more to realize that on one side coming toward the town, it was much darker than the other side. "Uhh," Vin tapped Kiara and looked out again. "Can you tell me if I'm imagining things?"

[TheWendil]

"Wha-?" Kiara blinked awake and looked up at Vincent. He seemed worried about something. Instinctively, she glanced over at the still sleeping form of Mary. But that's all she was; still sleeping. So that wasn't the problem. Getting up, Kiara followed Vincent's gaze to outside the shack. Needless to say, she couldn't quite believe that her eyes weren't lying. But no, what she saw was the truth and all of it.

"That's. . .you've gotta be kidding me."

Right in front of them, and still gaining momentum was a wave of darkness. On closer inspection, Kiara saw that the wave was collapsing in on itself, as if made from a grainy substance. She suppressed a groan. Great. More black sand. That meant only one thing. Judgement day had arrived. The wave didn't seem to be advancing, in fact taking its time of swirling through town. It rolled in the streets, bringing with it several more feelings of sorrow and negativity. Kiara shivered. Such overwhelming emotion. . .it was almost enough to swallow her whole.

Backing away, she promptly slammed the door. "Ok, so now what?"

"You two are in trouble, aren't you?" Mary had woken up, sitting idly on the bed. Her purple eyes held curiosity in its depths.

---

Webster waited on the very outskirts of town. It was a simple ploy really. Wait for the black storm to swamp out the inhabitants, then swoop in and murder any survivors. That was usually how these things went. He was about to reply to Rebel's statement when he stopped. What was this? He focused more now, genuinely interested in this new development. No. . .it couldn't be. Could it?

A wicked grin spread across the Devil's lips, his crimson eyes gleaming with new amusement. Well, well. This was unexpected. "It looks like we have a new player in our game," he told his assistant. "Tell me Rebel. Have you ever met the Angel of Death?"

---

"Yeah, so are you gonna help us? Or just sit there all day?"

Mary crossed her arms and glared at Kiara's words. "Well, I don't know what I'd be able to do. And didn't I tell you before? Webster is scary!" She pulled another pillow over her head, further proving her point. Kiara rolled her eyes. This was getting nowhere.

"Look. We already said we'd protect you. But it's not a one way deal. You can help us too you know."

The young girl took a few extra moments hiding under her pillow fort before finally coming out. She wasn't gonna like this. But hey, it was her job to keep the balance, right? Plus, this could be the chance to finally get back at the Devil, that meany. . . "Alright," Death conceded. "What do you want me to do?"

Kiara shrugged. "Can't you will the sand away? Like you did with the demon?"

Mary's brow furrowed in irritation. "It only works on living things dummy."

[AkiBlue]

"Good. So, I'm not crazy." was the male's response to her shock. The time had come for them to face their fate. Now, it was life or death- for real this time. There were no do overs, or second chances. Sandal wasn't coming to save them and Mary was scared of Webster. It was just Kiara and Vincent who had to fight not just Webster, but his assistant too. He stepped back as she slammed the door, and then he leaned against it, turning his attention to Mary. "Of course we're in trouble Kid. Didn't you hear our story? We did say we had to fight Webster. Heh, isn't that trouble enough?"

Vincent listened to the sounds of the black sand rushing closer and closer. He walked away from the door, pulling Kiara along as well to stand by the bed. The farther away they were from the negative sand, the safer they were.

"Uh, I don't think...demanding is the...best way.." His voice went unheard and he sat on the bed next.

After Kiara suggested what she wanted and Mary turned it down, Vincent thought. "Well... You say Webster's scary, and he's probably the strongest one. Do you think you can deal with Webster's er, what? Pet?" He decided not to try and think too much on accuracy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rebel had stood by, watching the black sand consume everything in its reach. It was quite a thing to watch, although it was better midday when people didn't expect it. His attention turned to Webster with a slight frown. "Angel of Death? I haven't met one." Hopefully, this death angel wouldn't hinder any of their plans. That wouldn't be swell at all.

