Mina had been debating whether she could call Eveon or just wait until they got to a
hotel. The sun had already set, leaving the girl alone with her backpack and flashlight...
and phone. But thoughts of calling her girlfriend fled her mind as soon as the barn a
couple of yards away began to collapse.
She eased herself off the wood fence she'd been sitting on as the roof finally caved
in. "Great..." she murmured out as she walked over. Sure, they could probably all handle
themselves under a huge pile of debris, but what if something happened?
It wasn't long until she heard an agonizing scream of pain. "Hush now, if you hold
still, I'll make it alright," said a sweet, lilting voice.
"I don't need your damn help!"
Mina froze a bit as she saw the two girls arguing. Pandora had dragged Lilith away
from the mess, not paying such careful attention to Lilith's destroyed leg. The fiend was
now trying to heal the wound with her dark magic, but Lilith kept slapping her hands away.
"I don't want you to try and work your stupid puppet magic on me!"
Pandora pouted. "I wouldn't want you as a toy anyways. Those four aren't dead and if
you don't let me take care of you..." She trailed off with a giggle. "I'm sure I'm much of
a lesser evil... come with me back to my mansion?"
Lilith tried to sit up. "Screw you and your mansion... you really think I'm going to
trust some... some thing like you?" She let out a hiss of pain. "I... I'll heal soon
eventually."
Pandora just laughed again, twirling her cane. "Alright then... have fun!" With that,
Mina watched as the little girl disappeared in a whorl of shadows, oddly reminding her of
Isaka.
As soon as the fiend was gone, Lilith fell back, her leg screaming in pain. Red
energy was crackling around it, mending the tissue... but that was the problem... As long
as her body was healing itself, the actual process hurt like hell. She let out shallow
breaths, hoping it would finish up soon so she could escape. She'd never suffered an injury
this serious before and she needed to see Eric - this never happened to Miki. She never
keeled over from pain, even when... even when Lilith killed her.
Her lilac eyes shot to the side and she sat up at the sound of steps. "What?! God
damn it, Pandora, I said-" Lilith trailed off upon seeing that it wasn't Pandora there, but
rather an unfamiliar girl. "Shit..."
Mina just stared at her and said, "Do you... need some help with that?"
Lilith bit her lip. Was the girl a civilian? This could be bad if a regular person
saw her. "No, no, I think you need to run along," the young woman said quickly trying to
get up on one leg.
Mina caught her before she fell over. "Let me get you some help-"
"No, I said no!" Lilith hissed out as Mina ignored her.
"I think I have pain killers," Mina added and there was a moment of silence from
Lilith.
"...sure..." Lilith murmured as the ebony haired girl handed her the bottle of pills
from her backpack. She took two and handed them back to Mina, slightly embarrassed. They
weren't helping but she needed the girl to go away - this was no place for innocent people.
"I'll go get help," Mina repeated, this time leaving Lilith behind to go find her
friends. As she watched her leave, Lilith started scooting away from the scene, trying to
concentrate of creating her wings again. If she could just fly for long enough to get away,
then she could find somewhere to go...
Or she could have just taken Pandora up on her offer. But how could she trust a
fiend? She wouldn't be surprised if the little girl ripped out her core while she was
sleeping and turn Lilith into one of her dolls. She shuddered at the thought - Eric would
completely endorse that kind of action from Pandora.
Mina, on the other hand, was looking around the piles of decimated wood for any sign
of her friends... when a shadow beast erupted from the ground, delicately holding Carmilla
in its clawed hand. "Oh, hello Mina!" The vampire said happily.
"And this is why we left you behind," Isaka said, getting up and helping Krystal.
Tsuru let out a sigh, looking at the wreckage.
"It's a good thing Carmilla's beast could shield us," the Demon Lord commented with a
smile.
This, of course, caused the blue haired vampire to flush bright red. "Tsuru... I'm so
happy to useful to you!"
Krystal tried to stifle her giggle at the scene, but Mina soon interrupted. "There's
a girl who's hurt over there," she said, pointing in the general vicinity of Lilith.
Isaka just grinned. "I guess we did take down a bad guy!"
"Huh... no wonder she was dressed funny," Mina murmured as the older women started to
tread over varying boards and destroyed pieces of the barn.
