Shadowess

Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 Charles hesitated. "I once gave up that life of saving people a long time ago. But now that I'm with you? For there to be both who wishes to help. Let alone a demon and a devil." He smiled and nodded. "Yes. I will help you." shadowess - February 20, 2021 Grinning, Amelia kissed him again, happy with his answer. She understood how he'd found it difficult on his own. She hadn't been so sure she could pull it off either. But now...now they weren't alone. Not only did they have each other, she was sure Vincent could help them. David had always been willing to help Amelia in her goals. So all together, their odds of being successful dramatically increased. Amelia truly believed they could do this now. The rest of the picnic was just as peaceful. Amelia thoroughly enjoyed spending this time with Charles and was a little sad when the sun began to set, the park began to empty and they had to go back to reality. She helped him to take the blanket and basket back to his place. Sighing happily, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him deeply. When their kiss ended she rested her head against his, bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. She was nervous about going back to the others. She wondered if they were still angry with her. She was going to have to face them sooner or later. They were still her friends and she couldn't leave them any longer with the current danger out there. "I think I'm ready to go back now." She says as she steps away a little, holding his hand. She was glad he was with her to support her. She doubted she'd have as much courage without him. Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 As they headed back home, Charles glanced at her. "You know, I could come with you. To your friends? If you need me there. Besides, I want to meet them too." shadowess - February 20, 2021 Amelia smiled "I'd like that." She says softly, blushing a little and caressing his hand with her thumb. "Are you ready?" She sighs, gathering up her courage to face her friends again. Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 Charles smiled. He tucked some of her hair over her ear. Caressing her cheek. "Ready when you are." shadowess - February 20, 2021 Blushing at his touch, Amelia smiled at him then took a deep breath. Trying to settle the butterflies in her stomach. She closed her eyes and imagined them standing in the house she and Vincent had renovated. "Well...It's about time you turned up." David's voice made her open her eyes and she stared at him sitting back on a nearby couch with one leg resting over the other. "David? You're on Earth!" Amelia gasped. David stared at his daughter and then at the man next to her. He recognized him as Vincent but knew it was someone different in his body. Someone he hadn't met yet. He looked between them and saw how pink his daughter's cheeks were. The way they were holding hands. He tried to hold back a smirk as he maintained his hard stare. She was supposed to be in trouble after all. "Yes, I came looking for either you or Vincent to deal with a matter in Hell. Vincent has already sorted it so you needn't worry." He got to his feet and walked over to them, giving Amelia a disappointed look. "Oh, Trouble. You have some apologizing to do when the others get up." He scolded gently. Even when angry, David still managed to seem incredibly calm. Amelia's cheeks reddened with embarrassment. "Yeah, I know..." She says uncomfortably. David then brings his eyes up to Charles and studies him for a moment before holding his hand out to shake. "I don't believe we've met. I'm David. Amelia's father." Amelia bit her lip, watching them awkwardly. She hadn't expected them to meet so quickly. --- Upstairs, Sebastian was beginning to wake up. He could swear he could hear voices downstairs. Blinking his eyes open, he listened carefully before gently shaking Carter awake and whispering; "Do you hear that?" Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 Charles shook his hand. "Good to know. I'm Charles." ------ Carter slowly opened his eyes as he yawned. He heard Sebastian then he seemed much more awake. Listening. "Yeah, I do." He hopped out of bed. "Come on." He ran out the room. Zooming downstairs. Charles was immediately hit by some strong wind. He waved at it when Carter stood there. "Who are you?!" ,said Carter. He looked at the others. "Amelia?" "Now hold on a minute! I need some introductions here." Charles reached a hand out. "And who might you be?" Carter shook his hand with a tight grip that had Charles flinching a bit as he tried to hold back his pain. "I'm Private Detective Travis Carter." Charles quickly took his hand out of his grip. Waving it so that it could stretch out the discomfort. "There's a vampire detective?" He smiled with a shrug. "Who would have thought?" shadowess - February 20, 2021 Sebastian jumped out of bed as well and threw on a shirt before running after Carter down the stairs. He came to a sudden stop when he saw Vincent's old body. "Wait... What?!" He stammered, staring at him. "Ha! That's exactly what I said when I first saw him!" Amelia laughed, momentarily distracted by Sebastian. The humor brought her a little relief as her anxiety at them all meeting this way, mounted. "Uh, Sebastian. Carter. This is Charles. He's on our side." She says, trying to put them at ease. David lifts a fist to his mouth and pretends to cough into it while giving Amelia an expectant look. Amelia looks at him, then looks back at Sebastian and Carter sheepishly. "Uh...guys...I-I'm sorry for what I did. At the club. It was wrong and stupid...I should've known better..." David smiles, happy to see his daughter had learned her lesson. Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 Carter crossed his arms. "How about apologizing to the guy you scared?" He pointed up at the stairs. shadowess - February 20, 2021 Amelia looked up at the ceiling then brought her eyes back to Carter guiltily. She rubbed her arm, trying to calm her nerves and lowered her gaze to the ground, feeling awful. She wasn't so sure he'd still be here when she got back. She'd half expected him to run for the hills. She guessed he was still asleep because it looked like both Carter and Sebastian had just gotten up. "I will. When he wakes up and comes down, I'll apologize." She says and she meant it. She didn't want to just go barging up there to wake him up in case she frightened him again. Maybe it was best to wait for him to meet her in his own time. Sensing the tension, David began walking towards the kitchen. "Charles, was it? I don't suppose you'd like a cup of tea?" He offered.

Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 Charles smiled. "I could ask you the same thing." shadowess - February 20, 2021 Amelia grinned at his answer, her blue eyes shining a little as she leant in to kiss him passionately. She pulled back and looked into his eyes. "So, what do you want to do until it's time to go out?" She asked, smiling. Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 Charles's chest bubbled up as he felt her kiss. He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we can cuddle? I would like to rest before the picnic." shadowess - February 20, 2021 "I'd like that." Amelia smiled and settled into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder, content to just be there with him. Later that afternoon, Amelia helped Charles take the basket down to the park where they picked out a clear spot on the grass to sit. Laying down the blanket, she sat with him and watched the world around them. She wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting to see or what to look out for. She half wondered if this picnic was just an excuse to get her to go on a date with him. Not that she'd mind now. This was nice. She was enjoying sitting on this blanket, in the warm sun, next to Charles. Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 Charles soon fell asleep. There were kids playing together or with their families when they were hanging out there. He was eating a few pieces of strawberry. The sun was shining on them. He smiled. "So? What do you think?" shadowess - February 20, 2021 Amelia looked at him and smiled. "This is nice. I'm so used to my life just being chaos from one minute to the next that it's nice to be able to relax like this." She then looked around the park at the families with a raised eyebrow. "Not entirely sure what I'm meant to be looking out for though..." Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 Charles chuckled. "The smiles, Amelia! You're supposed to see how happy they are to be alive. To be with their loved ones. This is why humanity is worth saving." He gently squeezed her hand. Looking into her eyes. "It's love." shadowess - February 20, 2021 As Charles spoke, Amelia looked at the families around them. At the children playing, chasing each other and shouting excitedly. Their parents nearby, chatting and watching their children with love and pride. It was a childhood she'd never gotten the opportunity to have...Always stuck in that library with just David and Carol for company. Although this was what she'd been fighting for all along, it was as though this was the first time she was really seeing what peace could look like. This was why she set up the Redemption Programme. This was why she longed to bring peace between Heaven and Hell. To end the war. Funny, that she had never actually stopped to watch something so pure before. Her eyes softened as she watched a mother pick up her daughter, cuddling her and kissing her forehead lovingly. It was a beautiful sight...and one that she was a little jealous of. She was convinced that that kind of life was beyond her grasp. That her own life was simply too chaotic and dangerous for her to have her own family. To settle down. But who knew? Before today she'd been convinced that falling in love would be a bad idea too...yet here she was, breaking her own rule. Maybe, if she succeeded in her goals, then maybe... She felt Charles squeeze her hand and she looked at him. His last couple of words causing her to blush deeply as her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't take her eyes off him now. It all felt too good to be true. She half expected to wake up at any moment and everything would go back to the dark, treacherous life that she was so used to by now. But she didn't wake up. This was real...and the wonderful realization that she was really having feelings for this man dawned on her. She was really falling in love and she had absolutely no control over it. In the space of just a day, Charles had torn down every defense she'd so carefully put up...and do you know what? She was fine with that. Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 Charles found at a loss for words when he heard her thoughts. She had finally understood what he meant. It was enough for him. He leaned in and kissed her. shadowess - February 20, 2021 He kissed her and she kissed him in return, matching his passion. She brought a hand up to caress his cheek. Pulling away gently, she smiled at him. Her eyes a little tearful but these were tears of joy. Charles had opened her eyes and her heart. She felt light, hopeful and full of love. She understood why what she'd done had been wrong and she was ready to go and set things right. Then, once this organization was taken care of, she was going to manage the shit out of Hell. No more putting it off. No more distractions. She'd monitor her Programme herself and seek out Angels to try to broker peace with them. "Will you help me achieve peace? Help me save souls?" She asked Charles in a whisper, looking into his eyes. There was no one she'd rather have by her side to help her achieve those goals.

Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Charles read her thoughts. His grip on her tightened. "It's alright. It's alright. This didn't exactly happened years ago. It's going to take a while before you can move on. But I'll be here for you. I won't let you suffer alone." shadowess - February 19, 2021 Amelia closed her eyes, taking slow and steady breaths until she was calmer. "Thank you." She says quietly and pulls away from him. "I'm...I'm going to go sit down. I'll be alright." She smiled weakly at him, thankful he'd been here to help her stay calm. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Charles nodded. "Just let me know if you need anything else." He put his focus back on the food which was already done at this point. He placed both meals on their separate plates. He put her plate in front of her at the coffee table. He sat next to her with his plate there too. "I hope this helps." shadowess - February 19, 2021 Amelia sat awkwardly. Although she'd had no control over it, she couldn't help feeling like she'd ruined a good moment. She rubbed her arm a little as he placed the plate in front of her. She smiled at him and looked at the food. "This looks awesome, thank you." She began eating hungrily. It was a simple dish but the flavor was amazing. She guessed Charles had been around long enough to become quite skilled in the kitchen. She'd finished her plate in no time, not leaving a single scrap of food. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 "You're welcome." Charles took a bite. "And don't feel bad. You didn't ruin anything. Having a panic attack is normal." He continued to eat. He smiled as he watched her devour her food. "You must have really liked it." shadowess - February 19, 2021 Satisfied, Amelia sat back in the chair and chuckled at his comment. "You're a really good cook!" She complimented him. Once they were both finished eating, she stood. "I'll clean up. It's the least I can do" She says as she picks up the plates and heads towards the sink. "So, where did you have in mind for the picnic later?" She asked him, trying to shift her thoughts back to what they'd planned. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 "Why thank you. I appreciate it." Charles nodded. "Clean if you want. It's very nice of you to." He leaned back on the couch. Relaxing after that meal. "Well, I was thinking about the park nearby." shadowess - February 20, 2021 "Sounds good." She replies. Admittedly, she didn't know the area well enough to know what was nearby. She guessed she'd just follow Charles's lead. It didn't take her long to wash the dishes and the utensils that Charles had used to cook with. Once finished, she headed over to the couch to join him, sitting next to him. "I'm thinking...after the picnic, maybe I should go back and apologize to the others. I feel bad about what I did...also, they're going to need my help. There's this human organization...They capture supernatural people and conduct tests on them against their will in order to develop weapons against them. Damien and I destroyed them all years ago but it looks like they're trying to make a comeback." She explains, looking at him. "They managed to get hold of an Angel last time. God knows what they would've learned. I cannot allow them to make a return." Denix Vames - February 20, 2021 What Amelia told Charles got his blood boiling. "I can assure you that whoever these scumbags are, they will pay for what they've done." He held her hand. "And whatever you decided to do will be something that I will support no matter what." He kissed her cheek. "You have nothing to worry about so long as I'm right here." shadowess - February 20, 2021 The way he spoke. What he said. It made her heart beat strongly for him. He gets it. He understands why Amelia feels it necessary to use force against these humans. Because they're dangerous, possibly have weapons that could kill them and cannot be reasoned with. She had more than enough experience with them to know they won't listen to reason. That they'll stop at nothing. If only Vincent could understand that too. She couldn't be mad at Vincent for wanting to do the right thing, but she feared his naivety would get himself or others killed. Charles kissed her cheek and she blushed, her cheeks shimmering a little again. "How'd you get me to fall for you so quick?" She asks playfully with a smirk.

Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Carter nodded. "Guess so." He finished the rest of his bag before putting it in the trash can too. He smiled as Sebastian mentioned the massage. He placed a hand over his leg. "I can't wait to see what other things those hands can do." ------ Elliot raised his hands like a child. "You showed those Nazi bastards not to mess with America!" Vincent couldn't help but admire his happiness. How it never seemed to leave him. He wondered if he could stay happy if he hung out with him more. shadowess - February 19, 2021 Sebastian grinned at the comment and leaned in to kiss Carter, moving to remove his shirt. He kissed down his neck and moved behind him, beginning to rub his back. Massaging his muscles and occasionally moving his thumbs in little circles to alleviate any stress he had. All the while, continuing to kiss his neck, shoulders and upper back. --- David raised his eyebrows at the reaction and couldn't help smiling. "Well...for Queen and Country but I guess America was our ally too." David corrected him with a chuckle. David checked his watch and noted that it was early morning. "I understand it's been quite the day. Don't feel the need to stay awake on my behalf. If you're both tired, I don't mind watching the house as you sleep." David rarely slept anymore. Turns out some Demons and Devils simply don't require sleep or even food. He was also sure that with everything going on regarding the organization out there, as well as the fright the human had suffered earlier, that they might feel a little better going to sleep knowing they'd be well guarded. He also wanted to keep an eye out for Amelia. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Carter moaned at the kisses he received along with the pressure of Sebastian's hands. He rolled his neck. Feeling relaxed under those hands. "God....That feels good." ------ Elliot raised a brow. He realized that David was British. He awkwardly laughed. "Sorry about that." Vincent turned to a yawning Elliot. He smiled. "I believe we could use some rest. And you guarding the house would be appreciated." Elliot rolled his eyes. "Oh c'mon! I can stay up!" Vincent took his hand. "Says the one who just yawned." "It's been one of those days." He led him upstairs. "Then this will be one of those sleeps." They went into the guest bedroom. shadowess - February 19, 2021 (Sebastian and Carter's turn now xD ) Grinning, Sebastian kissed back to his neck and whispered seductively in his ear; "Are you ready to feel even better?" --- "It'd be my pleasure, gentlemen. Sleep well, I'll see you when you wake up." He lifted his teacup a little before bringing it back down to take a sip, watching them leave. --- After a night of almost non stop passion, Amelia slept soundly next to Charles. Resting her head on his chest. Slowly, she woke up and opened her eyes. She didn't want to move, listening intently to the sound of his heart beat and recalling their activities that night. She smiled. It had been unlike any experience she'd had before. In fact, she was almost certain that at one point the room had shaken a bit as they got carried away. She glanced over at the half melted candles on the dresser and recalled them spontaneously lighting at one point as well. She lifted her head to look at his sleeping features, in disbelief that he'd made her fall for him in such a short space of time. She'd broken her own rule but she didn't even care. For once, she felt truly happy. Hopeful. Maybe letting herself fall in love wouldn't be as bad as she thought? Trying not to wake him, she slipped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and climbed in, enjoying the hot water. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 (yep cx) Carter smiled. "Definitely." ----- Vincent and Elliot cuddled up together under the covers. Doing whatever they had felt like doing on their first alone time together. But still took things slow and was more or less kissing and holding each other close. ------ Charles rolled over on his side. He felt the space next to him empty which woke him up. He sat up. Looking around the room. He heard the shower running. He got up and slipped into a grey bed robe. He knocked on the bathroom. "Hey Amelia? I'm going to make some breakfast. Did you had anything in mind?" shadowess - February 19, 2021 Hearing the knock and Charles's voice, Amelia called back; "Bacon, if you have any! But I'm otherwise happy with anything." She couldn't stop smiling. She washed her hair and finished up in the shower before stepping out and wrapping a towel around herself. She stepped back into the bedroom and picked up her clothes from around them room, placing them on the bed. Once she was dried and dressed she headed into the kitchen to greet Charles. "Good morning." She says, leaning against the wall with a smile. Her hair still a bit damp from the shower. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 "Got it!" Charles went into the kitchen. He began to make bacon and omelets for them both. The omelets had some rich seasoning in them. He smiled when he saw her. "What a lovely morning to you too. You had a nice shower?" shadowess - February 19, 2021 "Yes, thank you." She said, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. She looked at the food he was cooking, taking in the aroma that filled the kitchen. "That smells really good." She compliments. She was looking forward to their picnic together and didn't want to leave his company. Since she woke up however, she'd been thinking about what she'd done at the bar. Still feeling bad about what she'd done. Maybe she should go back tonight and apologize. Then, of course, there was still the issue with the organization that needed to be dealt with. She wondered if they'd managed to make any plans while she'd been gone or whether they were still cleaning up the mess she'd made. She sort of regretted just leaving the way she did but if she hadn't, her night with Charles wouldn't have happened. That and the way Carter had pushed her and looked at her...things would only have gotten ugly if she'd stayed so maybe it was for the best that she'd left. She could still see his angry face...his fangs...then the faces of Carter, Alex and Bryce suddenly flashed through her mind one right after the other and all of them baring their fangs at her. She brought a hand up to her head and was thankful she was already leaning against the wall as she became lightheaded. Just as quickly as they'd flashed through her mind, they were gone and she was staring at the kitchen floor, a little breathless and pale. Her heart beating rapidly. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 "Thank you. I try my best." Charles ran to her side. He put both hands on her arms. "Hey, are you alright? What's wrong?" shadowess - February 19, 2021 Amelia shivered and held his hands as he held her arms. She brought her eyes up to look at him, struggling to put it into words that for just a moment, she'd mentally been back in that damn basement. Failing to be able to explain it, she rested her head on his shoulder and stared at the wall, taking deep breaths to try to calm herself down again. Simply being comforted by him holding her. "Th-they're gone...I know they're both gone..." She whispered. "So why do they still affect me like this? Why can't I just put it behind me?"

Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 (yeah lol) Carter smiled at the kiss but was still concerned about Sebastian opening the door himself. He was relieved to find that it was only David and Vincent. "Welcome back." "Vincent!" Elliot ran to him. Vincent nearly fell back when he was hugged. Elliot kissed him on the cheek as Vincent chuckled. "You kept your promise!" Vincent smiled. He looked into his eyes as he caressed his cheek. "Of course I did. I never break my promises." shadowess - February 19, 2021 Sebastian rejoined Carter on the couch as David walked in with Vincent. He watched the reunion with a small smile and saw the plate of mostly eaten food nearby. Oh, good. David was relieved the human was now comfortable enough to eat and drink. "I see you're feeling better. That's good." He says kindly as he takes a seat in one of the armchairs. He looks over at Sebastian and Carter. "Any sign of her yet?" He asked quietly, a little concerned. As much trouble as she might have caused, she was still his daughter and he couldn't help worrying whenever she disappeared to sulk. Sebastian shook his head with a serious expression and David frowns, nodding. "I'm sure she's fine." David says, not entirely convinced himself but this wasn't the first time Amelia had vanished to cool off after a fall out. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Elliot awkwardly scratch the back of his head. "Well, Vincent's been a real help." Vincent and him could hardly look at each other without blushing or smiling. Vincent recalled something. "Let's go make some tea. This time I won't be mad about it." Elliot chuckled. "You better be." They held hands and went into the kitchen. Carter frowned. He sighed. "I shouldn't have been so harsh on her. We've all been through a lot. I should have known that she wasn't feeling so well." shadowess - February 19, 2021 They watched Vincent and Elliot head to the kitchen and Sebastian smiled. "Wow! Those two are really hitting it off!" He comments, happy to see Vincent find someone he could be happy with. He then turned to Carter with a frown when he spoke about Amelia. He rubbed his back comfortingly. "It's not just you that was harsh on her...When she comes back I think it'd be a good idea for us all to sit down with her and try talking to her. Let her know we're still here for her. Even if she did kind of go over the line." He smiles. David smiles at them. "I'm sure she knows you all care about her. Try not to be too soft on her though." He chuckles. "I believe she still owes you, and the human especially, an apology." David certainly had half a mind to clip his daughter around the ear as soon as he'd see her. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Carter smiled a little at Sebastian. "Maybe you're right." He clutched his stomach as he heard it rumble. "Looks like I'm hungry." He stood. "I'm gonna grab a bag out of the fridge. Want one Sebastian?" shadowess - February 19, 2021 At the mention of blood, Sebastian realized he was also hungry. With everything that had happened, he'd completely forgotten to have a bag and it was already very late into the evening. Although he was hungry, he shifted in his seat a little awkwardly. "I'm pretty hungry too but maybe we shouldn't drink one in front of Elliot just yet. It might freak him out. We could sneak it to one of the bedrooms and drink there?" He suggests. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Carter snapped his fingers and pointed at him. "Good idea." He walked into the kitchen. "Elliot, I'm going to get something out of the fridge. You probably shouldn't look." There was an awkward long pause. "Is it blood?" ,asked Elliot. Carter flushed. "Uh yes." Elliot covered his eyes with his hands. "Go on." Carter quickly took out two blood bags. He headed to Sebastian and gave one to him. They both went upstairs to the bedroom. Vincent walked to David with a cup of a tea on a little plate. "I had to heat it up with my fire. I hope you don't mind." He gave it to him. shadowess - February 19, 2021 Sebastian took the bag and followed Carter to the bedroom. Once the door was closed he looked at the bag with a sad smile and sighed. "I left my silly straw at your house..." He chuckled. "Oh well, the old fashioned way it is." He said before biting into the bag and drinking it's contents hungrily. It seemed duller than usual but Sebastian knew why. After Amelia's blood, this blood seemed like some kind of knock off brand. At least it would quench his thirst, even if it takes his body time to get used to drinking ordinary blood again. --- David took the cup and saucer with a wide grin, loving the smell of the tea. "Ah, that's perfectly fine. You should've seen how I'd have to make tea when I served in the military!" He chuckled, recalling the time he served in the British army during World War 2, when he'd been alive... Before he met Lucifer and learned about the supernatural world. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Carter smiled. "We can get it whenever you want." He took a bite into the bag as well. Drinking up some of the blood. He stopped and frowned. "Shit. This stuff tastes like a cardboard compared to her blood." His grip tightened on the bag. "I really don't want to think about that." ------ Vincent smiled. "Wait a minute!" Elliot rushed over. "You were in the military? My dad's a vet! Did you two fight together?" "I don't think he was in the same war that your father was in. David has been around a lot longer. He actually served in World War 2." "Whoa! Do you have any cool stuff from when you were there?" shadowess - February 19, 2021 Throwing his empty bag in the trash, Sebastian wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at the little blood stain there. "I know what you mean..." He sighed. "Guess we just have to try and push those kinds of thoughts away until we don't crave it anymore..." He looked up at Carter. "Now then, I believe I owe you a massage?" He smirks, stepping close to him. --- David chuckled at Elliot's interest, he took a sip of the tea and shook his head a little. "Not anymore. I left it all behind when I died. I did kill a Nazi or two in my time though." He bragged although one or two was an understatement. He'd actually lost count of how many enemy soldiers he'd taken down in France alone. If anything, he was more proud of the innocent lives he'd helped to escape the war. This was all despite being just eighteen years old at the time.

Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Vincent reached out to him. Putting his hand between the bars. "You're sick, Theo. You need help. I can get you that help." ----- "It definitely won't be like last time. I mean, did you see the way Vincent was with Elliot? And if anyone were to ever try and hurt him, I can't imagine that person staying alive once Vincent finds out." ,said Carter. Elliot soon flipped the patty. He had set up a plate with bread slices, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, pickles, cheese, and mustard ready to be used to make the burger. ------ Charles was a bit shocked by her words but understood her when he read her mind. "My dear, it's quite the opposite. I'd be hurting those who attempt to do harm to you." He kissed her. shadowess - February 19, 2021 As soon as his arm passed through the bars, Theo grabbed it and pulled him hard, trying to slam him against the bars where he'd hold his arm at an awkward angle. "The only help I need is help becoming a fucking Devil!" He growled and looked at David. "Let me out of here or I break his fucking arm off!" David moved so quickly that the werewolf couldn't track his movements. As soon as he'd finished yelling, David had appeared next to Vincent, striking Theo's throat through the bars with his fist, causing Theo to fall back and choke. He'd be fine. It was just a maneuver he'd used to get Theo to back off. Gently pulling Vincent away from the bars, he'd whisper soothingly in his ear. "Breathe. Be calm." "I'll...destroy...you...all!" Theo coughed and spluttered, holding his throat and trying to get his breath back. Tears streaming down his face. --- Sebastian thought about what Carter said with a small smile. "I think you're right." He says and sighs again, rubbing his eyes. "What a day...What a week!" --- He'd pressed his lips against hers and Amelia closed her eyes, losing herself in the kiss, touched by his answer. She didn't want it to end, recapturing his lips with hers and resting a hand on his chest. It was unlike any kiss she'd shared with anyone. It was gentle. Sweet. Completely charged by emotion. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Vincent cried out when Theo grabbed his arm. He rubbed his arm as David pulled him away. He pressed his head against his chest as he continued to cry. "Die....He has to die. I don't have a choice." ----- Carter chuckled. "Yeah. Tell me about it. My back is killing me." Elliot walked over with a plate of a burger and a can of cola. He set it down as he sat next to them. Carter whistled. "That shit looks good." Elliot smiled. "Thanks. I made it myself." ----- When the kiss broke, he smirked. "Where have you been all my life?" shadowess - February 19, 2021 David held Vincent gently, as a parent might comfort a child. One arm rubbing his back, the other on the back of his head. All the while glaring at Theo dangerously. He sighed. He could see Vincent was trying his best to do what was right and that he still cared about Theo despite everything he'd done. He whispered gently into his ear. "Whatever you decide to do is entirely your choice. We could destroy him if you feel it is necessary or he can stay behind these bars for as long as it takes for him to change his ways." He tried to make Vincent aware of the second option. Although it would mean Theo would be held in solitary confinement until his mentality cracked and they'd then be able to convince him to change. Not exactly kind but at least he wouldn't have to be destroyed. Theo hadn't heard the suggestion. All he saw was David holding Vincent as he cried. Theo jeered at him through the bars. "See?! What did I tell you?! You're weak! Crying like a damn baby! You'll get nowhere without me!!" Then he heard Vincent say he'd have to kill him and Theo paused. "You wouldn't. You don't have the balls!" He screamed. Then the reality of his situation began to sink in. "V-Vincent, you can't do that! You can't kill me!" He approached the bars, holding them and looking at him. "W-what about everything we went through, huh? A-all of those good memories we have together? Don't you still love me?" He shook a little, his eyes pleading with them. "I still love you." He lied. "Please, don't kill me." --- Sebastian smirked at Carter's comment and looked at him sideways playfully. "Oh? Then maybe I should give you a massage later?" He says in a suggestive way. As Elliot re-entered the room with his food, Sebastian smiled at him. Happy to see that he seemed to have perked up since earlier. "It does look good. I don't suppose your profession is in the culinary arts?" He asks. --- Grinning at his question, Amelia blushed. "Guess you just weren't ready to handle me yet." She replies playfully. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Vincent turned around. Looking at Theo. "You never loved me but I cared about you. When you're leg was broken, I ran to your side. I killed myself when you died. I planned to free you but I saw who you really were." He clenched his fists. "You called me weak but I've already become a devil. I defeated the oldest demon here." His fire aura appeared. "So no. I won't kill you. But you'll stay here until you understand that we were both wrong." ------ Carter smirked at his suggestion. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea." "Culinary what now? I ain't an artist. Can barely draw stick figures. Nah! I cook though." ,said Elliot. His smile never left him as he continued to eat and drink his soda. Carter gave Sebastian a shocked look as he could not fathom how somebody didn't know basic words. ------- Charles chuckled. "How about now? Am I prepared?" shadowess - February 19, 2021 Theo seethed at Vincent's words. "So...you're just going to let me rot here?!" He furiously slammed his fists against the bars and walked away from him towards the back of the cell with his hands on his head as he contemplated spending an unknown amount of time stuck in this cell with only himself for company. He didn't want to look at Vincent anymore. He hated him with every fiber of his being. David smiles and nods approvingly at Vincent's decision. "Well done, I know this wasn't easy." He says gently and places a hand on his shoulder, seeing that Vincent was worked up. "Breathe. It's done. The Demons running these cells will check on him regularly and you will get a report on him when he's ready to change. For now, I'm sure your friends are missing you." --- Sebastian had to hold back his laughter at Elliot's answer, especially when Carter gave him that look. He just kept smiling, amused. At least Elliot seemed more comfortable now. He supposed talking about something other than the supernatural was helping to put him at ease in their company. "Uh...so, what do you do for a living Elliot? If you don't mind me asking." He asked, wanting to keep the conversation going to help him relax more. --- Amelia smirked, amused. "You tell me." She replies in the same playful tone before pressing her lips against his again, this time with more passion behind her kiss while she brought a hand up to caress his cheek. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 "That's not what I'm doing." Vincent frowned. "I'm going to visit you everyday so that we can talk. I don't want you or anyone else to ever feel alone." Vincent felt David touch his shoulder. He took a deep breath as the fire aura died out. He turned to him. "Thank you for bringing me here." He nodded. "I hope the demons treat him well." He smiled. "I should go see them." ------- Elliot set what little was left of the burger on the plate before speaking. "I work on a farm with my family." "No wonder you smell like shit. No offense." ,said Carter. "None taken. I like to roll around in the mud with the pigs sometimes anyway. They're real fun to be with." "That's pretty unsanitary." "Don't know what you're talking about." "That's dirty." "Course it is but I wash up when I'm done." -------- Charles ran his hand through her hair as he continued to kiss her. He moved his other hand to her waist. shadowess - February 19, 2021 "Don't bother! I don't want to talk to you!" Theo snapped, not turning around. There was a distinct waver in his voice that gave away that Theo might now be crying. David smiled sadly at Vincent after Theo's outburst. "Don't pay anymore attention to him. He just needs some time to calm down and think." He turned away from Theo and began walking towards the exit of the prison, motioning for Vincent to do the same. "Would you like me to come with you? I never did get that tea." He chuckles, trying to lighten the mood a little. He also thought it might be a good idea for him to be present for when Amelia made her inevitable return. Perhaps he could help to keep everyone calm. Particularly that poor human. God knows how he'll react when he sees her again. --- Finding great amusement in the conversation, Sebastian had to fake a cough into his fist to cover up a snortle. "So uh, you said you work with your family. Are you married then, Elliot?" He asks, trying to keep the conversation moving and also trying to be polite. --- Amelia shivered excitedly at his touch while she kissed him, her tongue slipping into his mouth to caress his as their passion grew. All thoughts about what had happened to her recently evaporated from her mind. All worries ceased. All she knew in that moment was Charles and the way he made her feel safe. Loved. Denix Vames - February 19, 2021 Vincent nodded. "That would be nice. Thank you." ------ Elliot shook his head. He ate the last piece of his burger before downing the rest of his cola. "It's my family. I got no kids or wife." ------ Charles gently pushed her on the couch so that he was on top of her as they kept going. shadowess - February 19, 2021 (Privacy time for Amelia and Charles lol) Once out of the prison, David nods and holds out a hand for Vincent to take. He'd teleport them outside of the house again to ring the doorbell. By this point, Sebastian was running out of ideas on how to keep the conversation going and so was relieved to hear the doorbell. "I got it." He says and gives Carter a quick kiss on the cheek before getting up to answer the door. Opening the door, he smiled at David and Vincent, stepping aside to let them in.

Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Carter couldn't believe it. He shook his head. "She never trusted me to begin with. I really haven't been a good friend." He leaned against the wall. Trying to hold it back tears as he looked up at the ceiling. "I can't believe she even let me drink from her." The tea kettle suddenly burst. Elliot jumped back as he watched Vincent be surrounded by flames. Vincent zoomed to Carter. His claws were out. "You did WHAT?!" Carter raised his hands. "Hold on a minute! Sebastian did it too! Amelia gave us permiss-!" "Permission?! She never had permission when those bastards took her! She never had permission when they drank from her!" Vincent wrapped his hands around his neck. "She never told you anything because she knew that none of you would understand! But I did! I'm only her friend!" "Stop it!" Elliot wrapped his arms around him from behind. Pressing his head against his back. He sobbed. "Just stop it!" Carter and the others were shocked to hear him speak. Vincent turned his head. Glaring at him. "Please don't! I'm so scared! I don't know what any of this means but I can't take it! Seeing more of this shit! I can't!" Vincent looked back at a scared Carter. He realized what he had almost done. The fire aura immediately died out as his claws turned back into nails. He frowned and touched Elliot's hands. His head lowered. "I'm sorry." ------- Charles smiled. "Sure. That sounds like fun." While smoking and drinking with a sitcom on, he sneakily brought an arm around her shoulders. Bringing her closer. shadowess - February 18, 2021 Eyes widening with alarm, Sebastian rushed over to try and pry Vincent from Carter. "No, you don't understand-!" He tried but was soon cut off by the sound of Elliot's voice. Everyone froze. Sebastian watched anxiously as Elliot managed to calm Vincent down. David stood up and straightened out his suit once more before taking a couple of calm steps towards them. "Vincent, remember the breathing technique I taught you to keep calm. Words are better than violence." He reminded him gently then turned to Carter and Sebastian. Sebastian was staring at Vincent, feeling awful as he remembered what they did to Amelia. He needed him to understand that it wasn't done out of malice. "Vincent, she asked us to. She wanted to make sure you were ok when you went after Clementine. But she didn't want to leave us without some form of protection with that organization running around with weapons that could kill us. She knew her blood would keep us protected and she wanted an undamaged body in case she needed to help you fight." He glanced at Carter. "We tried to argue but she was having non of it. She said she trusted us and that we should trust her too..." David smiled kindly. "There you go, Carter. THAT is something!" He gestures to Sebastian. "Damien had tried to train her the way he was trained and do you know what the number one rule of being a Devil is as far as he was concerned? It's very simple." He grinned. "Trust. No one." His grin widened a little. "And yet she placed her trust in you, regardless." He shook his head a little at them. "You needn't worry about whether or not she talked to you. She's always had trouble opening up about her emotions. She's stubborn and proud. But stick by her, be there for her and give her some time. I'm sure she'll be a little more open to talking to you in time." The way David spoke was almost unnaturally soothing. There was no real power there, however. He just had a natural ability to calm people down whenever he spoke. He sighs and turns to Elliot. "Now then...I understand you have had quite the day. You must be very frightened and that's perfectly alright. But to be honest with you..." His eyes flicked over the others before falling back onto Elliot. "You couldn't be in safer hands when it comes to learning about what really goes on in this world. So please, let us help you." ------ There were those butterflies again. She felt his arm around her shoulders and she relaxed into his embrace. She gently bit her lower lip, trying to contain her nerves and excitement. Her cheeks had turned pink again as she looked up at him and smiled. She'd felt lust before, sure. But this felt different. It was new. Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Vincent nodded at David. He took a deep breath before turning around to meet Elliot's fearful gaze. He held him close. Carter smirked. "Sounds like her brother was a real peach. What kind of advice is that? Trust no one?" Elliot continued to cry as he spoke. "I just want to go home!" "You will once we know that it's safe for you to." Vincent caressed his cheek. "Do you understand?" Elliot nodded. "I'm glad you do. Do you want to go upstairs? There's a bedroom there." He sniffled. He lowered his head as he shyly asked, "C-Can you come with me too?" "Of course." ------ Charles couldn't help but smile back. He leaned in and kissed her head as if he does it everyday. Doing that just felt right to him. shadowess - February 18, 2021 "Vincent." David says before they could go anywhere. "What I came for..." He frowns. "Theo has been found. He's in Hells Cells awaiting judgement. Being Devils, either you or Amelia have the right to pass judgement on him. There is a slight problem though. The Angelic items were not found when the rubble was cleared. We don't know who took them but they're gone. We searched Theo as soon as we discovered they were missing. He doesn't have them." Turning to Carter, he gave a sad smile. "The kind of advice that Lucifer gave him...It's a shame...before his death, I really thought Amelia would turn him around...Undo everything Lucifer had taught him." He shrugged. "But there's no point dwelling on that now. Perhaps I should leave you all to it? I can only assume the tea is no longer an option." He chuckled, beginning to make his way to the front door. --- When Charles kissed her head, something rare happened. Something that not even Amelia was aware she could do. Her blue eyes shone a little more brightly, her pink cheeks shimmered prettily as if she was wearing glittering makeup and behind her, for just a second, large blue fairy wings appeared then faded. The shimmer on her cheeks fading just as quickly as the wings. Nothing more than a remnant of what she would have been if she hadn't taken the path of a Devil. It was something that only ever occurs when she feels a particularly strong positive emotion, such as love. Her eyes dulled back to their normal shade of blue but she kept smiling, completely unaware of what she'd done as she rested her head on his shoulder and went back to watching the tv. Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Vincent frowned. "This can't be happening." "So they're somewhere lost in the city?" ,asked Carter. Vincent shook his head. "There's different parts of Hell. We were in one of them when it happened. Any demon could have taken those items. But I don't know any except for Charles, Clementine, and David here. David obviously didn't take them though. Yet, I don't know the others motives if they even did it." He thought for a moment. "I'll come with you. Someone has to judge him. For it to be me would only make sense." He walked over to David. Elliot gripped his arm. "Don't leave me." Vincent cupped his cheek as he looked into his eyes. "I'll be back as soon as possible. I promise. You'll be safe here with them. Ok?" Elliot hesitated but nodded. "If you ever need my help when there's danger then you can think about telling me in your thoughts. I'll be able to read them." Vincent wiped a tear off before kissing his forehead which made Elliot blush. He nodded at David. "I'm ready to go." ------ Charles raised a brow. "Am I that drunk or did I just see wings coming out of your back like a fairy?" shadowess - February 18, 2021 David paused and turned to nod at Vincent. The sooner they got this out of the way the better. Admittedly, after what Amelia had told him, it had taken every ounce of David's strength to resist throwing Theo straight into the nearest lava pit. Theo had hurt his daughter and attempted worse. To say David was angry with him would be one hell of an understatement. He too was worried about the missing items but he doubted Clementine would do something like that. She might be difficult to deal with but she wasn't a traitor. Charles...David didn't know enough about Charles to judge. Then there were plenty of other Demons in Hell who questioned Amelia's leadership. Most wanting the same kind of rule Lucifer had reigned and hated the Redemption Programme she'd set up. It wouldn't be too surprising that one or a group of them were conspiring against her in the shadows. This idea troubled David deeply. He looked back at Sebastian, Carter and Elliot and nodded with a smile. "It was a pleasure meeting you all." He says pleasantly before walking out of the house with Vincent. Once outside they would teleport straight to Hells Cells where a roughed up Theo seethed behind the bars. Sebastian turns to Elliot, knowing things must feel pretty awkward for him right now. "Can we get you anything? Like I said before, we'd be happy to answer any questions you have." He says kindly. --- "What?" Amelia laughed, questioning what she heard him ask then she paused. Fairy wings? But he doesn't know...She glanced behind her, half expecting to see them but all she saw was the couch. "Uh...maybe...before I changed into a Devil, I was half fae." She looked back at him curiously. "Did I actually just have wings? What did they look like?" She asked, fascinated. She'd never seen them before. She didn't even know she could do that! Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Vincent frowned at seeing him. "Theo, we could still talk. You and I can have a conversation about this. This doesn't have to end like this." ------- Elliot sat on the couch. He put his cap down and scratched his head. "My family. My friends. Are any of them like you?" "Listen buddy, if any of them were like us, they would have told you. And even if they were, it wouldn't matter." Carter sat next to him. "Because we're not what Hollywood shows us as. Some freak of nature out to kill all humans. We're just like everybody else. Our diet is just a little different." "Like sucking the blood out of humans is different." He sighed. "We don't do that anymore. There's bars for us like the one you saw earlier. Humans donate their blood to keep us from going hungry." Elliot almost thought he had earwax stuck in his ears. "Did you just say humans donate blood to ya'll? As in they willingly give blood to vampires?" "Pretty much." "Then that means everybody knows in this city?" "Well no. Not really. Just a few percentage I can imagine." He took a deep breath as he leaned against the couch. "This shit sounds crazier and crazier." "Believe me. It felt like that too when Sebastian told me the first time." Exhausted, he rubbed his face. "Can I eat something?" "Sure. What do you want?" "A burger." "....We don't have a grill." "Don't need one." "Well, I can't exactly cook anymore like I use to. I can't eat human food." He stood. "Then I'll do it. I need to forget I'm in this damn house anyway." He headed into the kitchen. ------- Charles didn't know the right words to say it but he spoke what was on his mind. "Blue butterfly wings. Glowing. Glittery. So beautiful." He looked into her eyes. "You're so beautiful." shadowess - February 18, 2021 "TRAITOR!!" Theo screamed angrily and slammed his fists against the bars. David stood quietly close by, watching carefully. Whatever Vincent decided to do, David had to be there to be a witness to it. --- Sebastian watched their conversation. Ready to jump in with information if needed but Carter seemed to handle it well enough. When Elliot walked to the kitchen he sighed and sat next to Carter. "...This might take a while." He looked at Carter, wrapping an arm around his waist. He was frowning, knowing that the most difficult conversation was yet to come. "We have to give him the same choice that you had...When he's ready." --- Amelia felt her cheeks grow hotter as he described her wings and told her she was beautiful. It's a sentence she wasn't used to hearing and she wasn't sure how to react to it. She couldn't stop smiling at him. He made her feel happy. He made her feel special. Her eyes glowed a little and her cheeks shimmered a bit again. "Thank you." She says softly. Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Tears poured from Vincent's eyes. "Why can't you understand that what we did was wrong?!" ------- Carter raised a brow. "What choice? Are you talking about turning him into a vampire? Because that's insane." Elliot had a burger shaped pattie simmering on a pan with seasoning all over it. He took a deep sniff of the sizzling meat. He sighed. "Smells good already." ------ Charles leaned in. Captivated by her eyes. He blushed. "You're welcome." shadowess - February 19, 2021 Theo paced in the cell, keeping his eyes fixed on Vincent. "What we did was beautiful!" He argued. "You were always weak!" He spat sourly. "I loved you...but now I don't even know who you are anymore!" He raised his arms. "We could've been something! We could've ruled here! BUT YOU HAD TO GO AND STAB ME IN THE BACK!" --- Sebastian shifted uncomfortably. "If you don't want to give him that choice, then fine. Just bare in mind what I told you when I gave you the choice." He said gently then sighed. "I duno...maybe with Amelia and Vincent around...maybe it's not as necessary as it had been before...at least, I hope it isn't." --- Amelia blushed harder as he leant closer to her. Their faces were so close that their noses practically touched and she could feel his breath on her skin as he spoke. The moment just seemed so perfect. The air around them felt like it was full of electricity. Like an unseen force was pulling them towards each other. She kept gazing into his eyes, feeling those butterflies in her stomach again. She felt in that moment that she could happily lose herself to him but a deep routed fear began to surface. She was frightened of being hurt. Frightened of being betrayed. Frightened that she'd fall for him and then she'd lose him because of her chaotic lifestyle. That would devastate her. But she wanted him. There was no doubt about that. She bit her lower lip and then hovered her lips close to his before whispering "Please. Never hurt me." She needed that reassurance before she'd be willing to go any further.

Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Elliot flinched at his touch. He nearly dropped the glass when Vincent set it back on the table. Vincent looked into his eyes. "He's telling you the truth." Elliot was undecided. He had no idea what to do. All he could do bury his head in Vincent's shoulder. "Why don't we give him some space? Sometimes that helps." ,said Carter. He whipped his head to hear ringing at the door. "Amelia wouldn't ring the door and Blaire doesn't know that we're here." He pulled off his belt. Expecting a fight to happen. He slowly opened the door as he was ready to attack whoever was there. -------- Charles blinked for a moment. "Uh I was talking about Damien. But geez! You have a lot of issues." He stood and straightened his coat. "Look, self isolation worked for me because I stopped caring about helping people. For you, that's the opposite. Someone needs to help you learn how to be more human. And I can't believe I'm saying this but maybe that someone is me." shadowess - February 18, 2021 (My bad lol I meant Sebastian was rubbing his own face xD I'll reply after work ) Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 (thats ok and alright) shadowess - February 18, 2021 Baby blue eyes studied at the man who opened the door with a belt in his hand. He smiled, mildly amused but made no movements. Merely looked at him patiently. "You must be Carter." David presumed, his voice as smooth as silk. "Amelia has told me a lot about you. And about Sebastian too. It's nice to finally put a face to a name. I'm David. I'm Vincent's mentor and Amelia's father." He glanced into the house behind him then looked back at Carter. "Can I come in?" He asked politely, all the time keeping a pleasant demeanor. --- Amelia sniffed, wiping her eyes and looking at Charles a little confused. "I didn't do anything to Damien..." She then stares off into the corner of the room. "His murderer however...what DIDN'T I do to her?" She says darkly. She could barely remember, having gone into a rage at the time but she recalled a lot of blood and a lot of screaming. She then looked back at Charles, equally confused as earlier. She took a puff on her joint while watching him carefully before asking "What do you mean? How are you guna do that?" Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Carter glared. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" ------ Charles nodded. "So that's what happened." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, we can go on a picnic together when the Sun's out. See what the people do and how they interact with each other." shadowess - February 18, 2021 Nodding a little, David's smile never wavers. "I understand. A lot has happened." He of course had no idea of what had happened with the human in the club just now but he knew about everything else. He slid a hand into his blazer pocket and pulled out one of Carter's business cards that Amelia had snagged to give to him. He held it out for Carter to see. "Amelia was pretty excited about this little project she and Vincent worked on." His eyes flicked over the house briefly before bringing them back to Carter's. "I mean no harm. I'm just here to deliver a message to them both. That's all." He then grins pleasantly. "Although a cup of tea wouldn't go amiss?" --- Amelia wiped away the last of her tears, having calmed down enough to stop crying completely now. She thought on Charles's suggestion. It wasn't a bad way to watch other humans for a while but she couldn't help her cheeks pinking a little at the thought of herself and Charles sitting in a park, having a picnic together. It reminded her of a couple of romantic movies that she'd seen. "It er...sounds like a good idea...kind of sounds like you're taking me on a date, though." She pointed out. Not that she'd mind if it was. As much as she'd enjoyed the physical company of others she'd never really gone on a date before. The thought of having one had always interested her. She'd just never had the chance. Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Carter froze when he saw the card. He took it from his hand. He glanced at him then the card. Thinking to himself that she needs to tell him how many people she did know. He stepped aside. Letting him come in. He closed the door. "Sorry pal but I only know coffee." He stuffed the card in his pocket and put his belt back on. "I could make some tea." ,said Vincent. Elliot quickly shook his head. Not wanting him to leave. "We could make some tea." He thought for a moment then nodded. Agreeing with his suggestion. Vincent guided him into the kitchen. ------ Charles smiled at the idea "Then maybe it can be one." He walked over to the kitchen. "We can start preparing for tomorrow afternoon." shadowess - February 18, 2021 Stepping in after Carter, David looked around at the house curiously. He was about to say that coffee would be just as good before he heard Vincent offer to make the tea. David smiled at him and watched him get up with a very frightened looking gentleman. His eyebrows knit together for a moment to form a worried expression before he relaxed back into a smile. "Thank you, Vincent." He called after him and looked around with his hands in his pockets. Bringing his gaze to Carter and the other male who stood to stand next to him while staring at David uncertainly. "Who's this?" The male asked Carter. David just kept smiling. "You must be Sebastian. She was right, you two do make a nice couple." He commented before holding out a hand for Sebastian to shake. "I'm David. Amelia's dad." He says and Sebastian freezes while shaking his hand. "You're David?" Sebastian asks, dumbfounded. "Amelia said you'd sworn to never visit Earth again." "I did. But given the current circumstances, I broke that oath to ensure hers and Vincent's safety." He quickly explained then points a thumb behind him at the kitchen where Vincent and the other guy had gone to make tea while he looked at Carter questioningly. "That a client of yours?" --- At his words, Amelia's cheeks turned a bit redder and she felt her heart flutter. 'That's weird. I'm not actually attracted to this guy, am I?' She thinks then watches him walk towards the kitchen and her eyes almost immediately fall to his backside. She tore them away hurriedly, as if wary of being caught. 'Holy shit, I am!' She thought. "Uh, sure." She says, snubbing her joint out in the nearby ashtray and getting to her feet. She headed into the kitchen after him and looked around. "So, what kinds of things should we take with us? Never been on a picnic before." Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Carter sighed. "Unfortunately no." He crossed his arms. "A friend of mine told me that some human was in the local vampire club. We came over to convince him to leave but Amelia went and scared his ass off. He fainted so we brought him here. The moment he woke up though, he thought we were going to kill him. He stopped talking ever since. The only person who's been able to calm him has been Vincent for some reason." Vincent was teaching Elliot how to make tea. Elliot couldn't help but smile at him. ------ Charles hoped he didn't look red in the face. He had heard thoughts but pretended as if he didn't which he knew would be difficult to do anyway. But he did his best. "Normally, there's sandwiches and chopped fruit. Some drinks of any kind and chips. I have only alcohol, fruit, and sandwiches. Will those do?" shadowess - February 18, 2021 David glanced in the kitchen as Carter explained what happened and he frowned. He turned back to Carter and Sebastian, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed out of frustration. "Amelia did that?" He looked back up at the pair and shook his head apologetically, embarrassed. "I'm sorry for her behavior...and where is Trouble now?" He asked, referring to Amelia and looking around in an annoyed way, as if searching for her. --- Amelia found herself feeling a little nervous but in a good way. She hadn't felt like this in a long time. She tried to play it cool though as she opened the fridge door to look at what he had. "I guess so." She chuckles. "I wouldn't know any different so I'd probably be happy with anything, to be honest." She would then help him to prepare anything they planned to take with them, following his lead. Occasionally she'd glance in his direction, wondering if he felt the same. Whenever he was about to turn and catch her she'd look back at what she was doing, her cheeks a little rosy. At least once, she'd tuck some of her hair behind her ear almost like a nervous tick. Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Carter frowned. "Honestly, we don't know. She just disappeared." ------ Charles noticed her glances as they were fixing up the food. He almost wanted to hug her. Just to keep her close. And while he knew she was attracted to him, he still wanted to make the right move. shadowess - February 18, 2021 David looked at the floor angrily and placed his hands on his hips. "Of course she did..." He huffed then tutted. "Typical..." "She's otherwise been a good friend..." Sebastian says sadly. "I don't know why she would act like that out of the blue!" David looked between them and thought for a moment before responding. He walked over to a chair and sat down, resting one leg over the other. He gestures to the kitchen. "What she did. It was wrong and inexcusable. And I am in no way about to defend it." He starts, wanting to make that point crystal clear. Perhaps these gentlemen needed a little perspective so they could help Amelia more appropriately. God knows she needed more friends that she could open up to and by the way she talks about these people, he felt they might be the ones to help her where others had failed her. "But just to summarize everything Amelia has told me has happened in just the space of two weeks;...She was kidnapped, drank from, possibly even forced to endure other tortures that she's unwilling to speak of. She was forced into a position where she could no longer use her voice to communicate. Kidnapped again by the same people and forced into a situation that ended with her stabbing one of her close friends to death just so she could get him out safely. Threatened with being whipped when she tried to refuse killing you two then forced to obey her captors commands. Came this close-" He holds two fingers close together. "To losing her memories and living out a human lifetime not knowing who or what she really is. Was beaten within an inch of her life, threatened with a weapon that could actually destroy her and if Vincent hadn't intervened might very well have been raped as well..." He sighs, finishing his summary. "That's not even mentioning that fact that her brother died very recently or that she was raised and spent the majority of her life in Hell. And you wonder why she could possibly be acting strangely..." A cold chill ran up Sebastian's spine and he exchanged a worried glance with Carter. He hadn't known about the attempted rape. Neither of them had...Nor that she'd been threatened like that for refusing to kill them. Having all of what she went through summarized like that...it suddenly made her actions make a little more sense. She wasn't acting out to be cruel or because she doesn't care. She was acting out because she was in pain and in dire need of help. --- They finished the little basket and stored it in the fridge to keep the food good until it was time to go. Amelia glanced back at the brew and the joints. She no longer wanted to drink and smoke herself into oblivion. Instead, she wanted to do it for fun with the company she had. "Maybe we could watch something to pass the time over a drink and a smoke?" She suggested with a shrug, still trying to play it cool. The more she thought on the date, the more excited she found herself becoming.

Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 Carter let him go. Vincent held Elliot close. He picked up him and disappeared. Taking him to Carter's office. Carter's fangs came out as he glared at her still. Walking over. "Don't you ever bring Parker up again!" He shoved her against the bar. "Do you hear me?!" All eyes were on them. Waiting to see a fight. "That's enough! Both of you!" ,said Blaire. shadowess - February 17, 2021 "What are you-?" Alarmed and confused, Amelia hit the bar and stared at Carter's angry expression. "Carter!" Sebastian had stepped in, placing a hand on Carter's chest to try to stop them fighting. Amelia just stared at Carter, her features slowly shifting from surprise to hurt and anger. "I didn't." She corrects him, her tone reflecting how she felt. She didn't understand where he got that idea from. Maybe it was her remark about finding out through being bitten? Regardless, she hadn't actually been referring to Alex at all. Before any of them could say or do anything else, she steps away from the bar, away from Sebastian and Carter. "Screw this." She snaps, her eyes tearing up before she vanished. --- Wherever Charles happened to be, Amelia would appear holding a bottle of Demons Brew and a bag of already rolled joints. "Oi, you." She'd say as she approached him. "I need cheering up. Want to drink and smoke with me a while?" If they all thought her too crazy or cold to be around then what better company was there for her? Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 Carter clenched his fists as she left. He soon calmed when he looked at Sebastian. His fangs retracted back into his gums. He sighed. Blaire walked over and gently rubbed his back. "I really don't think she meant to bring that up. She's just really high right now. And pretty drunk. You guys just need to relax away from each other for a bit." Vincent reappeared. "I put Elliot on the couch. Where's Amelia?" -------- In his condo, Charles was relaxing with a drink of brandy and watching TV. He smiled when she appeared. He clapped his hands before setting two glasses down. "The old Demon's Brew! Haven't drank that one in years." shadowess - February 17, 2021 Sebastian looked sadly at Carter as Blaire talked to him. He couldn't help agreeing with her. Maybe they did need a little time apart. When Vincent appeared he looked at him and sighed heavily. "Things got a little...heated. She went to go calm down." He briefly explained without going into detail. "I'm sure she'll be fine. We need to focus on Elliot right now and figure out how we're going to explain what just happened to him." ---- Amelia smiled at the welcome and poured them each a glass. She then sat with him on the couch and looked around. "Nice place." She comments, taking a sip of her brew. She looks back at Charles, still finding it a bit weird that she was looking at Vincent's old body. "I'm guessing you've been around a while then? Not a newborn, like me?" She asks, curious about this Demon that used to be a Devil. "How come we never met before?" Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 Vincent frowned. Worried about Amelia. But he knew he had to get them both out of here. "Let's go then." He touched both of their arms. They appeared in the house where Elliot was still sleeping. ------- "Thank you." Charles took a long sip of his drink. "I've been here for centuries." He sighed. "I got tired of helping people." He set his glass down. "The more I tried to help, the more deaths I saw. People were getting better because of me but I couldn't stand to see some of them die anyway. So I hid myself in the very depths of Hell. The only reason why I even woke up was because your friend had died. Yet, I like this new body. It has a different mindset. One that I can get behind. So your friend did do me a favor." shadowess - February 17, 2021 Once back in the house, Sebastian heads straight to the kitchen to pour a glass of water. He brought it into the room where Elliot was sleeping on the couch. He places the glass onto the little table near him and proceeds to pace around the room, agitated. How the hell were they going to explain this now? Of all times Amelia could choose to act out, why now? --- Amelia watched him as he spoke, fascinated. She was half tempted to ask if he knew Lucifer but considering Lucifer's history of destroying other Devils, she figured it might not have been a good idea for them to have met. She took a sip of her drink. "Hmm...I guess things worked out for you in the end then..." She says thoughtfully. She stares into her drink, thinking through all the things that had happened over the past week or so. She frowned, slowly coming to the realization that all of her base instincts were being smothered lately. Maybe Clementine had been right. Maybe she was getting too soft to be an effective Devil. Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 Elliot soon opened his eyes. He lifted his head up. "Hm? Wha-?" His eyes widened at the sight of them. He backed up into a corner of the couch as he hugged his legs. "Please don't kill me! Don't kill me!" He sobbed. Vincent walked over. "It's alright. We're not going to hurt you." He placed a hand over his knee. Sitting next to him. "We're sorry about our friend. She wasn't feeling well." Elliot didn't know what made him do it but somehow he felt safe around this strange man. So he threw himself in his arms. Crying against his chest. Vincent kept him close. -------- "Everything did. And no, I never did meet Lucifer. Thankfully." He began to smoke. "Don't listen to that bitch. Sometimes we need a bit of humanity in our lives." shadowess - February 18, 2021 Sebastian sighed at the reaction when Elliot awoke. At least Vincent seemed to be providing him with some comfort. He slowly walked over and sat in a chair nearby. "Apologies. We had hoped to inform you of what we are in a much calmer, friendlier manner. You were in danger in that club. We just wanted to help you to stay safe, that's all. We'll be happy to answer any questions you might have. Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Sebastian says all of this in a gentle way. He looks over at Carter, thankful that he'd been able to explain things to him in such a calm way when they'd first met. --- Amelia sighed at his words. She didn't know what was up and what was down anymore. Everything just seemed so...messy. She took another sip, beginning to feel a little light headed and then she realized something. Why she did what she had. It was the kind of thing her and Damien would have done if he were still around. He'd have found that shit hilarious. Although it might seem questionable, she would have found it funny as well. She did find it funny, up until Carter pushed her and she snapped back to reality. She missed Damien terribly and she began to understand that the reason she might have been acting out lately is because she's grieving for him. She hadn't even cried over his destruction yet. She hadn't had the chance. She'd been too busy trying to distract herself from the fact that he's gone...and he's never coming back. Her hand holding her glass was shaking a little. She was trying so hard not to cry again. She drank the rest of the drink in her glass as if to drown her emotions. She then poured in more and took a joint out of the bag to smoke with Charles. She didn't want to think about it anymore. She wanted to push all of her thoughts and emotions away. She'd do anything to not have to think or feel for a while. Whether that was burn something, kill someone or fuck someone. Anything. "So what do you do for fun, nowadays?" She glances at Charles, hoping he'd have an idea as to what they could do to keep her distracted. Denix Vames - February 18, 2021 Elliot was visibly shaking. He could hardly speak now. In fact, he didn't even want to. He had hid his face on Vincent's shoulder. Vincent gently rubbed his back. "These are my friends. You have nothing to be afraid of." Yet, Elliot didn't say a word. Thankfully, Vincent could read his thoughts. He picked the glass of water and hand it to him. Elliot sniffled. He moved his head to the drink. He held it with Vincent's help. Bringing it to his lips as he took a few sips. Carter sighed as he shook his head. He mumbled, "God damn it Amelia. What the hell's wrong with her?" -------- Charles, for the first time in a long time, held a concerned expression. "Good god miss. What did you do to your friend?" shadowess - February 18, 2021 Seeing how shaken and terrified Elliot was made Sebastian frown. He'd tried his best to be comforting but it seemed to do nothing. "We would do nothing to harm you Elliot, you have my word." He tries in a soft tone. He brought his hand up to rub his face a bit, worried about what this frightened human must think of them. Outside, David had been looking around at the world around him. He'd sworn to never visit Earth again but here he was. All because Clementine refused to work with Amelia again. He sighed heavily, straightening out his suit and running a hand through his brown hair. He didn't like just teleporting into the presence of others. He always thought it to be quite rude and intrusive. Instead, he'd teleported down the street and approached the door like any other mortal might. He rang the doorbell. ---- Amelia put her glass down and covered her face with her hands, beginning to cry. "I don't know! I just thought it'd be funny! Like a prank or something! I didn't think! ...I don't know why I do stupid shit like this!" Amelia sobbed, remembering the way they'd all looked at her. Carter's rage. The pure disappointment in Sebastian's eyes. She regretted it all. "Maybe they're all better off without me...All I ever do is fuck up and leave destruction in my wake!"

Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 Carter shrugged. "I'm sure we'll find a way." He took her hand. Vincent was there too. Ready to leave. They appeared in front of the club. Carter took a deep breath. "Welp! Let's see who this guy is." As soon as they walked in, it was pretty obvious who was the human. The man had messy but short sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes. He had a bare face. His body was thin but lean. He wore overalls with a white shirt that had a sexy lady on it. He had on working boots and a green cap that says, 'Hugs & Guns.' He seemed to be a bit messy from possible farm work. Some dirt or mud was on his clothes but not that much. Most likely, he did his best to clean himself up. He turned to them with a big smile that never seemed to leave him. He tipped his hat at them. "Howdy! Name's Elliot Jones. What are ya'll names?" Carter thought, 'Oh god. He's one of those people.' shadowess - February 17, 2021 Amelia and Sebastian paused at the sight along with Carter. Both highly amused to see a sight they'd normally only ever seen on tv. Amelia had to stifle a giggle, putting her hand over her mouth. 'Good god, that's adorable!' She couldn't help thinking. 'Almost a shame we're going to have to turn his entire world upside down to make sure he stays safe.' "I'm Sebastian and this is my boyfriend, Carter." Sebastian says, he holds Carter's hand as he introduced him. "And I'm Amelia. This is my brother, Vincent." Amelia says immediately after, pointing at Vincent with her thumb over her shoulder. Sebastian glances between Amelia and Vincent quickly before bringing his attention back to Elliot. "Mind if we get a drink with you?" Amelia then asks, thinking it'd be better for them all to seem relaxed while they try to talk this guy around. At least if they're drinking with him it'd be far easier to keep an eye on him. Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 "Nice to meet you all! Y'all got some pretty names and faces." Elliot nodded. He waved a hand over. "Sure, why not?" He turned to Hades. "Drinks for all my new friends. It's on me." Hades stifled a laugh. Blaire pushed away. "Be the waiter this time buddy." She smiled at Amelia. "Nice to see you guys here." She poured them each a glass of blood. She gave Elliot his second bottle of beer when he gave her an empty one. "Much appreciated." He took a sip before turning to Sebastian. "I'm on vacation here. Trying to see the sights and all." "Sorry pal but there's nothing but murder and lousy people." ,said Carter. Elliot chuckled. "That's funny." shadowess - February 17, 2021 They sat at the bar, near Elliot. Amelia strained a smile at Blaire, feeling a little awkward. She couldn't remember much of that night when she got black out drunk in this club. She had an awful feeling she did something she'd regret but for the life of her she just couldn't remember how the night had ended. Only that it had ended in a bed with three other women, the faces of whom were just a blur to her. She hoped to god she didn't break one of her own rules. She didn't want Blaire to get hurt. "Uh...Could I get a beer please?" She asks Blaire before turning to pay attention to the conversation. Sebastian was puzzled by Elliot's answer. What part of that was funny? "How so?" he asked. Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 Blaire blushes out of embarrassment. "Sorry about that. I'm use to my usual customers." She gave her a beer. Vincent shook his head. "I'll have a water." She handed him a glass of water. Elliot though for a moment. "Well, a lot of people these days are always saying negative mumbo jumbo. But the thing is, you can find some awesome happy stuff just about anywhere." He nodded at them. "Like making new friends." Carter raised a brow. "I guess you do have a point." "Exactly!" He raised his bottle. "To new friends!" Carter raised his glass just to be nice. shadowess - February 17, 2021 Amelia nodded in thanks to Blaire while taking the beer. As soon as Elliot made his toast Amelia necked her bottle, drinking just over half of it's contents before putting the bottle down. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose here as a drinking spot?" Amelia looks him over in an obvious way. "You kind of stick out like a sore thumb, no offense." Sebastian looked around them warily. Giving any vampires that wander over curiously a quick glare as if telling them to 'back off.' While the others kept Elliot occupied he quickly and subtly nodded to Blaire, mouthing that they needed more blood bags. Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 Elliot took a few more sips before answering. "Well, the place looked cool. I like new buildings that have all these emo things in them. People always seem to think that they're weird but I think these people here are awesome." Carter had annoyed look on his face. He couldn't stand whenever someone mixes goth and emo as the same thing. It irritated him. Blaire quickly dragged Hades over. "Good news. You're the bartender. Now behave." Hades rolled his eyes at her but stood there anyway. She soon came back with a cooler of blood bags which were hidden in the usual gift bag. shadowess - February 17, 2021 Sebastian smiled at Blaire and mouthed a 'Thank you' before handing her his bank card to pay for the bags. Amelia frowned, this guy was far too comfortable here for his own good. Even if they got him to leave, it sounded like he'd just come right back again later. Her frown only lasted for a split second however, before she smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she turned to Hades. "Can we get a round of Sambuca's?" She winks. He'd probably know where she was going with this and she thought Elliot might want a slightly stronger drink after what she planned to do. She glanced at Vincent. 'If he freaks out, get ready to grab him and teleport out of here. I'll teleport Carter and Sebastian.' She thinks to him. She then turns back to Elliot once the Sambuca's were in front of them. "So, in the spirit of this being a Vampire bar and all, do you believe in the supernatural, Elliot?" She asks, smiling slyly. "Do you believe anything like that could possibly exist?" As she asks this she runs a hand over the line of Sambuca's, lighting each one up as she moved. She kept her palm open and facing him to show she wasn't holding any lighters while grinning at him. Her eyes changing to red. Once done, she lifted one of the glasses and blew the flame out "Just curious." She says before knocking the shot back. Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 Blaire nodded and swiped the card on the reader. Once that was done, she handed it back to him. Hades poured the requested drinks that Amelia ordered. Elliot was about to answer her question when he saw what she was doing. His eyes widened. He couldn't believe that this was happening. It must have been a trick. Yet, when she showed her red eyes, his face became pale. He fainted. His body was just about to hit the floor when Carter zoomed to him. Catching him just in time. He glared at her. "What the hell's your problem?! We were supposed to talk to him! Not scare him half to death!" Blaire looked at Elliot. Seeing if he was ok. "No offense Amelia but that was cruel. Even for you." Vincent knelt by Elliot's side. "He's fainted. No doubt he will wake up with fear when he does." shadowess - February 17, 2021 "Oh, lighten up you lot! We'd have to get him to believe somehow and words weren't going to do it! Or would you rather he found out on the end of someone else's fangs?!" Amelia complained. "I mean, Jesus! You all make it sound like I tried to kill the guy." She stands up. Placing the shot glass back onto the bar. "C'mon, we need to get him out of here. At least now we can get him somewhere safe where we can explain things to him. Though..." She looks at him and chortles, finding amusement in how he'd reacted. "We might want a couple of drinks to hand for when he comes to." She holds her hands up. "I promise I'll try not to terrify the guy any further." Sebastian didn't say a word. He just stared at Amelia in a disappointed way. It occurred to him momentarily that her judgement might be a little impaired right now because of her smoking and drinking. But still...

Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent glanced at Sebastian before looking at Carter. "Someone else is in my body." "What?!" He nodded. "It's the same one who once had this body." He looked at his hands. "They use to be a helper but now they're a killer." "Are you telling me he's killing innocent people out there?" He shook his head. "Only the bad ones. I told him to do that instead. To not kill good people. He promised because he feared of what I had done to her. And when he got close to Clementine, he snapped her neck. Hoping to kill her but it didn't work. That's why she was gone. She didn't reappear in the same place that we were in." He turned around. Walking a bit further from them. "I don't know how to say this but....I'm a devil now." Carter raised a brow. "Are you telling me that the guy in your old body was-?" "Yes. And now, he's a demon." Carter scoffed. "God damn! This sounds crazy." shadowess - February 16, 2021 At the news that Vincent is now a Devil, Sebastian's eyes widened. First Alex and now Vincent? Amelia had gone her whole life believing there was only herself and Damien left. Then, within the space of a couple of weeks, two more Devils are discovered! He knew the reason Alex wasn't discovered until the incident with Bryce, but this guy? The man whose body Vincent now drives? Sebastian couldn't help wondering if he'd been a Devil for long before Vincent wound up in his body...if he even knew what he was before that...and if so, why hadn't he made himself known, at least to Amelia? This also begged the question, are there any more out there that they didn't yet know about? The back door opened and Amelia stepped in, her eyes on the ground. Sebastian stiffened a bit. He could smell her far more keenly than he'd been able to smell her blood before. Her scent was only mildly masked by the smell of weed. Walking away from her, he went to stand near Vincent and Carter as he looked at her, wary of himself but glad to see she was alright. "What I miss?" Amelia asks, looking up at them with slightly bloodshot eyes. Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Carter had a hard time looking at her after burying her old body. He held Sebastian's hand so that he could feel better. Vincent looked at her with concern. "I informed them about everything." He walked to her. "We should talk." shadowess - February 16, 2021 Amelia didn't move as Vincent approached her. The weed numbing her emotions nicely and making her feel a little more apathetic than she had earlier. When he said they needed to talk she shrugged her shoulders "mkay..." She mutters as she walks towards one of the other rooms. One her way past, she gives Carter and Sebastian a little smile to let them know she was alright. Even if it wasn't entirely true. Sebastian gave Carter a look as if wondering what was going on between those two and gently rubbed his thumb over Carter's hand as he held it. "Uh, maybe we...oh yeah...shit. We left the blood at your house..." He frowns. "We could take a quick trip to the club? Get this place stocked up? Might be handy to have some around...especially now Amelia is back." He wasn't sure about Carter but Sebastian could already feel some form of craving setting in. Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent followed her into that room. "I wanted to apologize for earlier." He hugged her. "I'm sorry for making you feel bad. I know that traditions are different. I understand why you do thing differently." Carter shook his head. "No way. I want all of you to stay safe. I'll be the only one leaving. Who knows where those guys are?" (so maybe, if you agree, I was thinking that we could include this character I mentioned earlier. Blaire could call about what I said but instead of the focus on a pervy werewolf, cause we already did that thing but with a vampire and Carter, this new character could be become part of the group and help out. just a suggestion) shadowess - February 16, 2021 Amelia was surprised by the hug but she welcomed it, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him back. "You shouldn't have to apologize...you were right." She sighed, still feeling rotten but a little less so now. "It gets confusing sometimes, you know? It's not just that I was trained to act that way...it feels like an instinct sometimes..." She smiles a little and buries her face in his shoulder. "I'm glad you're around to remind me that it's ok to feel...that I can be better than that." Sebastian grinned, tilting his head at Carter and couldn't help chuckling. "Try stopping me." He challenged playfully. "Carter, you know splitting up is not a good idea. Especially with these people." He frowns. "I'd know. They have a knack for picking people off when they're alone. We're all safer if we stay together. Look out for each other." (Sounds good ) Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent smiled. "It's good to hear that I'm helping." Carter sighed. "You're probably right." He cupped his cheek. "It's just what you told me about the Asylum and everything that's happened." He frowned. "I honestly can't imagine what I would do without you. If you ever died, I'd....Well, I don't know." His phone suddenly rang. He answered. "Hello? Blaire?" "Hey uh Carter? Can you guys come over here at the club and help me out?" "Why? Is there something wrong?" "Not really. There's this guy here who is enjoying his time here and is very nice and sweet but...." "But what?" Blaire looked at the vampires that were all sitting from a distance while some were trying to sweet talk the human sitting there with a bottle of beer in his hand. That human was smiling and enjoying the conversation. "Let's just say that there are some vampires here who really want to pull this human's pants down if you know what I mean." Carter pinched the brim of his nose. "Why don't you tell him?" "I already did! He just thinks this is some kind of club where people are obsessed with dressing like vampires. He thinks the blood is just wine." He tapped his foot in annoyance. "Alright. We'll be there." "Thanks." He hung up. "Looks like we've got another problem to deal with." Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 (awesome!) shadowess - February 17, 2021 Amelia pulls away, smiling a little. "Shall we go back to the others?" Sebastian opened his mouth to say something to comfort Carter. He didn't want him to think like that. Before he could say anything though, Carter's phone rang and he answered it. Sebastian waited patiently and heard Carter's half of the conversation. When he hung up and said they had another problem, he raised his eyebrow. "What's going on?" Denix Vames - February 17, 2021 Vincent nodded with a smile. "Sure." "Eh some human is hanging out in the vampire club. He's nice and all but obviously he's a big target for them there. Blaire says that there are some vampires that are trying to flirt with him. They don't want to drink from him. Apparently, they want to have sex with him. Either way, I'm not taking those chances. So we all need to go there ASAP and meet the guy. Get him to leave the club without being a total dick to him." ,said Carter. shadowess - February 17, 2021 Heading back to the others, Amelia entered the room just in time to hear the end of Carter's explanation. Sebastian looked both concerned and thoughtful. "Well, that works out then. We can pick up some more blood bags while we're there. How do you suppose we convince him to come with us?" He asks. Amelia walks over to them both and holds out her hands ready for them all to take. "I'm sure we can figure that out when we get there. Sounds like we need to step in and intervene quickly. Hold my hands, I'll take us there." She says hurriedly.

Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent immediately drops the book. He clutches his cloak. "No!" He turned away. "I can't do something like that. Not when I'm meant to help people. Like I said, I want to talk to them. If you want to do this then you can. But I won't." shadowess - February 16, 2021 Amelia was taken aback by the way he reacted and stared at him, immediately feeling guilty for what she suggested. She closed the book she was holding and gripped it tightly, looking down at it ashamedly. She'd sprung at the idea without much of a second thought...because that's what she was used to. Because it was something she and Damien would have done. But Vincent was right. It wouldn't be fair on the people they'd possess, no matter who they work for. Sighing, she placed the book back into the shelf and also picked up the one on the ground carefully, putting it back as well. "I'm sorry." She says quietly, not looking at him. "I didn't think...sometimes I forget to simply have a heart, you know? I just react based on what I was trained to do...and what I was trained to do is not always the right thing to do." She remembers when Bryce had kidnapped Alex the first time and her first instinct was to just let him go because her primary concern at that time had been Sebastian and Carter's safety...the way Sebastian had scolded her and reminded her how to simply have compassion. She was trying her best, but sometimes she just needed a harsh reminder. Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent put his cloak on. "I want to see our friends. It's been a while." shadowess - February 16, 2021 Amelia frowned. She'd angered him and she felt awful for it. At his request she gently touched his arm and they appeared in Vincent's old house. Without a word she walked away from him to look out of one of the windows. Sulking. Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent frowned. He didn't want to make her upset but he didn't feel like apologizing just yet. He wanted to see Sebastian and Carter first. Just to see what they were doing. "Carter?!" He walked to the stairs. "Sebastian?" shadowess - February 16, 2021 As Vincent walked away Amelia vanished. --- Sebastian woke up at the sound of Vincent's voice and gently shook Carter awake. "They're back!" He says with a smile and jumps out of bed, hurriedly getting dressed to make himself decent to greet their friends. He might be a little angry at Amelia but he'd just be happy to see that she was alright. Vincent too. He'd been worried when he chased after Clementine. From what Amelia had said, it sounded like she wasn't someone to underestimate because of the way she looked. Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Carter groaned at being woken up. Once he heard Sebastian, he did his best to get dressed as fast as. Fixing up his hair so that it didn't look as messy as it did. He ran downstairs. He paused. "Where's Amelia?" Vincent looked around. "She was with me before." He looked at them. "You too had sex." Carter blushed. He nervously scratched the back of his head as he cleared. "Uh yeah. What about it?" "What is it like to have sex?" "Oh c'mon! You had orgy at the vampire club. Stop playing around." "I don't recall." His eyes widened. "Did having that new body change your memories or something?" Vincent shrugged. "I wouldn't know." shadowess - February 16, 2021 Sebastian headed down the stairs shortly after Carter and shuffled on his feet, a little embarrassed at the conversation. He too looked around but saw no sign of Amelia. He frowned. "Amelia?" He called out, walking past them to look around. He glanced out of the window and saw her pacing around in the garden. She seemed agitated...and she was smoking. Sebastian sighs. "At least she's not drinking..." He comments and looks back at Vincent. "What happened? Is Clementine still helping us or should we give up on that?" Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent flushed. He looked down as he nervously rubbed his arm. "I didn't mean to but I fought with her. She hurt my friend so I hurt her back. But then Amelia told me that Clementine respects me because I hurt her." He shook his head. "It doesn't feel right. Why would hurting someone make someone show respect to that person? Isn't that wrong?" Carter sighed as he laid a hand on his shoulder. "You should have seen the Romans." Vincent's lips quivered. "I hate this world. I hate humanity. I hate us." Carter pulled him in for a hug as he gently rubbed his back. "Oh. Don't talk like that. Not everybody wants a fight for respect." shadowess - February 16, 2021 Sebastian watched them, his worry for Vincent growing a little. He seemed like he was changing...a lot. Anyone talking to him now would never know the man he used to be. He doubted anyone would even believe it. He sighed. "I guess most of these things are a matter of perspective. Everyone has their own views on what is right or wrong...But if Clementine respects you now, then why isn't she here?"

Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent sat on one of the couches. He looked around. "This place holds great happiness for you. Moments of peace. A sense of family. I wish I had that." shadowess - February 16, 2021 Sitting on the couch opposite Vincent, Amelia sighs with a smile while swinging her legs up to lay down. Her head resting on the arm of the couch. "There's still time." She says optimistically. Amelia was beginning to view their little group as a family. Sure, they're a little odd and far from anything traditional, but that didn't matter when you loved those close to you enough to fight for them when they needed you. Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent smiled. "Then are we siblings?" shadowess - February 16, 2021 Amelia continues to smile as her eyes moved to look at Vincent. By now she was so used to him knowing what's on her mind that his questions and comments didn't surprise her anymore. She kind of liked it. She just wished she could do the same. "I don't see why not." She says happily. She then closes her eyes, utterly content. Still semi-awake but beginning to drift off to sleep. Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 He found himself feeling grateful for having her around. She was a very comforting person. He took his cloak off and put it over her as if it were a blanket. Then he moved to the other couch where he laid down. He closed his eyes. Doing his best to try and sleep. shadowess - February 16, 2021 Because this Library felt like home to Amelia, and because she found Vincent's company soothing, it didn't take her long to fall into a deep sleep. For once, she had no nightmares either. Just the typical pleasant, nonsensical dreams. After several hours, Amelia opened her eyes peacefully. She sat up a little and saw the cloak draped over her and smiled. She then placed her hands behind her head and relaxed on the couch. Casually bringing a hand around to rub the sleep from her eyes as she yawned. That was the best sleep she'd had in years. Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 After some time, Vincent woke up. He stood from the couch and looked at the books. He walked over to the shelf. Intrigued by the literature. He reached for one. shadowess - February 16, 2021 Looking over, Amelia noticed Vincent looking at the books on the shelves. She smiled. "Most of the old books are written in either an ancient Demonic language or dead Earth languages like Latin..." She recalled being unable to read any until the Ancient Devil spoke to her telepathically. Then suddenly she'd found herself understanding the demonic language fluently. As if the Ancient Devil had somehow passed on that knowledge to her when he'd spoken to her. "There's some spell books, alchemy recipes...stuff the old Devils used to use before Lucifer wiped them all out. There's also a few Earth books in this place too. Mostly historical or instructional... This is the safest place in Hell because no Demon dares do anything that might cause damage to these books...turns out Lucifer valued knowledge pretty highly and would collect and store Earth books here whenever he could...and he'd punish anyone who damaged them, severely." Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent pulled out a book. He looked at the cover which he could not read. "This Lucifer fellow seems two sided. I wonder if he just needed a friend. Maybe he wouldn't have done what he had done if that were the case." shadowess - February 16, 2021 Amelia sighs and stands up, leaving the cloak on the couch as she stretches herself out. "I know what you mean..." She says and then picks up Vincent's cloak, taking it over to him to hand back with a thankful smile. "The way Damien used to talk about him...it was like he was the greatest guy in the world...he genuinely looked up to him, but...he definitely had issues...it seems like, the more time I spend trying to run Hell, the more I learn about how he tried to cope with it all on his own..." She shivered. "Sometime I couldn't help but wonder if that's how I'd end up turning out if I ended up running things on my own for centuries..." She looks at the book he was holding and smirks, amused. "uhh...That's a...that's basically sex ed for Demons and Devils...Information on how we breed and what the kids would turn out like depending on what species we bred with..." She glances over the books and pulls out a different one. "This one has a few spells in it that new age Devils can use. How to make soul binding contracts...how to summon Demon servants...how to possess mortals..." She pauses from reading the contents page and stares off at the book case thoughtfully. "Maybe we could do that!" She looks at Vincent. "For getting into the organization undetected, I mean. We could possess people that work there, get past their security and free any prisoners once we're in. By the time they realize what we're doing we can hop out of the human bodies and go about talking to whoever is in charge!"

Denix Vames - February 15, 2021 Carter found himself breathing normally again. He looked at this place and said, "First day of being in my own office and this shit happens." He leaned his head against Sebastian's. "Fuck...." ------- Charles stood. He walked over. "Oh c'mon! You and I both know that no one in this entire realm ever liked her. She was the bitch that you'd see at work. The one that you wished would die." He smiled. "Honestly, I think I did everybody a favor." He knelt beside Vincent. "Now for my body." He snapped his neck and then snapped his own neck. Both men died and reappeared in the same forms. Vincent's body was now clothed as he was awake. Charles became awake too. They both got up. "Well shit! So much for switching back." Charles looked at his new suit. "At least it's brown. I like that color." Vincent's cloak was dark red as the rest of his clothes were black. "Thank you. I was feeling very well after I fought her." "I wouldn't either considering how strong she is. But if I were I'd avoid attempting murder. You're supposed to be the type of devil that helps. Killing anyone, even in self defense, will taint you as a devil that kills. I can already take your old job and deal with that." "Then don't kill the innocent or else." "After what I just saw, I think it's safe to say I'll keep that promise. Anyway, if you ever need anything just tell me." He pointed at his own head. "Ta ta!" He disappeared. shadowess - February 15, 2021 Amelia just gawped at Charles's callous response. She looked down at Clementine's body. She'd re-awaken elsewhere but Amelia was pretty sure she'd probably avoid the three of them like the plague after this. She watched him warily as he knelt beside them but before she could say or do anything else, Charles snapped Vincent's neck. Her eyes widened and she was about to yell at him when he broke his own neck as well. For a moment, she stared at all three bodies around her in silence. Not entirely sure what to make of this situation. Then she saw the new bodies fade into existence. Not something you see every day...it was weird... They both sat up and it became apparent that no change had occurred between them. Other than clothing, of course. Amelia watched the exchange, mildly confused but just about keeping up with the conversation. Charles then vanished, leaving her with Vincent. Amelia still had a hand on the dead Vincent's shoulder and she glanced down at it briefly. Realizing the body was nude she quickly took her eyes away, getting up and walking over to the living Vincent with pink cheeks, scratching the back of her head. "Hey." She says softly then throws her arms around him, hugging him. "I was worried about you." She lets him go and takes a step back. "So, I guess you're stuck in this body then? You ok with that?" --- Sebastian rubbed Carter's back comfortingly. "Just a day in the life for Amelia, I guess... Sometimes, I don't think she really realizes what things like this can do to people like us... " He sighs. He glanced around the place thoughtfully. Maybe they should try taking their minds off it for a while. "Maybe we can come up with a couple of plans for when they get back?" He suggests. "You know...for after we give Amelia a piece of our minds." He smirks. Denix Vames - February 15, 2021 Vincent smiled at the hug but frowned when she asked. "Yes but I'm not alright with what I did. Hurting Clementine. I should have talked to her but I just couldn't handle how cold she was. It's like she doesn't care about anyone or anything. Only herself and her goals. And those goals aren't very nice ones." ------- Carter slowly nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we should do that." He turned to him. He blinked for a moment before seeing those lips. Desperate to find some peace, he kissed him. Holding on as another kiss followed. And then he brought more passion into it. He cupped his cheek. Keeping him there. shadowess - February 15, 2021 Carter began kissing him and Sebastian returned the kiss with a small smile. When the kisses became more passionate, Sebastian closed his eyes and allowed himself to get lost in Carter's embrace. All thoughts about what had happened evaporated from his mind. In this moment, the only thing that mattered was sharing this moment with Carter. He lifted a hand and ran it through his hair. His other hand slipping under his shirt, feeling his torso. He pulled away a bit and began kissing down Carter's neck, his hand slipping around his waist to pull him closer. He then lifted his head to rest against Carter's, catching his breath, staring at his lips while gently biting his own. --- Amelia sighed and smiled at Vincent. "Clementine...has been around for as long as Lucifer has ruled Hell. She used to serve him, as far as I know...and she has a very similar mindset to what he had." She glanced around the forest briefly, her eyes scanning all the broken trees. "Damien told me the few things Lucifer told him about being an effective Devil before he vanished...Show no weaknesses. Devils do not cry. They do not say please or thank you, they only command...and Devils never, ever apologize for anything that they do." She chuckles. "I break these rules on an almost daily basis...I think that's why Clementine doesn't respect me." She shakes her head, bringing her eyes back to Vincent's. "But as I said before...I want to make a change...hopefully for the better. Oh, and I wouldn't worry too much about what you did to Clementine." She smiles understandingly. "As far as she is concerned, the only thing you have done is given her a reason to respect you more. I'm willing to bet that if you were to talk to her now, she'd be a hell of a lot friendlier towards you than before." She sighs and lowers her eyes to the ground. "Maybe you're right about how we approach that organization...Maybe...I duno...I'm just so used to how I was trained that maybe I lost sight of what I stand for?" She brings her eyes up to Vincent's again. A glimmer of determination behind them. "But if they won't listen, if there is no other choice then I will stop at nothing to ensure the safety of innocent lives is kept." Denix Vames - February 15, 2021 Carter felt his nerves tingle at his touch. He caught his breath when their lips separated from each other's. He chuckled at the unbelievable passion he had gotten from him. "Maybe there's a bedroom upstairs?" -------- Vincent raised a brow at the idea that Clementine possibly respected him because of what he had done. "Talking is a good thing but I wouldn't let our guards down. We can't assume that they'll want to talk but we can't assume they'll attack us first. We just have to be careful. I can talk to them first. People seem to talk to me. I never get into fights except for today." shadowess - February 15, 2021 Thinking through what Vincent said, Amelia leant against a nearby tree and nodded. "I agree..." She then smirks. "If I hadn't witnessed the way you handled yourself back there, I'd be worried for your safety...I still am..." She admits. "I'll watch your back, but I trust you'll be fine." She then thinks for a moment. "Another Devil... Never thought I'd meet another one...other than Alex, I mean... Demons look up to us for leadership... What happens to Hell and them is our responsibility." She looks at him sideways. "So, Vincent the Devil." She smirks playfully. "When this business with the human organization is over, do you want to help me broker a peace treaty with Heaven?" In this moment, Amelia felt hopeful. She didn't feel quite as alone or burdened now that there was another Devil that could help her. A Devil she'd grown quite close to, in fact. She knew this might be quite the change for him and she'd be happy to help him adjust in any way she could. Whether that be providing training or answering his questions. --- Smiling, Sebastian stood, taking Carter's hand in his. "Let's go find out." He says seductively. (Aaaand private time lol) Denix Vames - February 15, 2021 Vincent chuckled. "I thought I was going to be dead too." He thought for a moment. He smiled. "That would be nice. I just hope that the angels will listen too." -------- And there was a bedroom upstairs. (pretty much lol) shadowess - February 16, 2021 Smiling, Amelia steps away from the tree. "Me too." She agrees before holding out her hand for him. "I think we should get some rest for now. Re-growing new bodies so frequently is pretty tiring. Part of the library was converted into a home when I was being raised there. We can stay there. As soon as we're rested up we can go see Clementine if you still want to talk to her. Then we should head back to Sebastian and Carter. I'm sure they're worried about us." Denix Vames - February 16, 2021 Vincent took her hand. "Resting would be nice. From what you told me, maybe I can talk to Clementine now." He thought for a moment. "Those two always seem to know how to keep the other one stable. I don't think we're in their minds at the moment." shadowess - February 16, 2021 "You might be right." She smiles and a second later they were stood in the Library. Amelia let go of Vincent's hand and walked over to one of the book shelves. She ran her hand along the spines of the dusty old books lovingly. She recalled waking up here for the first time. She couldn't remember what had happened before that but she knew it had resulted in her being orphaned and David finding her. Since then she'd spent most of her childhood confined to this building, only occasionally slipping away to explore Hell. She smirked, remembering the way David and Carol always looked simultaneously terrified and angry when they eventually found her and brought her back. She sighs, looking around. The building was still. Silent. Empty. "I guess David is still out searching for Theo and those angelic items..." She turns to Vincent. "We should be safe here. There are no beds but the couches were comfy enough when I was a kid...they should do for now."

Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 (i can see that lol) Carter wiped the blood off of his lips. He looked at his shaky hand which now was stained with it. "Jesus fucking christ!" He took a quick breath before speaking again. "A-Alright. Is there a backyard or something? Do we even have shovels? Like what do we do?" ------- Flames were over Vincent but he did not. He went on all fours as he growled. A boney tail came out of him. His nails turned into claws. His eyes were bleeding. He flew up to her face as he roared. Letting out a hellish fire from his mouth. shadowess - February 14, 2021 Scooping down to lift Amelia's body into his arms, Sebastian looked at Carter shakily. "I-I don't know...I thought I saw a garden through the window earlier when looking around. Maybe there's a shovel out there?" Tears stung his eyes. He knew it was silly. That they hadn't really done anything wrong. That Amelia would be back in no time. But it didn't make what they'd done any easier. Sebastian could see Carter was having similar emotions. Sebastian swallowed, grimacing at the sweet taste that lingered in his mouth. He really hoped this was worth it. --- Clementine's laughter echoed around them as she watched Vincent change and spring at her. She dodged to one side, moving rapidly despite her enormous size. Knocking over more trees as she moved, she aimed to back-hand him in mid-air. "That's more like it!" Her raspy voice boomed around them. --- Amelia jumped awake to the sound of waves and sat up to find herself sitting on a beach. She stared out at the black waters as they crashed and tumbled nearby. The Dark Docks. Somewhere in that vast ocean lived a very large Demon who hadn't been seen in centuries. It was now at a point where most Demons debated what it actually looked like as, in all that time, it never came above the surface of the water. But there was no time to dwell on one of the many mysteries in Hell, Amelia had things to do. She closed her eyes and imagined Vincent. When she opened her eyes however, she was taken aback. Finding herself to be sitting near Vincent's old body who stared back at her. "Wait...What?!" (Thought you might like to write as whoever is now occupying Vincent's old body lol If not, don't worry, I can always change it.) Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 Carter quickly nodded. "Then let's go there. I'll see if there's a shed." They headed to the backyard as Carter held back his vomit. Swallowing and cringing at the taste of it. "Fuck...!" He couldn't believe that he had just done that. Killing Amelia like that. It was beyond fucked up to himself. -------- Vincent hit the ground as she had smacked him. His body and clothes began to burn until he was nothing but a skeletal creature with a crocodile's skull for a head and a human skeleton as his body. He grew slightly bigger. His voice echoed as the ground shook. "LISTEN TO ME!" He grabbed his own arm as Clementine unwillingly grabbed one of hers. Both pulled their arms off at the same time. Flames formed his arm back to the way it was. He flew up to her and clawed at her torso. --------- He did a little wave with his fingers wiggling as he smiled. "Hello!" He sat up. "Name's Charles. I'm a devil or was. Unfortunately, someone took my body. What a disaster really. I killed a few people before I decided to rest here. And I really want to kill you but I won't since it seems like you came here for a reason. I wish I knew what it was. Can't read your thoughts anymore. Can't ready anyone's unfortunately." He tapped his own head. "So, what do ya say we go and find whoever you're looking for? Maybe I'll find whoever I'm looking for too?" shadowess - February 15, 2021 Sebastian lay Amelia's body on a couch and placed her hand on her stomach. He held his hands on top of hers for a moment before standing up and heading out into the garden with Carter. He noted the little circle of ashes in the middle of the garden and assumed Amelia and Vincent must have burned some stuff there when they decorated the place. He brought his eyes up to Carter. He wanted to say something comforting...but what do you say after something like this? He was still processing what they'd done himself. Maybe, once her body was buried, it might be a little easier to deal with? Out of sight, out of mind? He hoped so. Sighing, he moved over to the shed and picked up one of the shovels laying next to it. Picking up the other one, he wordlessly passed it to Carter. Just wanting to get this next part over with. --- If Clementine wasn't already grinning by default, she would be by now. Seeing him completely transform and shout in anger amused her greatly. That was, until he gripped his arm and she involuntarily did the same. Before she could react she had pulled her own arm from it's socket with an ugly ripping noise as the muscles and tendons under her porcelain shell tore apart. An ear-splitting shriek rang throughout the forest from the enormous Demon as she dropped her arm and gripped at the socket which began spewing blood onto the mossy ground. She was then knocked back, stumbling and falling against the trees. Knocking them down behind her as she fell on top of them. Looking down at herself she saw the cracks he'd made in her armor and she growled furiously. In one rapid movement she sprung back onto her feet and hissed, swinging her fist to knock down trees in his general direction. --- Amelia didn't react at first. Just stared at Vincent...or well...Charles apparently, with a bit of a blank look. She heard him alright but her mind was still reeling after everything that had happened. And now this?! Suddenly, Amelia sprang to her feet and slowly rose to stand straight, narrowing her eyes at him. She continued to stare for a moment and then she began to speak rapidly, her entire body becoming very animated. "Sorry! Had a bit of a moment there. New brain- again- New body in fact! -second one in around twenty four hours -you know how it is? Everything's still a bit wobbly!" She giggles at the end of her sentence. She supposed dying and instantly growing a new body twice in such a short space of time might have some temporary consequences on her mind. "You said you're Charles? Ol' Charlie boy!? Chuck! Chaz?!" She pauses and grins, pointing both her fingers at Charles like guns. "Cha-Cha!!" She giggled again. "Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait!! Shhhh!!" She almost shouts, bringing a finger to her lips and looking at him like she just realized something important. "You said you're a Devil!" She grins widely "That's fantastic! So am I! I'm Amelia!" She goes to shake his hand then pulls back before reaching him, looking horrified. "No wait! No! You said...Y-you..." She slows down, her eyes dropping to the floor momentarily as she holds a hand over her mouth. Removing her hand she points at him. "You said you killed people? Nooo! Wwwwhhhhyyyy?! Why'd you do that!? That's not cool! M-my friend! You're in my friends body! He's worked so hard to be good! And you-! WHY?!" She whined, now seeming distressed as she scolded him. She paced around frantically, her hands on her head and then she stopped to look at him again. "Aha!" She shouts suddenly, pointing at him once more. "Liar, liar pants on fire!! Vincent could read minds before he wound up in your body! You CAN read my mind!!" She then seems thoughtful as she continues "Although I don't suppose there's much point now because I can't seem to stop talking...it's like everything that pops into my head just comes straight out- like a- a- word vomit- a brain spew- A PONDER CHUNDER!" She laughs at her own jokes. Then she seems to slow down again, breathing a little heavily as she got her breath back. She was beginning to look a little calmer. Her hands on her hips as she stared at Charles with a little more suspicion. "Wait...wait...no...what're you planning to do if we do find him?" Denix Vames - February 15, 2021 Carter took the shovel. With shaky hands, he began to dig a hole for the body. Not saying a single word as he did it. --------- Vincent dodged the attack. He whipped his tail against the side of her head. He flew to one of her claws where he bit a finger off. -------- Charles grinned. "You got me there. But I rather not read minds right now. Too busy trying to find myself. Literally." He chuckled. He raised a brow. "Well, don't you sound a lot more nuttier than me?" He stood. "For your information, I'm going to put myself back in my own body. I miss it." He looked around. "Would you mind showing me the exit?" shadowess - February 15, 2021 Once the hole was deep enough, Sebastian stood his shovel up in the ground and hesitated before walking into the house. He re-emerged a moment later holding Amelia's body. He placed her carefully into the hole and climbed back out, taking up the shovel again to help Carter bury her. The entire thing was done in silence. Once they were done, he looked over their work briefly before bringing his eyes up to look at Carter. "I know she's coming back...and I know we did it for a good reason..." He starts, his eyes beginning to tear up again. "But I never want to do this again...never again." His voice broke as he said the last few words. --- Clementine's head shot to one side and the crack in her head grew a bit bigger from the impact. She shrieked again as she felt Vincent biting into her finger, severing it from her hand. Enraged, she swung her hand at him again. --- Amelia holds up a finger, the other hand still on her hip. "Woah now, hold up chu-chu! Be specific! How do you suppose you're going to put yourself back in your body, hmm? This-" She gestures at all of him "- Almost never happens! It's so rare that the eldest Demon didn't even know what to do! and I'm telling you right now Charlie boy, if you plan on hurting my friend, you'll have me to answer to! Do I make myself clear?" Denix Vames - February 15, 2021 Carter dropped the shovel once they were done. He fell to his knees as he looked at his hands. He tried to breath but found himself gasping for air. His vision became blurry once his tears poured from his eyes. "B-Bur.....I buried....." He clutched his head and shut his eyes. Trying to push these thoughts of his mind. Yet, he could see the corpses that he had to find in dugged places where the killers had hid their victims. When he use to be a detective in the NYPD. --------- Vincent nearly fell when he was hit. He quickly regained balance as he landed on the ground. "ALL I WANT IS TALK!" He pulled his other arm off as Clementine did too. The flames grew his back. With the pain on her mind, Vincent flew to her head. He headbutted her hard. Giving himself barely a crack on his skull while her head was nearly falling apart. -------- "Oh, I'll find a way." Charles laid a hand on her shoulder. He laughed. "Of course. Perfectly clear." He gripped her arm. "Now, let's see if I can find him without finding an exit here." He thought about his own body. About he so badly wanted to see where it was. They soon appeared at the battle between Clementine and Vincent. He seemed annoyed. "Well, it looks as though we have a problem." shadowess - February 15, 2021 Eyes widening a little at how Carter reacted, Sebastian dropped his shovel and ran over to Carter. He took his head in his hands and looked into his eyes. "Carter, look at me." He whispers gently. "This isn't the same as what you're thinking. Yes, she's dead. Yes, we buried a body. But this isn't permanent!" He gestures at the mound of soil behind him. "That, in there, is nothing but a vessel. We have to think of it like that, for the sake of our own sanity. We have to remember, she's not like us! Amelia will be back in a new vessel soon. It'll be like this never even happened." He prayed that was the case for them. "But for now, we should go in and get some rest. Carter, please." --- Amelia looked at his hand warily as he placed it on her shoulder. She might be feeling a little loopy right now but that didn't mean she wasn't cautious of this complete stranger. When he gripped her arm, her concern grew as she exclaimed an annoyed "Oi!" before they found themselves in the Umbra Wood, where Clementine and Vincent were already in the middle of fighting. Amelia seemed to momentarily forget all about Charles holding her arm as she watched the brawl unfold in awe. "Aww dammit...wish I could transform..." She whined. A sad truth about Devils and Demons is that not all of them get more than one form to shift into. Amelia being one of the Devils unable to shape shift or transform into a second form. Just as Charles said they had a problem, they witnessed Vincent rip his arm off, causing Clementine to do the same with another shriek that made Amelia grimace. The noise hurting her ears but she was unable to take her eyes away from the scene before them. Clementine's shrieking was cut short by Vincent's head butt which semi-shattered her porcelain skull, revealing that it was hollow inside. She fell back from the impact and her head smacked against the trees on the way down, further shattering her skull. "Oh, I don't know about that..." Amelia now replies to Charles's statement with a grin, impressed by Vincent's ability to take down Clementine. Not many Demons had that bragging right. Clementine's body fell to the ground limply and a small figure rolled out of the hole in the top of the skull. It was Clementine's child form, unharmed and dressed in the same outfit she'd been wearing earlier. She stumbled to her feet with a gasp and whirled around to stare at Vincent with a mixture of fear and surprise. "You are no Demon! What are you?!" She demands, taking several steps back. Having already used a tremendous amount of energy to transform and fight, she was now too tired to change again. She was helpless...bested. "Woo! Way to go Vincent!!" Amelia cheered, unable to contain her excitement. Denix Vames - February 15, 2021 Carter looked at him the nodded. He let Sebastian take him inside. He nearly fell again when he was taken to the bathroom where he felt water touch his hands and face. He couldn't speak. He did his best to stay calm but he couldn't say a word. --------- Vincent roared. "WOLF DEVIL!" He had a hard time explaining what he was. Those were the only two words that popped into his head. On all fours, he started running towards her. Ready to rip her apart. Charles appeared in front of him. He high kicked him under his jaw. Sending him flying back. Vincent rolled over as he landed. The flames soon died out and his form reverse back to its human form. He was naked and out cold. The left side of his head was bleeding. Charles fixed up his suit before smacking his hands off of any invisible dust that was there. "I think we've had enough of this fight." He turned around to Clementine. He knelt. "Sorry if I'm late for the show but I was looking for my body. I hope he didn't rough you up too much." He gripped her neck and instantly snapped it. "Because I wanted to do that." shadowess - February 15, 2021 Sebastian helped Carter into the house and got them both cleaned up before helping him over to the couch. There he simply held Carter in his arms quietly. Allowing him however much time he needed to come to terms with what had happened. If he needed to talk about it, Sebastian was ready to try to help him. --- "Vincent!!" Amelia screamed when Charles had kicked him into the air. She'd run forward to kneel next to him, seeing him change back into the human form. She placed a hand on his cheek and gently shook his shoulder with her other hand. "Vincent? Are you alright?" She looked up when she heard Charles speaking to a confused looking Clementine. He seemed to be acting pleasantly at first but an instant later there was a snapping noise and she saw Clementine's body hit the ground. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the back of Charles. "What the hell did you do that for?! That was unnecessary! She was helpless!" She yelled at him angrily.

Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 "Enough! Both of you!" Carter sighed as he shook his head. "Look princess, I get it. It was a mistake and I'm sure Amelia will keep that in mind for next time. But she was in a situation. So lay off her, ok?" He thought for a moment. "Actually, this could work. Clementine, you've been around the Hell block for a while now, right? Maybe you can help us. Take down this fucked up organization before it grows back like virus." Vincent said, "But what about-" "Stop it! Ok? Just stop! Negotiating or talking to these guys isn't going to help us." "Killing them is just what they expect us to do!" "Amelia and Damien already did that a long time ago. It doesn't make it any different than what we're going to do today." "Then why do it at all? Why not make things diff-?" "Because they're humans!" He frowned. Glancing off to the side as he thought about who he was before he became a vampire. "Because they're humans." Vincent was taken aback by this. He thought for a moment. "Blaire-" "Is an exception." Carter shrugged. "I doubt any other human would like us." shadowess - February 14, 2021 Clementine's eyes momentarily turned red at being called 'princess' and being spoken to in such a manner by a mortal. At Carter's request for help, she shrugs. "Ordinarily something like this would be a mere mortal matter and therefore not my problem. However, as this organization has displayed an interest in the capture and dissection of immortals in the past then it may be beneficial to help eradicate them. I am not entirely sure how you would like my help however, as I only have two forms. The one you see now and my second which is around the size of a two story building...Hence why I could do little to help the last time I aided you." Amelia shook her head at the argument. "It's not just that they're human. Any human individual on their own might be more willing to listen. It's the fact that it's a group of humans with one clear mindset; To distrust anything not human and find ways to fight them." She sighs. "Sure, you might be successful in changing the minds of one or two...but most of the time with these things, the humans stick to their loyalties even if it no longer makes sense for them to do so...and in that instance they become dangerous." She looks at Vincent sadly. "I don't like it either." She says softly. "But if we don't stop them...they outnumber all other species on this planet...if they discover all their weaknesses and develop weapons for them...it'll be genocide upon genocide. We cannot stand by and allow that to happen. Do not forget, our purpose isn't just to help people become good..." Her eyes shone red. "It is also to mercilessly punish those who knowingly commit atrocities without remorse for their actions. That is what it means to be what we are. It is our dark responsibility as guardians of the innocent." Clementine smiled at Amelia's last statement approvingly. She never thought much of this Devil. In fact, most of the time she found her love of mortals to be a weakness, but it would seem she was beginning to understand what it meant to be a leader of Demons. It was no secret to Amelia that Clementine, being as old as she was, had a very old fashioned view on how Hell should be ran. Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 "You could pretend to be a lost little girl and then kill them or keep them distracted long enough for us to get inside their hideout." ,said Carter. Vincent turned away from her eyes. "I don't want to believe it!" Carter crossed his arms. "Believe it or not, we're going to kill those sons of bitches. The problem is how are we going to find their location?" shadowess - February 14, 2021 "That may not be a bad idea. It may backfire though. Given what we know about this organization, it would not surprise me if they tested on children as well. I must warn you, I absolutely refuse to be tested on and will transform if they try, even if that means I demolish a building in the process." Clementine warns Carter. This of course would not be a good thing if they are trying to rescue anyone else being tested on in the building at the time. Amelia frowned at the way Vincent reacted, her eyes turning blue again. The way he acts now...reminds her so much of how she was before she changed into a Devil...before she met Damien. Full of so much love and naivety. She could only barely remember what it had been like now. Unfortunately, this kind of attitude did not sit well with Clementine who gestures at Vincent angrily while glaring at Amelia. "You see where your weaknesses get us? He could have been a fine warrior! Instead you brainwash him with your love and forgiveness rubbish!" Clementine curses in the old demonic language. "With you for a leader we'll be licking Angel boots in no time!" Amelia turned her eyes to Clementine, her eyes turning red again. "I am not Lucifer!" She snaps. "I am painfully aware!" Clementine shouts back. "Lucifer would not have stood for this! Would he still be here the human's organization would already be in flames! You and Vincent would be put through the appropriate training! Damien was far too lax with yours! He failed you!" "Get out!" Amelia gasps, hurt by her words but Clementine ignored her and continued. "Neither of you were fit to rule!" "I DON'T EVEN FUCKING WANT TO RULE HELL!" Amelia screamed, tears beginning to fall. Clementine pauses and scoffs at Amelia, disgusted. "Don't worry." Her words are acidic. "You won't." Clementine vanishes, leaving Amelia staring at the spot she'd been standing in, shaking with rage. 'This is it' She thought. 'Barely in control to begin with and now any hope of convincing the older Demons that peace with Heaven is an option has been destroyed...All because of one stubborn Demon who would accept no other leader than Lucifer himself...' Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 Before Carter could do anything, Clementine had vanished. "Fuck!" He slammed his fist against the desk. "That fucking bitch!" He glared at Amelia. "Before we start finding this place, I want to talk to that princess of yours. NOW!" "What a childish demon she is for someone who has lived longer than me. She resembles herself well in her body." ,said Vincent. He touched Amelia's arm. Giving her a smile. "When someone cannot change for their people or accept change then they will perish either by physical means or be left alone to rot in misery." Vincent gripped her arm. Angry about what Clementine had told her. His eyes suddenly went from black to red. Changing their colors permanently. "I'm going to see her myself. And I'm going to talk to her." He let her go then disappeared. Carter frowned and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe we should just call it a day. We can't think of a plan if we're pissed off. Getting that little princess to help us is out the window. Unless of course....." He rubbed his chin in thought. "We get a human to distract them?" He saw the concerned look in their eyes. He raised his arms as if to calm them. "Look, I know this doesn't sound right but if there's someone who's willingly to help us out then we could use them for this. But we'll make sure not to get them involved with those fucked up experiments. Just have them distract whoever's guarding that place." shadowess - February 14, 2021 Amelia scoffs at Carter's demand to talk to Clementine. "Good luck with that." She says sourly, not taking her eyes from where the demon child had stood. Sebastian hadn't moved throughout this entire exchange. He stood to one side, a hand over his mouth as he'd watched it all unfold tensely. When it came to Devils, Demons and anything to do with the afterlife, he always felt way out of his depth and unsure of what to do. Their species not only had the natural ability to kill but also could destroy a soul in it's entirety with ease. So placing yourself in the middle of them while they fought with each other was never a wise idea. Amelia only brought her gaze up when Vincent touched her arm and spoke to her. She felt her breath catch in her throat at his words. Simultaneously feeling touched and her admiration for him growing. Perhaps he was beginning to understand what she had meant earlier. She watched his eye color changing with mild alarm, and once again found herself wondering who this body had once belonged to. Her suspicions that he now possessed something stronger than a mere Demon body growing even more. He was gone and she stared at where his eyes had been. She felt Carter's arm around her shoulders and heard his words. She smirked through her tears as he called her a princess again. "Carter, that little princess has the ability to trap people in porcelain doll versions of themselves for eternity. I'd probably refrain from provoking her if I were you." She snickers. Sebastian sighs, contemplating Carter's suggestion. "I don't like it...but then I don't like the idea of going anywhere near their organizations again...Maybe we should sleep on it...Probably not a good idea to return home for a while though." He looks around the building. "Guess we'll have to stay here." "The curtains are heavy duty. I checked them earlier. They should provide ample cover from daylight." Amelia says, stepping away from Carter and wiping her tears away before folding her arms. She sighs heavily. "I have to go after them...I need to try to talk Clementine around...and make sure Vincent is alright...whether or not I like it or even want it...they're both my responsibility. Just...one more thing..." She turns to look at them both seriously. "I need you both to kill me." Seeing the alarm she caused, she quickly explains. "Like I said, they have weapons that could poison you both. I'd rather not leave you without some form of protection...even if it is untested. My blood has previously been proven to protect vampires from sunlight. As well as grant some of my powers...Maybe it'll protect you from werewolf venom, too? By draining me completely it may even give you protection for more than just a day...and it'll mean I get to awaken in Hell in a fresher, less damaged body to face Clementine with. So...you know...a win-win." She then holds up a finger at them warningly. "But this is a one off. Let's not make a habit of this!" ----- Clementine arrived in Hell, still angry from her exchange with Amelia. She marched through the Umbra Wood, a part of Hell resembling a dark, dense forest, wanting to walk off her anger before going home. Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 Carter tensed up. Even with her explanation, he felt uncomfortable. "I really really don't like this. I rather not be addicted to whatever the hell is in your blood. No offense." -------- Vincent appeared in front of her. Glaring at her with those red eyes. "We need to talk." Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 Carter tensed up. Even with her explanation, he felt uncomfortable. "I really really don't like this. I rather not be addicted to whatever the hell is in your blood. No offense." -------- Vincent appeared in front of her. Glaring at her with those red eyes. "We need to talk." Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 (sorry about the repeated message. i think there might have been a glitch.) shadowess - February 14, 2021 "Non taken." Amelia replied understandingly. "I don't like it either but as I said, you need protection and I need to get to Hell without the injuries I already have." She sighs. "We don't have a lot of time. You saw how angry they both were and knowing Clementine, it's only a matter of time before a fight occurs. I'd rather avoid that and get back to the matter at hand which, right now, is the organization we need to stop." Sebastian shifts on his feet uncomfortably. "I don't know Amelia..." He says slowly, hating the idea of having to hold her dead body again. "I'm with Carter on this one. We don't want to end up just viewing you as something to get a fix on. We don't want to hurt you." "You won't." Amelia pressed, taking a step towards them. "Guys...I trust you. So please...trust me, too." Sebastian looks at Carter uncertainly. --- Clementine came to a halt when Vincent appeared in front of her and she sighed irritably. "If it isn't the loyal lackey of our fragile leader." She announces coldly then stares at his eyes, a little taken aback. A look of uncertainty momentarily flickering in her own before returning to a cold stare. "We have nothing to talk about. Now leave me be newborn, before I teach you some manners." She threatens. shadowess - February 14, 2021 (Lol, no worries.) Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 Carter sighed. "Alright. We'll do it. But if I start getting the habit of wanting to drink your blood then either one of you better keep an eye on me." He hesitantly leaned close to Amelia. Opening his mouth as his fangs came out. "Hope this doesn't make things awkward between us." He sank his fangs into her neck. Drinking from her. As he began to taste her, he found himself drinking more faster. Shocked by the sweet taste of her blood. He immediately pulled himself off of her. He leaned against the desk as he gasped. Catching his breath. "What the fuck?!" ----------- Vincent wrapped a hand around her own neck. He grit his teeth. "I said that we. Need. To. Talk!" He slammed her against a tree. Breaking it off its roots as Clementine's body hit the trunk before it fell. His cloak burned off as boney wings came out of his back. shadowess - February 14, 2021 Amelia was glad when Carter agreed although she instinctively began to shake. Dying wasn't exactly something to look forward to and her experience with Alex and Bryce had left her nervous of being bitten again. But this had to be done. For all their sakes. "Just remember, my body won't burn so you'll have to bury it when you're done. Bury it deep." She says quickly, the thought popping into her head as both Sebastian and Carter approached her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. Hearing Carter's comment, Amelia laughed nervously. "Not unless you make it awkward." She says before gasping as she felt two sets of fangs pierce either side of her throat. She felt venom from both of them rapidly taking over her and within seconds she could no longer hold herself up anymore, feeling them holding her. She didn't feel as frightened as she thought she might. Maybe it was because they were her friends and she trusted them? All she felt as they drank from her was just the never ending euphoria that came from their venom. Carter had let her go before Sebastian had. Sebastian struggled to bring himself to stop. Even as her heart stopped beating and he was forced to retract his fangs he stared at the wound he'd made longingly for a moment, wishing there was more while breathing heavily to catch his breath. Then he came back to his senses and his eyes lifted to Amelia's peaceful features. The realization of what they'd done slowly dawning on him. She wasn't gone forever but seeing her dead body was something Sebastian knew he'd never get used to. It was like a punch in the gut. Bringing his gaze to Carter, he tried to re-gather himself, already feeling a new power surging through every part of his body. "W-we need to bury her...Like she said..." He says shakily. --- Vincent had picked the demon child up by the neck. Given the size difference, his hand was too big to fit around her throat so some of his fingers ended up gripping her chin as well. She was then thrust against a tree which caved and fell behind her from the impact. Clementine grit her teeth out of pain and anger, then she sneered at him, seeing his wings sprout out of him. Her own eyes flashed red and then were completely consumed in black. "The newborn wishes to play with the big Demons, eh?" She says, her voice gradually becoming more of a rasp. Her teeth thinning and sharpening and her smile becoming wider than what could conceivably be natural. Her little body twitched, jerked and convulsed violently before her skin was rapidly torn apart as a new body within grew out of the shell that was once the child form. Her limbs, torso, head and neck stretched out. Another set of legs sprouted and grew as well. Trees around her were pushed away and crashed to the ground as her shifting body clumsily shoved them aside. By the time she was done, she towered over Vincent. Hissing through her long, sharp teeth at him. Her eyes now nothing but empty sockets yet she still seemed to be able to see him as she faced him and followed his movements. The end result resembling a combination of a spider and a porcelain doll. No hair on her slightly cracked head. Four claws replaced her feet but she still had hands on the end of her arms, albeit massive ones now to stay in proportion to the rest of her body. "Come, newborn." Her words hissed around him although her mouth didn't move. "Prove to me you are not weak." (You have no idea how much I've missed writing Clementine's second form lol)

Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Vincent followed her. He couldn't look at her as he wished he had told her. Carter let out a defeated sigh. "Alright. Explain why the hell do you have bruises all over yourself like you were in a fight club?" shadowess - February 13, 2021 Amelia stopped in her tracks and hesitated but figured it was about time she started being more honest and open with her friends. There was no point in trying to hide the truth. She sighed heavily. "There was an issue in Hell and being the only Devil the Demons can turn to, I had to go and sort out the matter. In short, Vincent saved my ass...again." She answers shortly then looks back to give Vincent a quick, thankful smile. "I can go into details about it with you later if you really want but for now it's your turn. What's happened? you've both got worry all over your faces!" She finishes, turning back to Carter and Sebastian. "We're being watched. No idea by who. There was a black van parked outside. It looked like they were watching the house. They drove off as soon as we noticed them." Sebastian explains quickly. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Vincent slightly lifted his head up. "I'm sorry. I wasn't sure what they were doing. But I know now that they're bad. They were thinking about harming people like us. Demons, vampires, and other people like that. I don't know why they would but they want to." "Why didn't you say anything?" ,asked Carter. Vincent frowned. "I didn't want to believe it was true. I'm sorry. I should have said something." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Hearing his explanation, Amelia turned to look at Vincent. She too, was surprised he hadn't said anything but when he explained why she frowned understandingly. She couldn't blame him. He was trying so hard to see the good in people. It was just a shame that the world was still very much full of evil individuals. She sighs. "That doesn't matter now." She says softly, turning back to Carter. "We need a plan-...Sebastian?" She looked over Carter's shoulder at Sebastian who had turned much paler than normal and was staring hard at the ground. He seemed to be breathing a little heavily while leaning back against the front door. Hearing Amelia say his name, he shook his head a little, not taking his eyes off the ground. "N-n-no...no, not again. Not again. It can't be them. It can't be. It's not them?" He looked up at Amelia, losing his composure. "T-tell me it's not them! Th-they're gone! Y-you...D-Damien...But th-they're gone! C-Can't b-breathe!" He was hyperventilating. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Carter immediately turned to him. He cupped his face. Looking into his eyes. "Sebastian! I need you to look at me, alright? Just take some deep breaths. Ok? I'm not going to let them hurt you. Not ever again. If this really is what it is then we're gonna work together to take them down. Understand?" Vincent stepped forward. "I can only assume a small group if your friends truly did take out all of their facilities." "Then it shouldn't be hard to kick their asses. Do you hear that, Sebastian?" ,asked Carter. shadowess - February 14, 2021 Bringing his hands up to hold Carter's, Sebastian looked into his eyes while taking deep breaths, trying to calm down. Tears were running down his face and he was shaking violently. As Carter tried to comfort him he couldn't help picturing him strapped to that metal plate like Patience had been before she died. He couldn't let that happen. He'd die before he let that happen. Amelia was thinking rapidly as all this was happening. If it is the Asylums trying to make a come back and they already have enough funding for equipment to track and watch them so efficiently then that could mean they already have a base of operations set up...and if they have a base then they're sure to already have people held captive for conducting their sick tests. This wasn't just a case of them taking down this group. This'll be an infiltrate and rescue job as well. But there was no point in voicing any of this just yet. Not here. If they were just listening in then there's a chance they could still be in the area, listening to their conversation right now. They needed somewhere safer to make their plans. She glances at Vincent as the perfect location pops into her mind. They couldn't possibly have been able to follow them when they teleported into his old house to renovate it. It might be safe...for now. "Before we make any plans or talk about this further, we need to move somewhere safe. I have an idea of where but in case they're listening, I'm not going to say where it is. You'll just have to trust us as me and Vincent teleport us there. Then we can talk about this safely. Are you ready?" She says Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 Carter wiped some of his tears with his thumb. He pulled him in for a hug. Vincent gripped his own arms as he heard her thoughts. He almost couldn't believe that there were people out there who would do such terrible things to people like him and his friends. Carter turned to Amelia. He listened then nodded. "Ok. Alright. Let's go then." Everyone held hands before appearing in Vincent's old home. Carter looked around. "Where are we?" Vincent stared at the floor. "This was supposed to be a happy surprise but now it's ruined." "Amelia? What's he talking about?" shadowess - February 14, 2021 Sebastian held on to Carter, not wanting to let him go. Frightened the Doctors from the Asylum would break in any second to steal him away and hurt him. When they arrived in the new location, he pulled away a little to look around them curiously. Feeling a little calmer. Amelia gave Carter an awkward smile. "Uh...surprise?!" She sings weakly then looks at Vincent. "I suppose it could still be a nice surprise?" She tries to reassure him before looking back at Carter. "I overheard you guys talking at the club about going into PI work...me and Vincent wanted to help so, before the Hell stuff happened, we renovated this place to be your office. Even got some business cards printed for you." Denix Vames - February 14, 2021 Vincent walked over to the two boxes on the front desk. "Have a look." Carter, in disbelief, had opened one of the boxes. Revealing business cards with his full name, number, and the design. He pulled one out from the box. He looked around again. It almost seemed like a dream. He couldn't believe how much work and effort was put into this project. All so that he could continue on as a detective. He rubbed his eyes as he smiled. "You guys." He pulled Vincent in for a hug which surprised him but he appreciated nonetheless. He gave a second hug to Amelia. "This really means a lot to me. Thank you." He bit his lip as he looked at the card again. "This is my first case now. Taking down these bastards and stopping them from kidnapping, torturing, and murdering anybody else." He looked at them. "And I'm going to investigate this myself." Vincent stepped forward. "Maybe I can talk to them. Tell them that we're not monsters. That we only want to have peace and happiness." "I don't know if that will even work. Besides, I don't want any of you guys to get hurt. Or worse. You'll leave this one to me." "Then why don't we be your work partners? You should already know that we're your friends. And friends never let friends be alone." Carter smirked. He shook his head but complied. "Alrighty then. From this day and so on, you guys are my on and off again employees." shadowess - February 14, 2021 Sebastian looked around as well, in awe of what Amelia and Vincent had done for Carter. He grinned at them as Carter pulled them both in for a hug but then his smile slipped as Carter stated his first case would be taking on the people who had been watching them. When Vincent suggested that they simply talk to them, his memories flashed back to just before Patience had died and he'd pleaded with them that what they were doing would kill her. They hadn't listened then and Sebastian was certain they wouldn't listen now. Carter soon relented to letting them help him but Sebastian was still hesitant. He didn't want any of them in danger but he knew Carter was right. They couldn't stand by and let innocent lives be tortured or killed at the hands of these particular humans. As much as Sebastian wanted to take them all and flee the country, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if they did nothing. Amelia pumped her fist into the air when Carter said he'd hire them. "Yes, mate!" She grinned, excited. "We won't let you down!" She then heads over to the desk and leans against it. "Ok, so you guys already know Sebastian's story. That's more or less what the rest of the asylums were like that me and Damien took down. I'm willing to bet this'll be a smaller version. By the looks of things, they're only just getting started. Which is good, because it should make it easier to take them down. They also don't know where this place is so that already gives us some advantage. The bad news is, from what I remember, they are well equipped. If they still have records or had back up data from the places that were burned down then there's a chance they've managed to remake weapons they'd started testing when me and Damien took them out." She glances at Sebastian for a moment nervously before taking out a sheet of A4 paper and a pencil. "Patience wasn't the only vampire they murdered with werewolf venom. After we freed Sebastian, we found at least three more Asylums with records of a similar test...the last one had a blueprint for this weapon..." She drew a picture of what looked like a dart gun. "I don't know if they ever managed to make this weapon or if this new group has managed to do so but I don't think we should be going in without being aware of it. From what I can tell, it's a dart gun specifically designed to shoot and kill vampires using werewolf venom." She sighs. "I have an idea of how we can protect you two from the venom but it's...never really been tested. It might work...or it might fail. Only really one way to find out..." She leans against the desk again. "Now the only question is...how organized are they exactly? I mean...how the hell did they know to watch your house?" Amelia puzzled. "Because you were careless, as usual." A bored child-like voice answered next to Sebastian, making him jump out of his skin. "Couldn't you knock or something?!" He snaps, annoyed as his nerves were already frayed as it was. Clementine ignores him and continues. "Apologies, I meant to tell you sooner but the issue with Theo caused quite the distraction. When I visited the penthouse to retrieve Bryce's book, two men entered the suite in masks. I hid and watched them. They found Bryce's ashes and his bottle of blood and concluded there had been vampires in the suite. One of them mentioned them having been watching the penthouse for some time...and witnessing Amelia with Bryce and Alex when she had been their prisoner. Amelia, you also left one of your crystal weapons laying around which I picked up before they could see but before I left I overheard one of them state they would get a forensics crew into the suite. I am guessing that is how they identified you." She then turns to look at Carter, suggesting they'd found some kind of DNA evidence of him having been in the suite. Most likely from when Bryce had broken his ribs and he'd coughed up blood. She then glared at Amelia. "This could have been avoided if you had followed the proper procedures to hide our presence!" She scolded. Amelia huffed, crossing her arms. "In case you forgot, I was a little occupied at the time!" "No excuse. You are a Devil. Take some responsibility." Clementine answers coldly.

Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Carter frowned. "I know and I'm sorry. I just-" He sighed. "I just wanted to forget. About everything. The trauma I've been through, the pain, torture, the loss....All of it. Sometimes I think about killing myself." He held back tears. "Every night, I have the same damn nightmares about my family and about you." He shook his head. "I'm supposed to be happy and move on but I'm not. I don't even know if I'm ever happy. But when I'm with you, I do feel happy. I feel like I can be me. That I can trust you with whatever I say." He lowered his head. "So doing what I did doesn't make any sense but at the time it did to me." He hesitated. "I just didn't want to go through with that drama again. Getting upset over the littlest reminders about my family." He bit his lip. "It wasn't your fault. It was mine. I wanted to do this because I thought it was easy. Now, I realize that it only made things worse. That it made you feel bad. And I feel like I failed." He looked at him with those disappointed eyes. Disappointed at himself. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again. And I'll try not to let things get to me." He caressed his cheek. "I don't want your reason of leaving to be because of me. I shouldn't be doing this to you." ---------- "Sometimes he'd do it but not like that." ,said Vincent. He slightly turned his head at her. "He'd only do something like that when I really don't listen." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Sebastian was quiet as Carter spoke. When he finished he brought a hand up to cup the one on his cheek unable to stop the tears that fell. He closed his eyes, his chest heaving a little as he sobbed silently. Thinking through everything Carter had just said. Wordlessly he leant forward, leaning his head on Carter's shoulder, crying into it and hugging him. "Oh, Carter..." He whispered between sobs when he finally found the strength to speak again. "What am I going to do with you?" He pulled back and held Carter's face in his hands, looking into his eyes. "Next time, just talk to me. I might not always understand but I'm trying! I want to help you. You need to let me help you." He cried. --- Hearing Vincent, Amelia felt her heart drop. She supposed having a friend who could hear her every thought was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because she felt she could truly be herself around him and a curse because she had no control over thoughts that might be hurtful to him. The second they popped into her head, it was already too late to try to block them out. "Vincent..." She whispered tearfully. "I'm sorry...No one should have to live through that." She suddenly felt defensive of him. For just a second, she thought of what she'd do if anyone raised their hand to him again. In short, she just wouldn't allow it to happen. Not if she could help it. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Carter's lips quivered. Tears rolled down his cheeks. "I know. I know. But please don't cry. I don't want to be the one that makes you cry. Not for any reason. I don't want to do that." He touched his hands before kissing him. "I'm sorry." -------- Vincent smiled. "Thank you. I never realized the friends that I have were here until you started talking to me. It means a lot." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Sebastian kissed him back and then pulled him into another hug, one hand on the back of his head. "It's alright." He sighed, calming down. "Let's just go home...I'll boil us some blood..." He says softly and lets him go, offering him a comforting smile. He took his hand and turned to walk back to the house, only vaguely taking note of the black van with tinted windows parked at the end of the street. --- Wiping her eyes, Amelia smiles and nods at Vincent, happy that he knew he needn't be alone. That he could always talk to her or the other two if he needed to. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Carter tensed up. He stopped. "Wait a minute." He squeezed his hand. "I feel like someone's watching us." ------ Vincent nervously rubbed his arms as he walked over to her. He awkwardly gave her a hug. Not really sure how to go about making someone feel better. shadowess - February 13, 2021 Hearing Carter's suspicion, Sebastian looked up and down the street warily. No sooner had Carter said he felt like they were being watched, the black van started up and sped off down the road. Sebastian stared after it, a little startled. Maybe it was coincidence? He'd like to think so, but the way it took off so quickly gave him the impression that whoever was sitting inside may have been able to hear their conversation. "Carter... I have a bad feeling." He says slowly, bringing his eyes back to him, concerned. --- Amelia watched Vincent make his way over to her and smiled as he tried to hug her. She noted how awkwardly he went about it but found his effort charming nonetheless. She brought her hands up to his arms, resting her head on his shoulder and hoping he'd relax as she hugged him back. "Thank you." She says quietly, simply being comforted by him being there. "For everything..." Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Carter glared at the speeding van. He looked at him. "Sebastian, I want you and the others to go to Blaire's house. You'll be safe there. I'll stay here and see what's going on. Is that clear?" -------- Vincent touched the back of her head. "I'm glad I could help." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Sebastian shook his head and looked at Carter sternly. "Not a chance! You've seen what happens when we don't stay together. Besides, if we're being watched then there's a chance they'd end up following us to Blaire's and we'd wind up pulling her into whatever this is too." He looked at the house. "I wonder if the others are back yet. If they are, they should know what we just saw." --- Amelia smiled at him, comfortable in his arms. Already she felt far calmer and safer than she had just minutes ago. Her mind relieved of worry and replaced with a growing admiration. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Carter grit his teeth. "Damn it, Sebastian! I'm trying to-" He sighed. "Fine. We'll tell them if they're there. But when we do inform them, we need to find a safe place for you and them." They got into the house. "Amelia? Vincent! You here?" -------- Vincent lifted his head up. Breaking the hug. He heard Carter calling for them. "They're both worried. I believe they saw them. The men near the restaurant." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Sebastian wanted to protest but ended up just following Carter back to the house. Amelia looked around to the bedroom door when they heard Carter's shouts then looked back at Vincent when he mentioned the men outside the restaurant. She'd forgotten about that! "Wait, why would they see those guys? Weren't they just random people you helped?" She asked, confused and getting to her feet. She left the room to see what was going on, completely forgetting the various injuries she had all over her body. She headed down the stairs to greet them. "What's going on?" She asked.

Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 "Sorry but I don't drink." Vincent was concerned when he saw Carter sleeping on the couch the way he did. He reluctantly complied with Amelia. Following her upstairs and into the bedroom. Once the door was closed, he spoke. "There was an argument. Carter feels bad for yelling at him. He blames himself for everything so he got drunk. I'm not sure how he did it but I know he'll wake up feeling really bad. He doesn't want Sebastian to think that he has to apologize." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Amelia felt a little guilty at having suggested the brew once Vincent said he didn't drink. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea...abstaining...as much as she wanted to drink away what had happened, the drink always managed to get her into trouble somehow. She dropped the subject and just walked with Vincent to the spare room. Once inside, she listened to Vincent's explanation and blinked at him in surprise. "You got all that while he was asleep?" She says in a hushed tone. Damn...she really needed to find out who this body belonged to and why they're so damn powerful. Pushing that thought from her mind she shook her head a little and bit her lip sadly, wincing a little as she accidentally hurt the cut in her lip. She stared off at one of the walls, not sure why they looked different. "I don't know if it's our place to get involved with this one...but I suppose...Carter's still our friend so we could at least try to talk to him about his drinking..." She noted the room looked different and it was only as she brought her attention to it that she realized. "All the kids stuff is gone..." She says, still looking around the room. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Vincent lowered his head. He rubbed his eyes. "Yes I did." He looked around the room. "He tried to move on. To forget. Sebastian was helping but it wasn't enough. He doesn't think that it will ever be enough." He laid on one of the beds. "They use to sleep here." He curled up and covered his own face with his hands. "And now they're not here because of me." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Amelia watched him sadly. This had been one hell of a trying day for all of them. Shame it started out so well...When he lay on the bed, she sat behind him and rubbed his arm comfortingly. She sighs and looks around the room. "I don't think the memories are contained to just one room...I don't think Carter will be able to move on completely until he can leave the whole house behind. Otherwise every nook and crevice is going to be a constant reminder of what he had and what he lost. He can truly move on when he forgives you..." She then looks at Vincent. "But you also need to forgive yourself. I believe there is hope for the both of you yet. You just have to be patient and persevere." She sighs again and stands up. "Try to get some rest...maybe get a shower... we look a right mess." She says, looking down at the dust they were both covered in. "I'll be back soon." A second later, and she was gone. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 As Vincent was thinking about what she said, he closed his eyes. He began to fall asleep. Tired from everything that had just happened. The glass from Carter's hand slipped as he mumbled in his sleep while moving a bit. He soon began to snore. shadowess - February 13, 2021 It was late afternoon by the time Amelia returned to the house. She appeared near the bathroom and knocked lightly to make sure it was empty before locking herself inside to tidy herself up. She looked at herself in the mirror above the sink and cringed at her various injuries. She could clean herself up, sure, but as soon as Sebastian or Carter saw the state she was in there was bound to be questions. Her lip was cut, she'd gained a black eye, bruises here and there on her face and arms. There was a knife shaped burn mark on her shoulder and upper arm on her left side. A small scratch accompanied by a burn on her neck. Two big hand shaped bruises that wrapped around her throat as well as similarly shaped bruising around her wrists. Her right hand was a little swollen as well from where Theo had slammed it against a countertop. Sighing at the sight of herself, she turned on the cold water and washed her face, cringing from where her cut stung. She then got into the shower. Once she was clean and in fresher clothing, she snuck back into the spare room and saw Vincent asleep. Smiling, glad he could get some rest, she lay on the second bed and faced the wall. She wouldn't sleep however. She couldn't as the memory of what had happened replayed over and over in her head. She stared at the wall, tears silently falling from her eyes and being soaked up by the pillow. --- Sebastian hadn't slept. He'd pretended to be asleep when Carter left the room and had a feeling he'd chosen to sleep on the couch. Not wanting to cause any more arguments, Sebastian had decided to just leave him to it for the day. Maybe he just needed a bit of space? Still, it had left Sebastian feeling utterly awful. He couldn't stop thinking about what had been said. He felt like he was to blame for the way Carter felt now. Why did he have to go an suggest alarms to him? Was there any way he could've known that would set him off? When the sun went down outside, Sebastian sat up in bed and sighed. They would need to talk about it sooner or later. Maybe he could boil them some blood and they could just talk it out? Getting to his feet, he crept downstairs and saw Carter sleeping on the couch. He smiled momentarily, thinking he seemed cute while he slept. Then his eyes landed on the glass on the floor that had been stained red. He could smell something sweet in the air around Carter and he frowned. He descended the rest of the steps and walked over to the couch, silently picking up the glass and inspecting it. He could see the clear liquid sitting on top of the small amount of blood that was left in it and knew what Carter had been doing. He felt angry suddenly. Like everything they had worked towards had just been thrown away. Carter knew Sebastian didn't like him drinking, why would he do this?! He didn't realize how tightly he'd been holding the glass until it exploded in his grip. He blinked at his hand angrily, knowing this would have woken Carter up but he didn't want to even look at him right now. Sebastian was hurt that he would be so damn careless. Without a word, he turned and headed for the front door. He knew he needed to calm down before he could speak to Carter and had decided to go for a walk, unable to help slamming the door as he left. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 "What the-?!" Carter instantly sat up. He could feel a headache pounding in him. He quickly saw the scene as it was. Seeing the broken glass in his hand. "Oh shit! Sebastian, I can explain." He stood from the couch. "Sebastian!" He watched him leave. "Damn it!" He quickly slipped into his pair of socks from yesterday and his shoes that were sitting by the wall near the door. He threw his jacket on as he ran out of the house. He shut the door. "Sebastian! Wait up!" He ran after him. "Let me explain! This isn't your fault!" --------- Vincent gasped awake when Carter woke. He listened as the noises continued. He frowned. "Sebastian found out. He's mad. Carter doesn't want him to be. He feels bad for doing it. He wants him to know why did it." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Sebastian kept marching forward, not really having anywhere to go in mind. He just needed to walk. Needed to calm down. He could feel tears stinging his eyes as he glared at the pavement ahead of him. He'd put his hands in his pockets. He heard Carter's shouts coming from behind him but he didn't react. Didn't slow down. Didn't look back. He also made no attempts to stop Carter from catching up or talking to him, a small part of him wanting Carter to help him calm down. --- Amelia had jumped at the sound of the glass shattering downstairs and then again when she heard a door slam. She held her breath, listening carefully. She heard Vincent's words and sat up, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes as if trying to hide them and looked around at him. She sighs heavily. "What do you suppose we should do?" Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 "Just slow down! We need to talk!" Carter finally caught up to him. Standing right in front of him to keep him from walking any further. "Please listen to me. I just want us both to talk about this. We can't let this thing go like nothing happened." -------- Vincent shrugged. "I don't really know. I wish I did but I don't. It seems as though those two will have to talk alone together." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks when Carter stood in front of him. At first his eyes looked anywhere but at Carter, feeling too hurt and angry to look at him. Then Carter said he wanted them to talk and he brought his eyes back to Carter's. "Do you realize how incredibly reckless and stupid what you did was?" He says quietly, trying to sound angry to scold Carter but his voice cracked as he spoke. "After everything we've gone through...Why did you do it?" --- Amelia sat with her back against the bed's headboard and pulled her legs up to hug them. She worried for them but didn't know what to do. Maybe they should just wait until they came back. But then she was going to have to try to explain what had happened to herself and Vincent. She rested her head against her knees and turned it to look in Vincent's direction. She'd been feeling a little ill for the past hour or so as she'd been stuck replaying the events in her mind. She wanted to ask if Theo had ever been that violent with Vincent. If he'd ever gotten that bad. How naturally he'd moved when fighting her had unnerved her a great deal. Like he'd had plenty of practice. At the same time, she didn't want to make Vincent have to remember something like that so she kept her questions to herself. She was trying her best to push it all from her mind, frightened he'd hear them, but with the events being so fresh and so traumatizing, it was difficult. He'd only been a mere soul but he'd made her feel so small...so helpless. Thank God Vincent had been there...

Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 Vincent's eyes widened as he felt himself falling back at the weight of Theo's dead body. He suddenly screamed. His pain and anger. All of it made the entire city shook. He was sobbing as he gripped his back. Wishing he didn't have to do that. That he didn't have to kill him even if it wasn't permanent. He continued to scream as the ground kept shaking. shadowess - February 13, 2021 Pulling herself away from the trash can, Amelia stumbled quite a bit as Vincent screamed and the city shook. She looked around hurriedly and saw cracks creeping up the walls of the building they were in. This place was going to come down on top of them! She looked at Vincent holding Theo's body and at the Angelic items laying on the ground. She wasn't going to have time to grab both. She dove towards Vincent without a second thought and wrapped her arms around him. She imagined them being in the street just outside the building. A second later and they were there, just as the building collapsed with a huge crash, covering them in dust. She'd covered their faces as the dust and debris filled the air, only pulling away once everything had settled. Looking down at Vincent, still holding on to Theo's body, she was filled with worry for him. Worried about how this might affect him. She needed to get him to calm down first though, or the rest of the buildings around them will soon follow the first. Amelia held onto Vincent, holding him to her and trying to comfort him. "Shhhh, Vincent. It's ok. It's ok." She says shakily. "Everything is going to be ok." Tears ran down her cheeks, leaving tracks in the dust covering her face. She was trying to comfort Vincent, while she was just barely hanging on herself. "It's going to be ok..." She cried, not knowing what else to say. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Vincent soon stopped screaming. He could feel her arms. Hear her voice. He closed his eyes as he felt tired. Exhausted from what he had done. He rested his head against her chest. Thankful that she was there. shadowess - February 13, 2021 Amelia was still shaking after everything that had happened. Vincent had stopped screaming and the city had stopped shaking. Everything was still. Quiet. The only sound coming from them. Amelia sat and cried quietly, holding Vincent. She ran a hand through his hair comfortingly while her other arm was wrapped around his torso. She was resting her head on his with her own eyes closed. Holding onto him like this was bringing her just as much comfort as it seemed to be bringing Vincent. Her heart beat gradually slowed down as she became calmer. He'd saved her again, she thought to herself. With how David and Clementine seemed when they arrived, it wouldn't have been long before one of them went to Earth to inform her of Theo's escape with the Angelic items. Amelia wasn't so sure she'd have told Vincent if that had been the case. She wouldn't have wanted him to worry and would probably have come to Hell alone to try to recapture Theo...She recalled how they'd fought when he caught up to her...if Vincent hadn't been there to push him off...She owed Vincent her life for this. Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Vincent's lips quivered. His voice was shaky. "H-He wouldn't listen to me. He stopped loving me a long time ago. Or maybe....he never loved me at all?" shadowess - February 13, 2021 Hearing Vincent's words, Amelia was quiet for a moment as she thought on how to reply. "I think the only thing that man ever loved was the violence he created..." She says quietly. She sighs, stroking his hair a little. "I'm sorry, Vincent...I really am..." Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Vincent frowned. "I'll never find love." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Amelia opened her eyes at his next words and looked down at him sadly. For a moment she cursed the fact she wasn't male as she looked at him. This man who had saved her twice and managed to fend for himself successfully might actually have changed her mind on the 'no dating friends' rule that she had. Oh well. She supposed she'll just have to settle for being a best friend. "Don't say things like that." She scolds him gently. "You've only just started on this new path that you're taking and already you have displayed brilliant qualities! You've been brave, loyal, understanding and caring. And you have been oh so strong..." She smiles and kisses the top of his head and gently squeezes him with the arm she had wrapped around him. "Any man would be lucky to have you." Denix Vames - February 13, 2021 Vincent held a small smile. "Thank you, Amelia." He opened his eyes. Looking at her. "Can we go to Carter's house? I just want to go....home." shadowess - February 13, 2021 Amelia smiled down at him, her eyes still a little tearful from when they'd cried. "Sure." She says gently. "I'll take you back...then I need to come back to let David know what happened...so they can dig out those items from the rubble before any unsavory souls or Demons find them..." She glances at the ruins of the building they had stood in not too long ago. Then I'll rejoin you at Carter's...Shouldn't take too long..." She looked around them then back down at Vincent and chuckled. "I don't know about you...but I could use some brew after this..." Then they were sat on the floor of Carter's living room. Because Theo had been a soul, his 'body' did not teleport with them. In fact, it was only a matter of time before it vanished completely as the newer version of Theo roamed Hell. If bodies remained solid in the the afterlife, Hell would be littered with them... Amelia blinked when she looked up and saw Carter sleeping on the couch with a glass hanging from his hand. She wondered if he and Sebastian had had a falling out while they'd been away. Not wanting to disturb him, and also because she wanted them to get cleaned up before either Sebastian or Carter saw them and began asking questions; she looks at Vincent and holds a finger to her lips before pointing to the ceiling to signal they should leave Carter be and try to get some rest themselves in the spare room.

Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 Carter smirked. "What isn't on my mind?" He frowned. "I should feel safe here but I don't. And I want to. I so badly want to. But ever since that fuck Bryce came along, things have been creepy for me." -------- Vincent was nearly in tears when he heard everything. "No! I know that I can talk to him. He'll understand. I know he will." He followed her to the Lost City. He looked around. "Theo?! Where are you? It's me! Vincent! I just want to talk to you! Let's talk! Please!" shadowess - February 12, 2021 Sebastian chuckled at Carter's first comment then looked at him in with gentle understanding as Carter explained he didn't feel safe since everything that happened with Bryce. He sighs a little. "I know what you mean..." He had never been so frightened than the night he'd woken up to see Bryce hovering over Carter. Even though he'd managed to fight him off, it had left Sebastian feeling a little apprehensive about falling asleep in this room. If he could sneak into the house so easily, who else could? "We've been through a lot...but Bryce is dead" He then chuckles "And I don't think we made any more enemies lately, do you?" returning to his soft expression; "I think we just need some time to readjust. To try to relax a bit...maybe, if it'll make you feel better, we could also set up an alarm system in the house?" --- During their search for Theo, Amelia found herself wandering alone through the 'Lost City'. A section of Hell that resembled a run down and abandoned city. Vincent wouldn't be too far away, they'd decided to split up to cover more ground. She felt uneasy as she walked past the empty buildings, looking around warily, aware that any one of these buildings could be being used as a hiding place. She heard a door creak nearby and whirled around to face where the sound had come from. She held a crystal short sword in her hand, ready to fight if necessary. She walked backwards a bit while keeping her eyes moving around her surroundings, looking for any sign of movement. She saw a figure run through the windows of one of the buildings and she darted towards it, her heart pounding. "Hey!" She yelled as she ran and burst through the door. This building looked like some kind of bare café. "Theo, if that's you, come out and place your weapon on the ground. There doesn't need to be any trouble if you just come quietly." She orders into the darkness. The majority of the building was shrouded in shadows, making it difficult to see who was hiding in there. She walked through quietly, staring into the shadows, looking for any silhouettes or signs that someone was hiding. "Theo?" She called out as she walked. "Just talk to me, Theo. This doesn't need to get ugly." Just as she said that, she felt someone grip her hand from behind her and rapidly slam it against the nearby counter, causing her to drop her weapon with a gasp. Before she could react, they had brought her arm around her chest to hold her to them tightly. She began to struggle, bringing her other arm up to try and pry his hand off her wrist when she saw the flash of a silver-white blade being brought up to her throat. She froze and heard the male chuckle into her ear. "You came looking for me on your own?" He tutted. "That was foolish of you. For a Devil, you're not very smart, are you?" Amelia kept her eyes on the dagger being held to her, her heart beating hard. "...Theo?" "I remember you. I saw you there...before he shot me. You're the reason I'm stuck here. You're the reason my Vincent changed! You turned him against me! But you're going to make it up to me. You're going to make me a Devil, like you. Do this and when I go to slaughter the others, I'll spare you." He growled into her ear, making her shiver. "Don't be ridiculous!" She snapped. "You will never be a Devil. You will never even be a Demon if I can help it! You don't deserve it!" "I. Deserve. Everything!" He yelled angrily then pressed the flat side of the blade to Amelia's shoulder, causing her to cry out as it burned her skin. She tried to pull away but he brought the blade up to her throat again. "Give me what I want." He growled dangerously. "Or Hell will just have to go without ANY Devil rulers!" Her arm still hot and very sore, Amelia sucked air in through her teeth as she tried to breathe through the pain. "I can't." "YOU WILL GIVE ME WHAT I DESERVE!!" He pressed the blade to her neck, it burned as it scratched into her skin a little, drawing a bit of blood. "I can't!" Amelia snapped back. "I don't have that power! Even if I did, I'd rather fucking die!" Theo was shaking with rage and desperation as he held her tightly and kept the dagger close to her throat. He thought on her words and decided she might be telling the truth. Frustrated, he pressed the flat side of the blade to another part of her arm to vent his anger. Amelia screamed and just as she started trying to pull away again, he brought the dagger up to her throat again to keep her from trying to escape him. He knew that if he let her go, she could destroy him if she wanted to. He had the handcuffs too but what could he use those for-...? An evil grin spread across his features as he thought of another way he could rule Hell. "You can't make me into a Devil...but you can make Devils..." He says slowly. Amelia wasn't sure what he meant until she felt him slip the dagger under the arm strap to her shirt and pull it to rip it off. She shivered violently, feeling his mouth on her now bare shoulder as he began kissing her up to her neck. She grimaced, turning her head away from him. "Oh God, no." She says in disgust. Theo stops kissing her and brings the dagger to her cheek, forcing her to turn her head towards him where he hovered his face just inches from hers. "Shhh, it'll be alright." He whispers to her. "I'll be good to you. I won't hurt you unless you don't behave. Then, I'm afraid, I'll just have to put you back in your place. We can rule Hell together. You and me. I'll have to keep you tied up until you learn to love me, though." He grinned maliciously, some of his teeth sharpening. "And you will learn to love me." 'Ok, no.' Amelia thought to herself. 'I'd rather die.' Theo hurriedly put the dagger into his belt and reached for the handcuffs. As he did, Amelia seized her chance and rapidly brought her head back then forwards to head-butt him in the nose, hard. She heard a crunch and saw blood pour from his nose as he let go of her and fell back with a cry of surprise. Infuriated at his attempt, Amelia dove on top of him and aimed two or three punches at his face. She struck him hard and he grunted, spitting blood across the floor before growling and punching her across the face and causing her to fall to the side with a yelp. She landed on her side and felt her lip stinging, tasting blood, knowing there was now a cut there. Before she could pull herself up, he was on top of her, punching her in the face and head angrily. "Fucking bitch! I'll fucking teach you to raise your hand at me!" He raged. Amelia gasped for breath between hits and tried to block his strikes with her arms. She gained a black eye and several bruises across her face and arms. After a few swings, Theo grabbed at her wrists and pinned them above her head. She wriggled and writhed under him, trying to free herself of his grasp. "Stop fucking struggling! Stupid bitch!" He growled at her, his tight grip hurting her wrists. She continued to struggle against him, kicking her legs as well even though it did nothing with the way he'd sat on top of her. 'Good god, is this the kind of shit Vincent had to deal with?' She thought to herself as she seethed, glaring at him as he kept trying to bring her wrists together to pin down with one hand. The horrible thought of how comfortable he seemed to be with his movements crossed her mind. Like he'd done it a dozen times before. "For fuck- Just lay still!!" He yelled into her face and let go of her wrists to punch at her again out of frustration. His hands then shot to her throat where he squeezed tightly. Amelia's mouth opened and she strained to breathe, her face turning a horrid red color which slowly turned blue. Theo's intention was to suffocate her enough that she wouldn't pass out but she would be too weakened and dazed to fight back. A tactic, by this point, he'd mastered. Even as she couldn't breathe, Amelia still tried to fight him off. Her hands balled into fists and being slammed repeatedly into Theo's arms to try to knock them loose. Her eyes watered and her vision soon began to swim. Her movements began to slow. Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 "An alarm system...." Carter grit his teeth. He covered his face as he felt himself succumbing to his depression. "Why the fuck didn't I think of that before? I'm a detective. I should have known to put one up for them." --------- Vincent heard the commotion and ran over. "Theo!" He shoved him off of her. "Theo! Stop! We don't have to fight! We can help people!" He reached out to him. Placing his hands on his arms. Tears ran down his cheeks as he looked at him. "Please. Don't hurt her. Don't hurt anyone. Killing people is wrong. It's awful. You shouldn't do it." He hesitated. "If you still love me then try to be a better person." shadowess - February 12, 2021 Sebastian's eyes widened a little. He hadn't meant to upset him. He'd been trying to make Carter feel better, not worse! "You can't blame yourself! No one could've known! Alarms aren't even as common as they should be!" ---- Amelia rolled onto her side when Theo was pushed off of her. She wheezed and coughed as she tried to get her breath back. Her face returning to it's normal color. Her throat and wrists hurt and had hand shaped bruising from where he'd been gripping her. Theo glared furiously at the blonde male that had pushed him off the woman and began talking to him about not hurting or killing anyone. This kind of talk didn't interest him at all. In fact, it only disgusted him. What a pathetic thing to say! He recoiled from the male's touch and stared at him confused when he mentioned loving him. "I don't even fucking know who you are!" He snapped and withdrew the dagger, pointing it at him threateningly. He looked at the woman choking on the ground. "Is this seriously the best you have?! Your Demons are weak! They need a stronger leader! I should be that leader!" Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 Carter clenched his fists. "Just forget about it, ok? Night!" He forced himself to roll on his side. Closing his eyes as he tried not to think about any of their conversation. -------- Vincent realized that Theo didn't recognize him. "Theo, it's me! It's Vincent! I-I changed bodies. I died and came back different. You have to believe me!" He placed his hands over Theo's which was holding the dagger. Gently pushing it down. He stepped closer to him. Leaning his head against his chest. "Please believe me. I'm telling you the truth." shadowess - February 12, 2021 Sebastian watched him roll over sadly, his heart aching. He hated seeing him so upset. He bit his lip and started reaching out but stopped before he could touch Carter's arm, thinking that maybe he'd end up making things worse if he didn't let it go. Retracting his hand, he stared at the back of Carter's head feeling awful. "I'm sorry..." He whispers and rolls onto his back, staring at the ceiling. Sebastian wouldn't sleep either. --- Taken aback by the male's claim to be Vincent, Theo stared at the Demon. He watched him closely as he pushed his hand down and rested his head against his chest. The body was completely different...as was the attitude, but there was no mistaking the subtle mannerism. "...Vincent?" He says, looking down at him. He saw Amelia trying to crawl towards her dropped weapon. "Don't you fucking move!" He snapped and he pushed Vincent away from him, marching over to stand between Amelia and her short sword. He pointed the dagger at Vincent while glaring at Amelia. "What did you do to him?!" He yelled. "You've ruined him!! Years of work! My progress! Ruined!" He now glared at Vincent. "You were perfect! You were mine!" Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 Carter heard his sorry. He frowned. Wishing that not everything reminded him of his family. He just wanted to be happy with Sebastian but the memories of the past and recent events felt as though they were suffocating his head. Making his heart sank and his chest feel heavy. He slept for some time before sneaking his way downstairs and into the kitchen. He thought of an idea. Something that could help him forget about the pain he felt. He took a blood bag out. He pushed his fangs against the rim of a glass. Letting the venom in. He poured some of the blood and began to drink the mixture. He was starting to feel the effects. Similar to being drunk. He sighed as he could feel that numbness. He stumbled to the couch where he began to do this process repeatedly until he felt satisfied. Most of the blood from the bag was gone. He was laying on the couch with the empty glass hanging off the edge in his loose grip. He was sleeping. --------- Vincent almost couldn't believe what he heard. "Theo....? Don't you love me? Don't you care about me?" He shouted, "Why do you talk about me as if I'm your property?!" He was shaking as did the ground. His eyes flashed black for a moment before they went back to his regular green eyes. He hugged him from behind. "Just stop! Please! I love you! Don't do this!" shadowess - February 12, 2021 Amelia had no choice but to stay where she was on the ground and look on nervously as Theo wielded the dagger like a madman. Both she and Theo stared at the ground and the walls as the room shook, apparently from Vincent's outburst. Amelia's eyes rose to Vincent's form. That was quite some power for just a typical newborn Demon...maybe it's the new body? Then there was the intense ability he described as being able to read minds and emotions... Who did that body belong to?? Amelia's memories momentarily flashed back to being in the spare room of the penthouse when Bryce and Alex had knocked down the door. When Bryce had said "A devil and a demon" upon seeing Vincent and Clementine. She wondered... Theo stumbled a little but maintained his balance, staring at Vincent as he approached him to hug him. He turned to stare at Amelia, where Vincent couldn't see his face, and smirked at her maliciously. "Of course I love you. I always have my beloved." He says softly. He turned to smile at Vincent, feigning sadness. "But how can you say you love me when you let them imprison me? They changed you Vincent. Don't you want to be how we were? Unstoppable killing machines? I always loved your artwork. I loved watching you work, seeing the delight in your eyes as you carved flesh. Prove to me that you love me and I'll take you back." He took the handcuffs off his belt and held them out for Vincent. "Help me. Then we can rule over Hell together. We'll make ourselves our own little family here. No one can stop us." Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 Vincent thought for a moment. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He frowned. He pulled out his own knife and stabbed him in the heart. "I didn't want to do this but you keep hurting people. I can't let you do that." He shook his head. "What I did before was wrong. Why can't you see that?" shadowess - February 12, 2021 The dagger and handcuffs fell with a clatter onto the ground. Theo stared at Vincent with a mixture of shock and fury. His mouth gaping open and closed, unable to speak as his heart struggled to beat with Vincent's knife embedded in it. His face twitched a little and he began slumping against Vincent, no longer able to hold up his own weight. The only emotion he felt towards Vincent in these last few moments was absolute hatred. He maintained his glare until his eyes glazed over and he became still. Amelia had watched it happen with bated breath, only feeling relief when Vincent decided the best course of action was to put Theo down. There was a moment after Theo died where she just stared at his body in silence, everything that had just happened replaying in her mind. She knew he'd re-awaken somewhere else in Hell and that they'd still need to find him and capture him, but at least now he no longer had Angelic steel in his possession. She opened her mouth to say something to Vincent but instead sprang to her feet and ran to the nearest trash can to vomit into.

Denix Vames - February 11, 2021 Carter smiled. "You know having this injury sort of reminds me of the force. Back when I was a detective. Maybe it seems sick to think of something like that after getting ribs broken into but that's what I thought of." He wrapped an arm around Sebastian's shoulder. "You know, I've been meaning to try boiling blood. Making it like a hot cocoa kind of deal. I just figured it wouldn't hurt to try. I mean, have you ever done it before?" --------- Vincent enjoyed the taste of chocolate. It was almost very addictive. When they went back to taking out everything that wouldn't stay, he glanced at her. "I remember but I don't wish to remember. The horrible things that I've done. These decorations only serve as a reminder of my crimes." shadowess - February 12, 2021 Sebastian thought on Carter's suggestion with interest. "I never have...never really occurred to me but maybe we could try it?" He wondered if it would still be good for them if they boiled it. Whether it would be like drinking blood right from a vain as opposed to the cold blood out of a fridge. It might be a way of making them feel like they're drinking fresh blood despite it not really being 'fresh'. "I could try boiling some now, if you'd like? Although I might have to stop if it starts smelling up the house. Don't want neighbors calling police thinking there's an undiscovered body here." He chuckles. --- The door had arrived and they'd set it to one side as they continued to empty the house of all the decorations. Amelia turned to Vincent when he spoke with an understanding smile. "I thought as much...speaking of, what did you want to do with them? I could find a way to sell them if you want or we could make a little bon fire in the garden later? Might be cathartic for you?" She suggested, not wanting to assume what he wanted. He might not want to remember but at the end of the day, these items belonged to him therefore it was only fair that he decide what happened to them. (Just a heads up, I kind of have something planned for Theo in Hell when these all go to sleep at some point. Fair warning; It'll be extremely violent and you may wind up loathing him by the time it's done lol It's just a little piece just to demonstrate that not everyone who had been evil in life can be saved. There's no rush to get this lot to sleep though. Just thought I'd give you a heads up about it beforehand.) Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 Carter smirked. "You know I hadn't realized about the smell until now. Maybe we should be extra careful about it. Let's just take a little bit then. Just enough to boil. It doesn't have to be in extreme temperatures. Just something like a cocoa." -------- Vincent gripped his own arms. He shook his head. "No one should have these tainted items. We should burn them." He hesitated. "Amelia? Can I appear in Hell without having to die? I want to talk to Theo. I want to let him know that he can be a good person." (oh damn lol. alright that's fine. but I'd like to include Vincent in this if you don't mind) shadowess - February 12, 2021 Smiling, Sebastian kissed Carter's cheek before getting to his feet. "Alright, let's give this a try. You stay there and relax, I'll take care of it." He says before heading into the kitchen. He pulled out a little saucepan and measured two mugs worth of blood before pouring it in. He set it to a low heat to warm it up gently. When it was hot and just before it could boil he turned the heat off and poured the blood into the mugs. He then took them through to the living room and passed one to Carter before sitting down. He looked at his mug dubiously and smirked at Carter "Well, time to find out if it's any good." --- Amelia nodded when Vincent said he'd rather burn the items. She'd pile everything up in the garden soon. She looked at him sideways when he suggested going to Hell to talk to Theo and thought for a moment. "Yeah, we should be able to teleport to and from Hell easier than on Earth. Once we're there we can teleport as much as we want, too. If you want to talk to Theo though, it's best if I come with you. You'll need to give my clearance to David before he'll let you approach him after what he did." (That might actually work out better. I was going to have him sneak up on Amelia to demand she make him a Devil. A short exchange would occur and they'd end up fighting before she manages to fight him off and force him to flee. Maybe Vincent can catch up and intervene instead of Amelia's alternative? lol) Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 "Oh C'mon. I'm sure I can-" Carter attempted to get up. He immediately sat back down. He frowned. "Never mind." Once Sebastian came back with the cup of warm blood, he moved the cup a bit to see the blood move. He nodded. "It's now or never." He took a slow sip. At first, it was strange until he tasted it some more. His eyes sparkled as he smiled. "Holy shit! This is pretty good." ------- "Oh I see. So, when can we go see him then?" ,said Vincent. (yeah that would make things interesting) Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 (so i had this idea for a new character to join in. basically, itd be this country guy who's traveling to see NY. He starts exploring and he's at the vampire club. Blaire ends up calling Carter or Amelia for help on convincing him to leave cause he thinks he's at one of those clubs where people dress like vampires and aren't one. He's gonna be this innocent human who doesn't know what's going on and is just really friendly. and when he leaves the club eventually after some talking between the group and him then he leaves. Once he leaves, this werewolf, in human form, tries to get him to come with him for some little action time and plans on killing him as well. This time I don't want this character to turn though. fyi i can make the name and description for him. we dont have to role with this scenario if you dont want to.) shadowess - February 12, 2021 (Sounds like a good idea. Might be good to hold off until after the Theo thing & after Carter sees his new office otherwise it might be too much to keep up with lol) Sebastian took a sip at the same time and stared at his mug. It -was- good. He smiled a little and his cheeks turned a little pink as he agreed with Carter. "It's really good...it's like..." He hesitates. "It's like it's...'fresh'...but without actually needing to bite anyone..." He says, aware that the only blood Carter has ever had that's been directly from a person was when Sebastian turned him and fed him his blood. "I think we may end up being regular buyers at that club." He chuckles, content to drink this way going forward. --- That was a good question. Amelia ponders for a moment before replying. "We'll try to finish this off first and then we'll go together. Shouldn't take too long. Just need to move everything to burn into the garden, re-arrange the furniture a bit and put up that door. Keep things simple for now. We can always repaint the walls and redo the floors another day. Maybe once Carter's little business is up and running. You know what?" She grins excitedly. "I'm actually half tempted to help him with the work. Maybe help with finances or give him a hand in the field. I've always wanted a human job as a guise...What do you think? Reckon he'd hire me?" She chuckles. Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 (that's true. Wouldn't want to go all over the place with this storyline) Carter smiled. "Yeah, I could get use to this." He kissed his cheek. "A nice warm cup of blood with my boyfriend by my side watching Disney movies." He thought for a moment. "Maybe the next thing to do is make some blood ice cubes." ------- Vincent nodded. "Ok." He frowned. "Carter always seemed to work alone even when he was human. I'm not so sure if he would want assistance. It's hard to read his thoughts as they are always filled with pain and sadness. It's like I can hear him screaming for mercy." shadowess - February 12, 2021 Laughing, Sebastian looked at Carter, surprised at the thought of putting blood into an ice cube tray. "Aren't you just full of ideas tonight?" He chuckled "I suppose we could try making slushies next for the summer." He half joked. He was actually curious to see if it would work. His eyes softened, looking at the man he loved. This was a nice moment. This was one of those little moments he'd cherish for all time and he hoped there would be plenty more like this to come. Right there, cuddling Carter, drinking warm blood and watching children's movies was where Sebastian stayed until it was time for them to turn in for the day. --- Her smile slipped at his words but she supposed he had a point. Who knows, maybe he'd need help with the admin work in the future? She'd like to think she could help out. Maybe she'd ask him if it ever popped up but she was a little less hopeful than she had been a moment ago. She hoped the work they were doing today would also help Carter feel a lot better after what Vincent had just told her. She was worried for her friend. The rest of the work seemed effortless after they moved all the paintings and things into the garden. They replaced the front door with the new door and re-arranged the furniture to resemble more of an office building than a house. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Amelie turned off her music and placed her phone into her pocket before heading out into the garden with Vincent. The sky was beginning to lighten up again. "Well...it's bon fire time. Did you want to light it or shall I?" This, of course, meant that they would be going to Hell soon. Amelia wasn't exactly looking forward to it but she would go for Vincent's sake. She wasn't convinced Theo could be talked to but who knows? Maybe he'll be able to talk some sense into him? Maybe there is some love there that Amelia just couldn't see. She wanted to believe that but at the same time she worried Vincent might get hurt from this experience. (When they get to Hell, I'll take control of Theo Also, any thoughts on what movies they would've watched? Might have Sebastian reference them later lol) Denix Vames - February 12, 2021 Carter chuckled. "Hey, that doesn't sound so bad. I wouldn't mind trying it out." When they were in bed, he found himself relaxed. For the first time in his life, he felt as though he could finally sleep for once. He just hoped that was the case. Although, he was disappointed that he couldn't lay on his side just yet. Having to rest on his back because his ribs were still healing. It was so dark in the room. This moment reminded him of when Bryce tried to turn him. He sighed. Great! So no sleep tonight? He guessed. Maybe he could think about something else. Something happy. He reached his hand out to Sebastian. Caressing his cheek. He smiled at him. "Sorry but I can't seem to sleep." -------- "You should do it. I'm sort afraid of fires. I'm not sure why. I can only recall that my flesh had burned at some point in my old body." He soon watched the flames engulf the pile. (alright and id say movies like Monsters Inc, A Bug's Life, and maybe a few princess films from back then) shadowess - February 12, 2021 The room had been quiet. After a nice day with just the two of them, Sebastian was feeling quiet light as he lay next to Carter in bed. He'd had his eyes closed, facing Carter. It took all of his will power to not drape an arm across him to cuddle him in case he hurt his chest. He hadn't fallen asleep yet but he was beginning to doze off when he felt Carter's hand caress his cheek. Opening his eyes, he looked at Carter with a sleepy smile. Hearing he couldn't sleep, Sebastian lifted a hand to hold his and brought it to his lips to kiss. Letting go, he propped himself up onto his elbow, leaning his head against his hand as he looked at him. "What's on your mind?" He asks in a soft tone. --- Amelia looked at Vincent as he told her he had a fear of fire since he'd been burned before. A little guilt welled up in her as she recalled taking him along to the mansion to burn it down. She wondered if he'd been afraid while in there when she'd set it alight. More guilt washed over her when she remembered all the trouble that occurred following that which she entirely blamed herself for. Pushing those memories away, she set the paintings and decorations alight and they stood by, watching them burn. Amelia was making sure the fire remained contained. When the flames died down and the decorations were nothing but ash and embers, Amelia turned to Vincent and sighed. "Alright. Guess there's no time like the present." She says while offering him her arm again. "Let's go to Hell." She focused on the image of David, knowing he was the one with the key to access the building Theo was being kept in. They wouldn't get very far without him. They arrived in Hell's Library where they were greeted by both David and Clementine. They had seemed to be having an urgent discussion and when Amelia and Vincent had popped up into the room. Both of them immediately stopped talking and looked at them gravely. "What's happened?" Amelia asked straight away, concerned. "Theo has broken loose from his chains and is roaming around Hell somewhere." David began with a heavy sigh, he then shot Clementine an angry look. "...and that's cause for alarm? Just find him and throw him in Hells Cells. He's not stronger than Demons and those Cells are powerful enough to hold Ancient Devils." "It's not that simple." Clementine says "After disposing of your body, I went back to Earth to retrieve the book Vincent had mentioned so as to study it. When I returned home, I found that my mansion had been ransacked and my Dolls were destroyed." "...So he made a mess of your house?" Amelia questions, still struggling to see why this was an emergency. "My basement was broken into and a couple of items were stolen from me. Items that could be dangerous, if not lethal to you." Amelia narrowed her eyes at the Demon child. "Please...please tell me you didn't have angelic weaponry down there." "A set of handcuffs..." Clementine says, then pauses hesitantly. Clementine recalled when Vincent had come to get her help and she'd hesitated before getting the vial of liquid out of the drawer...she'd hesitated because she had been tempted to give him the weapon she had also had in her possession which had been laying in the drawer as well. "And a dagger." She added. A chill ran up Amelia's spine and her eyes flashed with anger. "You kept Angelic steel in Hell? Are you insane?!" She hissed at her. "I kept it to see if I could develop weaponry of our own to match it. Or better yet find a way of neutralizing it's effects on our kind!" Clementine tries to defend herself. "And now a crazed werewolf soul hell bent on becoming a Devil and taking over Hell himself has them! You fucking idiot!" Amelia raged. "We need to find him. Before he causes real damage! Find him! Capture him if possible. Take those items from him and throw him into Hells Cells! Move!" David and Clementine vanish and Amelia turned to Vincent, worriedly. "We need to find him before he hurts anyone. Vincent, come with me. Maybe if we find him first, you could talk him into handing the items to you? We'll head to the 'Lost City'. It's full of empty buildings that he might use to hide in. It's huge though so we might have to split up to search it quickly. Let's just be sure to not stray too far from each other..." She holds out her hand for him. "And if it's absolutely necessary, we can always 'kill' him. He's already dead so he won't actually die, not unless I go out of my way to destroy him. Which I won't, I want to help him too if I can. He'll just wake up somewhere else in Hell but he'll wake up without the items. Alright?" She says the last part to try to reassure him that Theo was in no real danger. At least not unless he did something to really deserve being obliterated, but Amelia would keep her word. She would do all she could to try to help Theo...for Vincent's sake.