"Is this a good or bad thing?" He inquired his thoughts aloud. "If I recall, we can't kill the Angel of Death."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I don't believe those two are immortal- well at least not the other one. Webster might be. So, how does that sound? Or...you could always cause some sort if distraction so we can escape." Vincent laid back on the bed, waiting for them to suggest more things.

[TheWendil]

Without another word, the dark man trudged forward with the full intent of entering the town. He wanted to greet the Angel of Death himself with his own crimson eyes. "You're correct," Webster called out behind him to his assistant. "We can't kill her. All we can do is make sure she doesn't interfere." The Devil's left hand reached instinctively for the blade still sheathed to his back. "But we don't need to kill her. Just give her a reason not to stand in our way. We don't need her blabbering about us to any higher ups."

He gave Rebel a sadistic smirk. "That's why I'm placing you with the task of scarring the little girl for me."

---

"Webster is immortal", Mary told them. "You can't kill him. All you can do is try to stop him in whatever crazy plan he's up to this time."

"This time?" Kiara echoed. "You mean, he's done this before?"

Mary tapped her foot in annoyance. "Well duh! What, you think this is a once in a lifetime thing or something? This is like, what, the 52nd time the Devil has made a comeback now? Every few hundred years some angel picks two strangers and sets them off to fight Webster, or whatever name he used back then. You thought you two were special or something?"

"I. . .guess not." Well, there went the whole point of their quest. Not that it had a point to begin with. But Kiara only scoffed as she turned to the door with new determination. "Well, if we're just like everyone else, we might as well do our job right."

Mary shook her head at the other girl's willingness to face the Devil. "I'll never understand you humans. It's almost like you want to die or something. Whatever. . .I'll try to distract Webster's assistant. B-But I'm not doing it alone! You two are gonna come with me. He's too scary. . ." She looked down nervously at the floor. Kiara had to hold back a laugh. Death was afraid of some puny demon? And this guy was Webster's pet? Kiara supposed that whoever this assistant was, he wasn't exactly the best with children. But then again, no demon was.

"Then it's settled. We'll help distract the pet and somehow find a way to beat Webster. All at the same time. . .lovely." Staring at the door in front of them, the sound of the sand pounding against the wind grew louder, and the sense of dread increased. Suddenly, she wasn't so confident anymore to meet what was outside the shack.

"So, er, who goes first?"

[AkiBlue]

"Oh, make sure she doesn't interfere. That seems fairly easy." Rebel thought about it and then paused a little. Even though he was an assistant to the Devil, and a high ranked demon, Rebel was no immortal. And he knew that. He wasn't going to forget it.

But of course he wasn't going to deny one of Webster's requests. That was against his code. He would never deny the challenge, no matter how difficult the task would be!

"I'd be honored to take on that task." He finally answered as they continued walking. Now, how to scare the Angel of Death~ he wondered if she feared anything. Well there was no other way but to try.

////\\\\\

"So you're telling me, we're not special? Well that ruins the fun of this. And here I thought I'd be special." Vincent sighed. Although he was joking, he was a tad disappointed to know that they weren't doing some great unheard of thing. In fact, they could've just been the next in line of many failures.

"I refuse to be apart of a line of failures." He nodded in agreement to Kiara's statement. They might as well get it right."

He smiled towards Mary. "Yeah, humans are pretty crazy sometimes. But we're doing it for a purpose." Thankfully, she agreed to distract that second one. But they went from lucky to burdened again. "This is going to be...tough."

Silence grew between them and the tension grew as well. Even Vin was iffy about going out there now. But with a heavy sigh, Vincent slowly walked to the door. "I guess I'll go. But I'd rather not get caught up in that sand."

As if granting a wish, the sound of the sand stopped. Well. Now or never right? He first peeked out the door, noticing everything was still... No one was there yet, but the sand surely did stop.

"Such cruel jokes." He pushed the door open and walked out. After a few steps he paused and looked back at the door. "Well? Come on, I'm not the only one with a goal here."

His eyes scanned around the town, searching for a sign of life. A movement, a sound, anything... But the town was completely silent.