Lilith on the other hand had gotten up with the help of a nearby pole and could
already see them heading over... She let out a groan as she forced the core in her body to
produce her ethereal red wings and lift her up. She needed to find Eric as soon as
possible.
"Damn," Isaka murmured as she watched Lilith fly off into the air.
"I guess there's nothing we can do except go over what we know," Krystal said. "She
was definitely human, but those powers..."
"They were a lot like Tycara's," Tsuru finished.
"And she was working with the fiends," Carmilla added. "So it probably has to do with
the Shadow Organization for sure."
Mina kicked away some rocks. "That sounds great, but if that woman's human, then how
come she can fly?"
There was a moment of silence. "Magic?" Carmilla asked.
Tsuru let out a tired sigh. "We all use magic and we can't fly, Carmilla."
The vampire just let out an awkward laugh. "Maybe Erin will know since she's working
with the top researcher."
*****
Eveon had begun to wonder where Miki had gone off to when her phone vibrated. It was
a text message from Hina explaining that the wannabe ninja was going to spend the night in
their room. All Eveon could do was text back, pleading with Hina to not let her sisters
terrorize the other girl too much.
The blonde lied back on her bed, setting the device down. It was nice for the sisters
to bring her the charger for it so she could at least talk to Mina and her mothers. Eveon
fingered the book lying next to her before opening it again. Alice's diary...
'I thought travelling with Mariah would be weird since she's older and doesn't really
understand the existence of demons, but...'
*****
"Hold on, hold on," Mariah said, wrapping her arm around Alice. "Smile!"
The young girl with dirty blonde hair squeezed her eyes shut after the flash went
off. Mariah had been holding her camera out to try and take a picture of the two of them
together. "See? It turned out good this time."
She showed Alice the picture on her digital camera's screen -the two of them were
smiling in their hotel room. "When this is all over," the 19 year old said, sitting down on
her bed, "I'll make us a scrapbook."
"Scrapbook, huh?" Alice said, flopping back on her own bed.
"Yeah, we can make it together," Mariah said with a smile. "It might be a big mess
and I know it's... kind of silly, since it will be all about this journey of yours."
Alice frowned, but said, "It doesn't matter. It's a part of my life, isn't it? I
don't really like fighting monsters or demons, but... if I can help prevent people from
dying, then I can't hesitate. Plus, we've had a lot of fun, anyway."
Mariah looked over at her, a little bit sad thinking about a 14 year old having to
fight things that grown men would run from. "I know... so when we make that scrapbook, it
will be fantastic."
"Can we use the pages of your spell book?" Alice asked, trying to put on a serious
face.
"What?! This isn't meant for scrapbooking!" The older girl seemed mortified at the
thought. "How are we going to fight monsters if the magic spells are covered up by
pictures?"
"Maybe it will get stronger from the power of friendship!"
Mariah only laughed at the corny joke, putting her camera away in her knapsack. Alice
watched as she bent over the side of the bed, her knapsack lying on the floor. Her shirt
dipped a bit, allowing Alice to see her chest, but more importantly, Mariah's rosary fell
out and dangled.
The cross spun a bit and when Mariah sat back up, it was lying against the outside of
her shirt. "Alice? Is there something wrong?"
She suddenly realized she'd been staring and blushed. "Oh no, I was... just looking
at your necklace."
"My rosary? Oh it was my mom's." Mariah gave her a faint smile. "She was... really
religious. But I guess I am too."
"Really?" Alice asked, although she new Mariah carried a bible in her bag. "I guess
it must be nice to have something to believe in."
"Yes," Mariah murmured, fingering the cross. "Yes it is."
Alice started to giggle. "That's probably why you pray before we eat and go to bed,
huh? "
"Do you not have faith in God, Alice?" The question was straightforward and to the
point. Alice stared up at the ceiling.
"I don't know... it's not something I think about. I guess going to Hell would suck,
but I don't like being constrained by rules." Alice looked over at Mariah, but she was
still gazing at her cross. "Does that... upset you?"
Mariah shook her head. "No, no of course not. I hope you find faith, somehow. Do you
want to borrow my bible?"
"Uh... that's okay," Alice said, turning away.
"If you don't let God into your heart, that's the same as condemning him," Mariah
said, though her tone was still inviting and caring.