Denix Vames - February 11, 2021 Carter looked at the empty bedroom. Recalling his kids having once been here. However, he seemed ok with Sebastian by his side. He smiled. "In the attic." ------- Vincent nodded. He place a hand over her arm. They appeared inside a house that had some modern rich looking decorations and disturbing paintings. He frowned. "I don't like the way it looks." shadowess - February 11, 2021 Kissing Carter's cheek, Sebastian nodded then let go of his hand to pick up one of the boxes. He'd help Carter carry them up into the attic and place them down gently wherever Carter felt was best. Once done, he'd give Carter a hug while being careful not to hurt his chest. "You've been incredibly strong today, Carter. I know this wasn't easy." He says gently. "I'm proud of you." --- They stood in Vincent's old home and Amelia looked around at the décor. She heard his comment and sighed a little. "Well, that's no surprise...you're not the same person you used to be..." She responds and looks at him with a small smile. She wondered how being here might affect him. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us. How's about we put on some music and start stripping the place? I'll follow your lead." Denix Vames - February 11, 2021 Carter found himself feeling good about this day despite what they did. "No, it wasn't easy but I had you by my side." He caressed his cheek. Looking into his eyes, he smiled. "All I ever need now is you." ------- Vincent set his box on the coffee table. He raised a brow. "What kind of music?" shadowess - February 11, 2021 Sebastian smiled, touched by his words. His cheeks turned pink as Carter caressed his cheek and he leaned in to kiss him. Gently at first and then deeply, being careful not to press himself too hard against his chest. "I love you." He breathed, taking a break from the kiss to catch his breath. --- Amelia shrugs, putting her own box down as well. "What've you got? I prefer rock music. Disturbed being my favorite. But I'm happy to listen to most other music, too." She then takes out her phone, a new one she'd bought when they last went shopping together, and unlocks it. "Shall I order us some coffee or something before we get started?" Denix Vames - February 11, 2021 Carter found himself lost in the kiss. He felt so lucky to have a man like Sebastian wanting to help him no matter what. And when he heard those three words, he said back, "I love you too." ------- "I'm not sure what music I would like. When I was killer, I loved classical but now I don't know." ,said Vincent. His eyes sparkled at the thought of food. "Oh yes please. I would like a pastry. Something sweet." shadowess - February 11, 2021 Now that they had done the most difficult task, Sebastian wondered how they could spend the rest of the evening. The other two still hadn't returned yet and while he was mildly worried after everything that happened, he tried to push that worry from his thoughts. Maybe they were just having fun somewhere? He hoped so. "I guess we still have the house to ourselves for a while." Sebastian says with a playful smirk, looking into Carter's eyes. "What would you like to do next?" --- Listening to Vincent, Amelia thought for a moment. She liked classical music but it wasn't something that she'd purposefully go out of her way to listen to. It also wasn't something, she supposed, that would go well with such a heavy task as completely gutting an entire house. "I'll play some music from my phone in a minute then." She chuckles. Hearing his request for food, she grinned. He's still hungry after their meal? Well, it was well over an hour ago by this point..."You got it." She says as she orders herself a coffee. "Would a pain au chocolat do?" She asks, looking at the small selection of pastries available. "I'll also need you to type in your address..." Denix Vames - February 11, 2021 "Well unfortunately, something that isn't physical." Carter placed a hand over his chest. Indicating as to why they couldn't have some fun time in the bedroom. "But I have some movies that we could watch in the living room." -------- "I don't know what that name means but you said chocolate so yes." He thought for a moment. "Hold on." He went outside to look then came back in. "It's 1754 Wesson St." shadowess - February 11, 2021 "Damn." Sebastian chuckled as Carter explained they couldn't have any physical fun. Then his eyes lit up at the mention of movies. "That could be fun." He smiled. "I watched a couple of movies when I came out of the Asylum but I usually don't get a chance to just sit and watch anything." He was excited to cuddle on the couch and watch movies with Carter. Maybe he'll learn some of the references that Amelia tends to like throwing around that occasionally confuse him. --- "Basically a chocolate pastry." Amelia chuckles, ordering it on her phone. She then raised her eyebrow as he dashed outside to double check the address but typed it in regardless. She guessed it had been a while since he was last here and may have forgotten. "Alright, done. It should be here in ten minutes apparently. I'll just put on a playlist and we can get started. Where do you think we should start?" She says while selecting a playlist on her phone. She set it to play songs in a random order and hit play. The first song that started playing was 'I'm Alive' by Disturbed. Denix Vames - February 11, 2021 Carter and him headed to the living room. "Well, I have more family movies than adult ones because of my family. So there's some kid movies to pick." He bent down to check the shelf of movies near the TV but flinched. He came back up. "Guess cleaning up was enough for me." ------- "Oh." Vincent looked around. "Maybe take the decorations down or whatever they are. The statues and the frightening paintings." shadowess - February 11, 2021 Sebastian saw Carter struggle to reach the movies with his injury and helped him back to the couch. "Let me get them." He said softly. They then spent the next few hours cuddling on the couch, picking and watching a couple of family movies that Sebastian hadn't seen before. Turned out, Sebastian was quite the fan of the Disney or DreamWorks movies. He found them captivating and couldn't help laughing at the well hidden adult jokes here and there that would have gone right over a child's head. --- Amelia glanced at Vincent uncertainly. 'Or whatever they are'? Had it really been that long since he'd been here that he couldn't remember decorating the place? Was he even the one to decorate it when he lived here in the first place? Or perhaps he was just trying not to remember...trying to block out any memories this place might be bringing up. Nodding, she set about helping him clear the house of all the decorations and paintings. Their food order arrived shortly after they started and they paused briefly before getting back to work. At some point she made a few phone calls to arrange for an office door to be delivered, with fogged glass and Carter's name on it. She had to offer quite a large tip to get it delivered within the next few hours as opposed to the next few days. She wanted this job completed today.

Denix Vames - February 10, 2021 Carter came back with the photo album. It was fairly large. He set it on Sally's bed. He opened it up to the first page. Showing pictures of when they adopted them as babies and had given them their first bath. Sally had red hair and freckles. Nate had brown messy hair. "They always played with the bubbles." -------- Vincent nodded at his first question. "Yes, she is." He shook his head. "She never told me. It's hard to explain but I can hear people's thoughts and emotions. So I try to help people by telling them these things." He looked at the other man. "I want to ask a question though. Why do you fear us?" shadowess - February 10, 2021 Sebastian walked over to Carter when he came back to the room with the photo album. He smiled at the photos of the children and at how Carter spoke of them. "They were beautiful." He says gently, looking up at Carter. --- Both men's faces paled as the French gentleman explained he was basically psychic. They both looked at each other before Ben hurriedly put the car into gear and sped off, away from the blonde man and woman. Once they were a good distance away the smaller male spoke first; "W-what the hell was that?!" "Right?! He can read minds! Who the hell are these people?!" "You don't think-? Th-the British institute recorded an Angelic capture right before it burned down. D-do you think-?!" "I don't know! Fuck! That was too close! We need to call this in!" --- Amelia had watched it all unfold with silent curiosity. She was proud of Vincent for trying to help complete strangers. After they drove off she walked over to him with a sad smile. She couldn't blame him for wanting to help someone, but he was still new to being a Demon and therefore still had a lot to learn. "Don't worry about it. Humans usually act strangely when you tell them you're not like them..." She says with a shrug, assuming that's what had happened. "As a general rule though, try not to let humans know that you're different. More often than not they tend to freak out...and we don't want Angels getting wind of our presence on Earth..." She glances around. "I saw a print shop up the road." Denix Vames - February 10, 2021 Carter smiled. "Thanks." He flipped through the pages and found a blank one. The album was halfway incomplete. He placed one of the drawings there with the little corner holders keeping it in place. "You can help me put the drawings in if you want to." -------- Vincent nodded. He thought for a moment then frowned. He turned to her. "Why do angels hate us?" He continued walking down the street with her. shadowess - February 10, 2021 Smiling, Sebastian kissed Carter's cheek lovingly. "I'd be happy to." He says softly. He then sits by Carter and helps him to carefully place each drawing into the photo album. --- Amelia frowned at the question but supposed it was one she'd have to answer eventually. With a sigh, she guessed now was as good a time as any while they walked down the street. "Well...It's a very long story. Humans...for the most part, got the story right...but it's kind of been passed down through the generations like a game of Chinese whispers. Little details changing here and there gradually until the story becomes something different than how it started..." She tried to explain, while also trying to remember the story the way David and Damien had told her. Even back then, Amelia felt like her brain was melting just trying to comprehend it. "So, you know the story of Earth's creation, right? Let's skip ahead to when Angels and Humans were made. These were the first beings created, before everything else. After humans began committing sins, Hell was created to ensure they'd be more reluctant to commit them. Demons and the Ancient Devils were made to punish those who sinned during their life. There was no feud back then, both Heaven and Hell only knew peace with each other. Demons and Devils would even regularly take breaks in Heaven because their responsibilities were so taxing. Meanwhile the human population continued to grow and develop. Some evolving into new species, such as Vampires, while others ended up pairing with Demons and Angels to make half breeds." Amelia sighed. "A few Angels were not happy with the way Earth was being run...No one remembers the exact details of the disagreement but I think they didn't like that Humans had a little more free will to live their lives than the immortals. A group of them convinced Lucifer, God's favorite at the time, to speak to him on their behalf..." Amelia paused, looking up, they were now standing in front of the print shop. She didn't go in just yet, wanting to finish the story. "God got angry. Like, really fucking pissed. He lumped Lucifer in with the rest of the group of Angels that questioned him and cast them down into Hell...The intention was to strip them of their Angelic status and have them punished like any other soul...but as soon as they hit Hell...they changed. They became the New Age Devils...They blamed Lucifer for their transformation and tortured him for centuries. They also slaughtered any Ancient Devil they could find and took Hell for themselves, declaring war on God and Heaven for their banishment...Centuries later, Lucifer broke free of his chains and went on a rampage, destroying all the other New Age Devils...until there was only him, and he took Hell's throne for himself. Angry that he'd been cast down with the others, he did nothing to stop the war. Instead, took to fighting Angels whenever one crossed his path." She looks at Vincent sadly. "He made Damien...I think as his successor in case he ever fell in a fight...then he disappeared...and now Damien is gone too... I was found in Hell as a living child, something that should be impossible. I have no memory of how I ended up there. David found and raised me. I used to slip away to explore Hell a lot as a kid..." She chuckled. "Used to drive David up the wall! One day while exploring Hell...I found Hells Cells...and the last of the Ancient Devils...That's what I am now." She sighs again, looking at the ground. "I...I don't want to fight Angels but the war is so engrained into our history that they'll attack us on sight...I want to change things...I want to give souls a chance to become good...I want to gain peace between Heaven and Hell again..." Her eyes watered a little. "I feel like I have the entire world on my shoulders...and sometimes, I don't think I'm strong enough to stop it from crushing me under it's weight." Denix Vames - February 10, 2021 Carter was grateful to have Sebastian help him out. Once they were done, he looked at the last drawing. The one of him and his family together at a beach. In a low voice he said, "The bedsheets. We have to remove them." He closed the book then brushed his hand over the album. -------- Vincent placed a hand on her arm. "It doesn't have to be that way forever. We could talk to them. Tell them that we don't want to fight anymore. That we want peace. War never helped anyone but talking does." shadowess - February 11, 2021 Nodding, Sebastian gives Carter's back a quick rub with his hand before standing up. It had been sad but nice that Carter had shared his memories with him. Thinking he might need a moment with the album, Sebastian let Carter sit with the it as he got to work removing the bedding and folding them up carefully. --- Amelia smiled and blinked away the tears. She chuckled "You sound like me ten years ago..." She shook her head a little. "I'd love nothing more but I'm afraid it's not that simple. We're cut off from God and Heaven completely. They can't hear us at all. Any Angels we do meet tend to draw their blades before we can so much as say "hi"...and watch out for those by the way, Angelic steel is highly irritant to us...a blow to the heart from their steel is enough to obliterate us from existence." She then grimaced and rubbed her left shoulder a little. "I almost learned that the hard way once..." Turning back to the shop, Amelia sighed. "Well...I think that's enough of a history lesson for one day...How's about we get these cards done?" She then walks into the shop. Denix Vames - February 11, 2021 Carter gave a small smile before focusing back on the album. He brushed his fingers over the thick pages. He recalled first buying it. How empty it was. Until the pictures came along. Suddenly, he nearly dropped the album. As he caught it, something fell out between the crevices of the last blank pages. "What the-?! How come I didn't see this before?" He set the album aside. He picked up the photo. His eyes widened. It was a photo of Jack and the kids. They were playing Jenga. He guessed that the camera must have been on a timer and that's how they were able to take a photo of all three of them together. His hands were shaking as he gripped the photo. "This was before they were....." He turned it over. In black ink, it read, 'To Daddy, From Jack and The Kids.' "They must have been happy. Thinking that they were going to give this to me. Waiting for so long." He turned it back over. Seeing their smiles. He chuckled as he shook his head. "Nate's got whipped cream on his nose. And Sally's making a funny face. Jack is....He's telling me that he loves me with that smile. I can always tell the difference." ------- Vincent frowned. He hoped for the possibility of meeting an angel and possibly talking to them. Letting them know that there doesn't have to be a war anymore. But he focused back on what they were doing for Amelia's sake. He nodded. "You said cursive and black ink. Something simple, right?" shadowess - February 11, 2021 Finished with the bedding, Sebastian turned to look at Carter when he heard him almost drop the album and find a new photo. Hearing that it was their very last photo, Sebastian frowned. He watched Carter carefully, knowing it was probably not easy looking at that photo. Seeing him chuckle though made Sebastian relax a little. He walked back over to him and looked at the photo over his shoulder. He sat with him and wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his head on his shoulder and kissed the side of his head. He looked down at the image of Jack with the kids and smiled. "He really is, isn't he?" He whispers. "I'll look after him for you, Jack. I give you my word." He says to the photo then gives Carter another kiss on the head, this time letting it linger before pulling back and resting his head against Carter's. --- Amelia shrugs, looking at the different styles and colors that they had available. "Unless you think it's too bland?" She says in response. She looked at the examples and images of brands that had used the shop before. "Do you think we should put a logo on it or something? Something memorable to catch the eye?" Denix Vames - February 11, 2021 Carter felt his heart warmed at his kiss. He touched his hands. He slightly turned his head. "It's good to have you here, Sebastian." ------- Vincent shook his head. "It's not bland at all but maybe putting a crooked tie in the back would look nice. He always has one. Or had one. I don't know if he'll wear one again." shadowess - February 11, 2021 Sebastian smiled and just held Carter a little longer, not wanting to move just yet. Finishing the room took no time at all. When they were done, everything that belonged to the children sat in the boxes that they had yet to put away somewhere. The room was now completely bare. He looked at Carter, holding his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze as they looked at their work. "Where did you want to store the boxes?" He asked softly. --- Amelia grinned at Vincent's suggestion. "That's a good idea! Let's do that." They ordered the cards and Amelia paid. After several minutes they were walking away from the shop with a couple of small boxes filled with the new business cards. They were a chrome silver with embossed black ink for both the writing and the logo. Amelia had decided to go for the more expensive options in order to really make the cards something that would stand out and be hard to forget or misplace. She'd even gone as far as paying for a bit of brail at the bottom of the cards. She stopped walking and turned to Vincent. "Alright, that's the cards done. Now to do some spring cleaning. You'll need to take us there."

shadowess - February 10, 2021 Taken aback by the idea, Sebastian lowered his hand and nodded at Carter with a smile. He knew what he was suggesting they do would not be easy for Carter, but he was happy that he was trying to move on. He also felt moved that he'd want Sebastian to help him carry it out. It wasn't anything like what Sebastian had had in mind but if this helped Carter in the long run, then he was perfectly happy to help. "Alright." He says softly. "I'll follow your lead. Just let me know what you need me to do." --- Amelia thought on Vincent's words but couldn't help thinking that perhaps Vincent was still recovering from such a toxic relationship. She recalled how Alex had 'fallen' for Bryce. How he'd clung to him, convinced he was in love with him, despite the fact Bryce had kidnapped him, hurt him and forced him into something he had never known or wanted. The way the experience warped his mind into believing Bryce was the answer to his problems even though Bryce was the one causing the problems to begin with. 'Stockholm Syndrome' and 'Brainwashing' she'd called it at the time because it had happened so quickly. Amelia dread to think how Alex will react when he eventually gains his memories back and remembers Bryce's betrayal. But Vincent's case was a little more complicated. Although she didn't know how they met or under what circumstances Vincent learned of Theo's true nature, it was obvious that Vincent had been with Theo for a very long time. Possibly even years. In that time, a lot of psychological damage has been done as Theo continuously tells Vincent he 'loves' and 'cares' for him to get him to stick around while he does as he pleases. Who knows? Maybe a part of Theo really did love Vincent? From Amelia's experiences however, abusive partners were usually incapable of really feeling love for anyone but themselves. She tried to push these thoughts away. They were too depressing. She drank the rest of the wine and got to her feet, wanting to think of something else for a while. "um...Maybe we could visit a print shop first. Decide on how the business cards should look..." She says, trying to change the very uncomfortable subject. Denix Vames - February 10, 2021 Carter placed the pancake filled container on the counter. He walked out to the closet door that beneath the staircase. "There are some boxes over here that me and Jack used for moving to this house." He opened the door. Immediately, a bunch of old items and the boxes themselves jumped out as if they were eager to get out that cramped room. "Let's just say that I was the one who put them away when Jack told me to. And I did sort of promise him that it was organized and neat." ------- Vincent barely took a sip of his wine before standing too. Not seeking the drink as he use to before. "Sure. I have some color ideas." shadowess - February 10, 2021 Sebastian grinned at Carter's comment when everything fell out of the closet. "I see." He chuckled. He moved forward, picking up a few of the boxes and helping Carter to carry them up to the kids bedroom. He understood that he didn't want to get rid of anything. Such items are far too precious, holding so many memories. It made sense that he would want to keep them close by. Placing the boxes on the floor, he looked at Carter to see if he was alright and to follow his lead. He lifted a hand to squeeze his shoulder gently to comfort him and gave him a kind smile. He couldn't imagine the pain that must come with losing children. He'd never had any of his own and never really thought about the possibility of ever being a father. He could see it in the way Carter spoke about them though, that he had loved them with all his heart. --- Watching him get to his feet, Amelia found herself feeling concerned for him. Although she tried to push the thoughts from her mind, she couldn't help worrying that he might be utterly crushed if Theo never changed. She looked at him and found she no longer saw the crazy murderer he had once been. Not just because he was in a different body. Now, when she looks at him, she sees someone entirely new. Someone dear to her. "Vincent..." She says suddenly then trails off a little as though gathering her thoughts. She was sure he probably already knew by now with being able to hear her thoughts but she wanted to actually say it to him. "You're one of the closest friends I've ever had." She says, seeming to finally find the right words. "I just want you to know that...so that you know you can come to me if you ever need to." Beginning to feel awkward she then begins walking towards the restaurant exit; "Alright! That's enough of that...let's make an office!" Denix Vames - February 10, 2021 Carter had gathered some of the boxes too. He felt Sebastian's hand on his shoulder. He smiled. "You know, I think Jack and the kids would have liked you. I never told you this but their last Halloween, Nate was Dracula and Sally was a ghost. They were very much into old films. But I tried not to let them watch too many scary movies. I didn't want to constantly wake up in the middle of the night just because they had nightmares." And despite saying this, he realized he had missed those moments in his life. They headed upstairs. Soon finding themselves in the kids bedroom. "Just put the small items in the boxes first. Toys and accessories." He put the boxes down. He took one and placed it over Sally's bed. He locked eyes with a drawing of himself and Sally hanging out together. He was in his detective wear while she was dressed like a police officer. Sally had always wanted to be just like his dad. He knew that once he got that drawing from her. He tried not to look at it as he grabbed her plushies. Putting them in the box. --------- Vincent smiled. "Thank you. You're my first real friend too. I'm just glad that I can trust people now. Carter, Sebastian, and you. Maybe I can meet more people too." He followed her out of the restaurant. "What should the cards look like?" shadowess - February 10, 2021 Sebastian had smiled when Carter said his family would've liked him and told him about their last Halloween. He couldn't help grinning, hearing that his son had dressed as Dracula. He actually felt a little sad to have never known them, but with the way Carter talks about them, it was like he was getting to know them through him. "I think I would've liked them too. The way you talk about them...it sounds like they were amazing." He says softly then nods at Carter's instruction. He headed to the other side of the room and began placing small toys into the box he'd taken with him. He looked over at Carter, seeing him look at a drawing before putting away the soft toys. He smiled at the picture a little sadly, turning his attention back to the task at hand. It was such a shame they hadn't had the chance to grow up...Sebastian was willing to bet that with Carter as a role model, Sally would've made a decent officer. --- Stepping out of the restaurant, Amelia looked up and down the street for a moment as she thought on Vincent's question. "I'm not sure...I was just thinking something simple. Elegant. Maybe some fancy cursive writing...Any ideas?" She asked, looking back at Vincent. --- Sitting in a black car not too far from the Indian restaurant sat two men. The one behind the wheel was a burly man with brown eyes, slightly rounded features and brown hair that had been cut into a crew cut. The male in the passenger side was only slightly smaller than his companion, well built with a strong jawline. He had black hair in a similar style and grey eyes. Both men were eating Chinese food out of containers while listening to the radio. The larger man turned the radio off in a huff. "Hey! I was listening to that!" The smaller male complained. "It's nothin' but crap anyways. There's only ever bad news being reported, it's depressing." "Well, yeah. I mean... but you gotta know what's going on in the world." "What's going on in the world is never in the damn news! All they ever talk about are petty robberies, which rich fuck is going to run the country next and never about what's really going on!" There was an awkward pause in which both men ate their noodles in silence. "She's still not talking to you, huh?" The smaller male says after a minute. The bigger man sighs and drops his chopsticks into the box, staring out of the window next to him. "No...I've been sleeping in a friggin' motel for three weeks now..." "Oof...What are you going to do?" "Man, fuck if I know...she won't even answer my calls. I tried to talk to her at the house the other day and she threatened to call the police on me!" "Ben...?" "Can you believe that shit?!" "Ben..." "Married for four years and one little fuck up and I can't even-" "Ben!" The smaller male jabs Ben in the side with his elbow. "What?!" Ben then follows his partner's gaze to a blonde haired female leaving the Indian restaurant. "Holy-...isn't that?" "The girl from the penthouse!" "What is she doing here?" Both men watched as a blonde haired man left the restaurant as well and stood near the female who seemed to be talking to him. "Who's that?" "A date, maybe?" "Do you think he knows she's not human?" Both men exchange a worried glance before turning back to watch the pair. Denix Vames - February 10, 2021 Carter put that box aside once it was filled. He took the drawing off of the wall and grabbed the other drawings of himself, his kids, and his husband in various scenarios with them together. He stared at them. Wondering. "I'm not too sure what to do with these." ------- Before Vincent was about to respond, he turned to a black car. "Someone needs my help." He walked over to the car. He knocked on the window. "Excuse me but can I talk to you for a moment?" shadowess - February 10, 2021 Hearing Carter, Sebastian turned to see him mulling over several drawings. Smiling, he walked over and looked at the drawings with him. He thought a moment. "hmm...Maybe you could put them some kind of memory book or photo album? So that they're kept neat and you can still look at them whenever you want?" He suggested, looking up at Carter. ------- Raising her eyebrow, Amelia watched Vincent walk towards the black car curiously. The two men saw the blonde male walk towards them and they both started to panic, worried their cover had been blown. "Shit, he's coming this way!" Ben had said. "What do we do?!" "It's cool, it's cool. We're just a couple of guys eating fast food together in a car. Just act natural, there's no way they know anything." They watched anxiously as the male reached their window and knocked, asking to speak to them with a thick French accent. They both glance at each other warily. "Maybe he's just a tourist?" Ben says to his partner in a hushed tone. Ben then rolls his window down by a crack. "Uh, sure. You lost, buddy?" Denix Vames - February 10, 2021 Carter thought for a moment. "Oh! I can't believe I forgot about it. We do have a photo album. I kept it in the closet too. Must have fallen out with the other stuff. I'll go get it." He left the drawings and headed out to fetch the album. ------- "Ben, it wasn't your fault. You may have made love with someone else but your wife is also to blame. She stopped loving you a long time ago. I can tell that you're suspicious of her too. And she has seen someone else. A man who has made love to her too. Both of you lost love for each other. But that's alright. You can always find someone else to love." shadowess - February 10, 2021 Interested to put faces to names, Sebastian waited for Carter to return to see the album. While he waited he continued putting things away in the boxes, being careful to treat each item delicately. --- Flabbergasted, the two men sat in silence after the the French gentleman spoke to Ben about his issues with his wife. The male in the passenger seat just stared, squinting at the blonde male. Ben opened and shut his mouth soundlessly, trying to register what he'd just been told. He closed his eyes tight and shook his head a bit before staring out of the windscreen. "She- uh...she's seeing someone else?" He says, his voice full of hurt. He blinked a couple of times before looking back up at the blonde male. "Wh-who are you?... Did she send you? Did she hire you to tell me that?!"