[TheWendil]

Eventually, the two demons found themselves walking into the city. It didn't take very long to map out the area. No people were in sight, and Webster assumed that they were either too frightened or were killed in their sleep by the black sand. Didn't matter. His only concern now were Angel and the potential rebels who dared to oppose him. He flicked his gaze toward the water fountain that marked the heart of Durgen. He could smell them now. Their doubt, their fear. And her. A dark chuckled escaped his lips. Yes, her scent was the strongest of all.

The smell of Death.

---

Kiara followed Vincent out the shack and saw the same as he did. The black sand had indeed reclined back into the corners of the town, almost as if it was hiding from something. It chose to slither around in the shadows. Cautiously, Mary peeked her head out before following Kiara and Vincent. The trio began walking further into the town. "Looks like Sandal lied again," Kiara mused. "Didn't he say the Devil would be here at sunset?"

Mary scowled at the angel's name. "He's always going around and lying to people. He's such a jerk! How do you even know him?"

"Uh, he was the one who brought us back."

"He what!" Mary began to kick up small clouds of dust around her in annoyance. "That stupid angel! He's always doing this to me! Cheating me out by bringing back a few losers. This is why I never get anything done!" While Mary continued to rant about the unfairness of her job, Kiara noticed movement from the corner of her eye. She dipped her hand into her coat pocket, ready to summon Volunta if needed. What she saw next was enough to send a wave of despair over her.

What appeared to be a cowboy dressed in black emerged from the dust and into their view. He was accompanied by a red haired man, and despite them being a fair mile away, the two strangers seemed to travel faster than normal. Eventually, the two demons were only ten feet away from them. The man in black tipped his hat upward and, his unholy eyes taking a good long look at the ones who had dared to challenge him. "Well hello there young ones," he said sweetly. "I guess you're the source then. Such a pity." Webster caught Mary's eye and the girl stopped mid-rant to stare back in fear.

Webster chuckled. "Of course, I assume you already know who I am no thanks to her. It's been a while Mary. About a couple of eons?"

Mary's fear stricken expression turned to one of glared anger. She had forgotten how smug the Devil could be.

Webster brushed off Death's gaze with a chuckle. "Now why the cold shoulder? If anything, I think we've only been making your job that much easier. Wouldn't you agree?"

[AkiBlue]

"I thought them not showing up would be a good thing? That or Sandal really needs to get his facts straight." They didn't need to keep getting into trouble, or being thrown around because Sandal couldn't tell one solid story that was correct. And apparently, Mary had some history with that peculiar angel- which only proved a point.

"Just...stay alive."

It was mumbled under his breath, but he still said it loud enough for the two to hear. Even the lazy bones started to feel a bit anxious, and it was rare for him to show too many expressions. But who could blame him? They were about to meet the Devil and hopefully beat him- but possibly die.

And as if on cue, those two demons approached with much swiftness. Vincent held his ground, watching every move they made. He was a sharp shooter, but he didn't know how far that would go with creatures like them.

When Webster approached, he immediately began talking...well more to Mary than the actual people with reason to kill him. Which, Vincent was fine with. He turned to see the other step forward.

"He doesn't look like a pet." He whispered to Kiara before hushing as he spoke up.

"Good day to you all. Hehe, I'm Rebel. And we should all play a fun little-" He remembered his task and then turned his attention to Mary. "Ah, where are my manners. Hello Miss Death, I am Rebel. It is a pleasure to meet you, and I'd love to play a game with you while the boss handles those poor humans."

Vincent noticed quickly that they were ganging up on the angel of death and he nudged Kiara. Before she could react, Vincent spoke up- to the both of them. "Isn't your business with us? Leave her out of this. She hasn't done anything." Well, he was keeping his end of the deal. Vincent did remember saying that he'd protect her...even if he was probably dozing off somewhere in that deal.

Rebel looked over at Vincent and then chuckled. "Cute." He turned back to stand in front of Mary, getting to eye level. "Hm, have you ever felt true fear? I do believe even Death has fears. Want to find out?" All the while, he held a sadistic grin, showing those abnormally sharp teeth.

Vincent frowned a little. "Guess things have to be done the hard way... Man I hate work..."