"Whatever," Alice groaned. "I just... don't want to worry about that stuff. I have
enough things on my plate." Her gaze shifted to the Demon Buster lying against the wall.
"I'm sorry," Mariah said, getting up. "I shouldn't be judging you... I am the one who
uses occult magic, aren't I?"
Alice started to get up as well, noticing the sun setting from the window. "No, it's
cool." She grabbed her sword and strapped it to her belt. "I don't see how God would send
someone like you to Hell, magic or not."
Mariah looked shocked as Alice turned around, but quickly covered it up with a
welcoming smile. "Thanks... I think the same of you."
*****
"Ne... Miki, what's your favorite color?"
"Uh... b-blue, though green's nice too..."
"Why don't you have a boyfriend?"
"I-I want a boyfriend, but I just... just... haven't met anyone yet!"
"Hmm... what about a girlfriend?"
Miki flushed bright red, now eternally frustrated. She'd rather sit and watch Eveon
read Alice's diary then... then... this! There she was, going out into the hallway to go
eat, when Tsuki just had to get her dragged into the lesbian den of incestuous actions! And
now she was stuck sitting on the bed... not just sitting, but entrapped!
Okay, maybe she was overreacting a little bit. She wasn't really trapped or being
mauled or... or whatever... but... Miki let out a long sigh. "No... I don't have or want a
girlfriend..." She took another bite out of her sandwich, trying to ignore the laughs of
the other girls.
She was sitting on one bed and they were on the other, thankfully. Last thing she
needed among this whole mess of Death Dolls, the Shadow Organization and the Key to God was
a bunch of girls all over her. At least they were feeding her, but she knew they were
messing with her because she-
Well, she wasn't a homophobe. Miki just didn't like girls hitting on her. Was that so
much to ask for?
"I'm going to go check on Eveon," Tsuki said, getting off the bed and heading towards
the door. Hoshi then got up to go to the bathroom.
As they exited the room, Hina giggled. "You know we're only messing with you because
it's funny, right Miki?"
"I figured," the girl said with a long sigh, brushing her hair out of her face. "It's
not that funny for me..."
Hina shrugged. "It's alright. It's not like we'd actually do anything to you..." The
little girl trailed off awkwardly. "Just watch out for Tsuki though. She likes to play
games and she might get you caught in a weird place."
Miki frowned, looking at the door from which Tsuki left. "Really? She seems the
most... shy of all of you. Hoshi seems to be the one to watch out for."
Hina shook her head. "Hoshi wouldn?t do a thing. It took us a week to convince her
that it was okay to kiss us. She likes to fool around and make jokes, but she has more bark
than bite. Tsuki acts shy but she does it to lure us in."
To the green eyed girl, the conversation was starting to get a little more... well,
revealing than she wanted it to. "What about you Hina? Where do you fit in on... the, uh...
lesbian spectrum, for lack of a better term."
The blonde tilted her head as she thought. "Hmm... I guess I'm in the middle? I don't
mind doing things at all, so long as me and my sisters do it together and we're all
willing. It's just frustrating when Hoshi gets too scared of harming us to actually do
anything and Tsuki pretends she doesn't want to do anything even though she wants to
and..."
The weapon master trailed off and flopped back on the bed. "Maybe you should be glad
you aren't a lesbian, Miki. It's too complicated."
"Maybe it has something to do with the fact you're sisters and there's three of
you..." Miki muttered under her breath. Somehow... even being straight couldn't solve a
problem like that, could it?
*****
Marx dropped an armload of assorted snacks onto his bed with a groan. "Man, I like
had to go to the vending machine 50 times since you two were taking so long...!"
He looked over his shoulder to see that Sakura had her dress back on and Abby was
curled up in the sheets, asleep. "You can't rush these things," the angel countered,
turning around.
"True, true... I guess I forgot since it's been a long time since I've done
anything..." He made a mental note to himself to be prepared for more awkward situations if
he was traveling with Sakura and her lover.
"What are you here for?" She asked, looking over at Abby. If she was asleep, then
there would be no problem with having a conversation with Marx.
"I guess it isn't a secret that you are the greatest agent of Purgatory... but now
you're a lot weaker than before." Marx winced at the sudden frown he got from Sakura. "You
and I both know it's true."
Sakura rubbed her arms and said, "I know being the Living Inferno gave me great
power, but I wanted... I want to live with Abby and Eveon and Tycara. I want to always be
with my family... I couldn't freely do that without ending my contract."
"The terms of the contract differ and vary. Ultimately, it will only end when the
signer wants it to end," Marx said, adjusting his hat. "You wanted to atone for your
daughter's death and only when you decided that you no longer wanted to be the Living
Inferno was it completed. Unfortunately, Purgatory lost a great ally and even with your
regained angel powers, you can't fight against someone like Adrian."
"But he's nothing more than a fallen angel, is he? Why do I matter so much?" Sakura
asked, growing frustrated. "He can't be upset over me, can he?"
Marx shrugged. "Hey, I never knew the guy. In normal years, I would be about 40
something so I'm a young one, frozen at 26. The fact is that he's after you and both your
daughters and possibly your lover and you need to be stronger."
Sakura's heart skipped a beat. "You're here... you're here not to help me, but
instead to..." She shook her head. "Marx, I will not sign another contract."
The young man let out an annoyed sigh. "Sakura, you know better than me that it's the
only way to become stronger and-"
"I still don't want to jeopardize my new life by going back to-"
"Then you want to jeopardize your family instead?!" Marx stopped, realizing he said
that a little more aggressively than he wanted to. "You're willing to gamble with their
lives all for the sake of normalcy? You're an angel, Sakura, you'll never be normal. Is
Abby really going to be upset if you look a little different or have stronger abilities?"
"I don't want to have a duty," she murmured. "I want my only duty to be caring for my
family..."
"I would say I understand," Marx started, "But I don't, so I won't pretend. If you
want to keep the ones you love safe, then you should do it. I've come to give you a very,
very nice contract. It's simple and easy and-"
Sakura turned her back to him to look over at Abby. "What... what are the terms? Tell
me so I can at least think about it..."
That was a good sign so the young man smiled to himself. "I will give it to you, but
the contract means you serve directly as an agent of Purgatory to secure the safety of the
earth. You won't be leading souls to their correct places like you did as the Living
Inferno, but you still have the ability to do so. Your main focus will be keeping the world
safe."
She looked back over at him. "Why is it that I have to do it?"
"You're the only living person with the drive and experience. I will be able to help
guide lost souls and be your sidekick on occasion, but it has to be you." He stuck his
hands in his pockets casually. "Purgatory is willing to grant you much more power if you
take on the role of this revised Living Inferno."
The angel bit her lip. "But the terms... if I am to protect the earth from everything
that threatens to throw it off balance..."
He nodded solemnly. "It's a permanent contract... there's no way out of it. Since
complete safety can never be guaranteed... there just isn't a loophole." He laughed a
little bit to himself. "I probably shouldn't have told you that, but you would have figured
it out anyway."
"Permanent..." she whispered. "I would... forever be the Living Inferno..."
"But what's the point of being Sakura if you can't protect the ones you love?"
She glared at him and Marx just held up his hands. "Hey, I'm not the one wheeling the
deals. This is a good opportunity for you to protect the woman you love. It's not like you
won't be able to see her or kiss her or make love-"
Sakura quickly cut him off as she headed over to Abby, happily asleep on the bed.
"But... she would become second priority, wouldn't she...?"
Marx nodded. "Yeah... but if the world's in danger, it would be just like saving her,
wouldn't it?"
Sakura brushed some of Abby's blonde hair away from her face. "...what if I don't
want to become the Living Inferno?"
Marx paused, looking quite awkward. "I... I'm sorry Sakura, but... let me put it this
way. Abby is as important to Purgatory as you are."
The angel immediately looked over at him, shocked. He only continued, looking away.
"She's our... you love her very much, don't you? That makes her leverage."
Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration, but spoke quietly as not to wake her lover.
"So they would... they would use her to get me to become their servant again?"
"They connected your hearts not because they wanted to do you a favor," Marx said,
feeling guilty. "They did it because if something arose, they could use her to convince you
to come back... I'm so sorry..."
He didn't like coercing people, but that's what had to be done. If Sakura wouldn't
agree to it...
"So that was why they made it so we could be together and die together... so I could
owe them..." The angel let out a sad sigh. "I want nothing else than to completely devote
myself to her..."
"You'll still be together. Purgatory doesn't intend to break you up," Marx reassured.
"Right... as long as it makes me a useful tool," Sakura countered, glaring at him.
The man began to laugh, though it was devoid of humor. "Sorry about this, but... I
guess our positions are reversed aren't they? I begged you to bring my lover back to life,
but you so coldly refused..."
"She was already dead," Sakura whispered. "I didn't have the power to bring back the
dead..."
"Then when I sold myself into service to save the life of my barely living daughter,
you told me I would have 18 years with her before I would be dragged down to Purgatory..."
Marx adjusted his hat again. "You only gave me six."
"You were dying," Sakura rationalized. "You'd been shot and your daughter kidnapped.
I had to take you to Purgatory before you were dead."
"True... I know you did everything based upon the rules. You never bent them," Marx
said with a small smile. "And I guess that's why I like you so much. I wish I could bend
the rules for you - I spent hours trying to change the terms of the contract to give you a
loophole. But there is none."
Sakura rung her fingers. "I want to be an angel," she whispered.
"You'll still be one, but you must become the servant of Purgatory."
Sakura looked back over at Abby. "...how much power will I receive?"
"Plenty. It will overshadow every current being on this earth, should you tap into
its maximum capacity," Marx said simply, as though he were talking about the weather.
Sakura grimaced and said, "I... will do it now... because I'd rather go in on my own
free will then to be forced into it like... like a dog..."
Marx nodded, heading towards the door. "You two want to be alone? You have 15
minutes."
Sakura tried to remain calm as he left, but her knees buckled as soon as the door
shut behind him. She had no choice... she had to become the Living Inferno. She landed on
the bed, her slight jostling causing Abby to shift. Sakura didn't want to return to her
duty... Regaining her angelic form and having Abby connected to her were the signs of a new
beginning.
But it had been a trick - Sakura was under the impression that those two things had
been gifts when they were really just favors that Purgatory did for her in case they needed
to bring her back. She knew she should have been suspicious when there wasn't someone to
take over... why should they get someone new when they had her to do it?
"...why are you crying?" Sakura looked over to see Abby sitting up, the sheets barely
covering her naked form. The angel hadn't even noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks.
Abby gently kissed them away, but the action only made Sakura want to cry more. The
tears continued to fall until Abby was cradling the sobbing woman to her chest, trying to
calm her down. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Sakura shook her head, trying to come up with a lie or a pleasant way of explaining
it all to her lover. "I...! I... must become the Living Inferno again...!"
It was then that Abby pulled her lover up from her bosom to meet her eyes. "What?
Why?"
The angel didn't want her to know the truth, but how else was she to explain it?
"When I... when I got my wings back and... made it so that you and I would live with the
same heartbeat... it was... I owe a favor to Purgatory now..."
Abby's eyes widened. "But I thought... you said they were gifts for your good
service..."
Sakura hugged the blonde close to her. "I thought so too..."
Abby held on to her, getting frustrated. "They can't force you... Sakura, if you
don't want to do it, then don't! If it makes you unhappy then don't go back to being the
Living Inferno..."
The angel shook her head. "I have to... so I can protect you from everything that
wishes to do you harm."
Abby pulled away, upset. "But... if you don't want to..." The young mother paused
before saying, "Whatever you are, I will always love you. I don't care if you come back in
a tin can again or they turn you into some kind of beast. It doesn't matter at all."
Sakura started to tear up again. "I love you so much Abby. I'll come back and when I
do... when I come back as the Living Inferno, I will love you even more. You're my reason
for everything..."
Instead of speaking, Abby put her feelings in a kiss. Sakura knew that this would be
the last time she could touch Abby's body without the fires of Purgatory within her body or
the wings scorched from her back.
By the time Marx came back, they were a mess in the sheets and Sakura looked over
shoulder from where she was with Abby. "Please," she murmured. "Can I have more time...?"
He only shook his head. "No... they have everything prepared for you." Marx shuddered
at the horrendous glare he was getting from Abby.
Sakura felt the dread within her body grow and Abby's touches could only stifle it.
"I love you," the blonde said, kissing her again.
"I know," Sakura said. "I won't let Purgatory get in the way of us..."
"You better not," Abby replied with a bit of a forced smile.
They shared one last kiss before Sakura followed Marx out of the room, her silver
eyes locked with Abby's until they were gone.
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