Death looked out over New York from the large thick glass windows of his office on the top floor of the tower. He looked down on the people below. Couples and crackheads, poets and pimps, from up here they all looked the same. They went about their day to day lives never knowing what the next day would hold. Many lived like it would be their last day, milking all the pleasure they could out of their meager existence. The idea of the human spirit driving them forward in their inexorable march. They sought love, happiness, hate, every emotion that they believed to make them human and therefore worth something.

The fools.

They all lived, they all loved, they all died the same. And when the last came to pass, he was the one to file it away. He had lived countless centuries and it never changed. In this century or the next, nothing would be different. They would play, they would laugh, they would love, they would hurt, then they would die. The inexorable march of the human spirit was no more than a simple progression to his domain. In the end all they were were strokes of his pen, written down, recorded, and reassigned. A cold unfeeling process, and he liked it that way.

He sighed and turned away from the window, facing the ever growing pile of papers and the ever present glass of scotch. Sitting in his leather chair and picking up the latter he took a drink before turning to the former. From the breast pocket of his vest he withdrew an onyx fountain pen with a small silver skull on the tip of the cap. Licking the end of the nib he slid the first sheaf of paper off of the stack and went to work. Every so often as he worked a crow would fly in and either deposit another stack of papers, or take one away. The large black raven on his shoulder however hopped about the room tidying things up.

Eventually the peaceful sound of nib on parchment was interrupted by a noise at the door. It was loud, obnoxious, sounded like the door was being torn off, and could only belong to one being. "Ah War, just what brings you here," he said without looking up from the paperwork.


He was going to kill her. Scarlet just knew it as she walked into his office, still fueled by her recent battle, the poor door hanging by a hinge or two, the red head herself covered in black blood, bone and some other third thing that she couldn't describe. She dragged her great sword in behind her, carving a path in his otherwise pristine office carpet.

"Hey~!" She sang as she plopped down in one of the chairs facing his desk. Honestly, it was like sitting in front of the principal's office, after a fight, or rather that's how she pictured it. She'd have to ask Lucy what it was like. Not that, the kid would know, she never did anything wrong in her life, whereas Scarlet on the other hand.....

She looked up at her brother, younger technically, but clearly the more mature of the two. Throwing her muck covered boot of the arm of the chair, her great sword vanishing as she brought the hand holding it to her chin. A sheepish, almost guilt pout of her pink lips. "So, I killed some people." She said with a shrug of her shoulder. "That may....or may not have been an accident." She said and looked up. "Biker gangs, ya know, they really ought to vet their members a bit more....Probably shouldn't be so trigger happy too, that might have helped. I was only after their VP but the whole damn room came at me...." She said and scrunched up her nose, in a way that would have been cute where it anyone else but her despondent brother. "Sorry."

The door falling unceremoniously behind them. Scarlet could only shrug sheepishly.

"I know," Death said without looking up from the paperwork. He tapped a thin finger against a stack of papers in front of her. "Hades," he said snapping that finger and pointing at the door. The crow that had been tidying up the room flew over to the door, as it got close it it changed into a tall unnaturally thin man with dress that was identical to Deaths. The raven-man picked up the door and put it back into place, and with a wave of its hand the hinges reattached themselves. It then did the same for the cleft in the floor that Wars sword had left in it.

Death meanwhile hadn't moved apart from his pen scratching on the paper and bringing the glass of whiskey to his lips. "With you, sibling, it's never an accident." He waved and his glass was refilled by a servant that to a mortal or most Daemons would have been invisible, but in reality was another one of those crow-people he used as servants. "Feet off the chair, you know better," his tone was emotionless, bordering on condescension with every word that exited his cold lips.

Scarlet pouted, dropping her dirty boots to the floor, with a thud. Otherwise oblivious to his tone. It was his usual one so she didn't taken offense. "This was an accident though-- Hey Hades." she tossed a hand to the raven man, as he passed. "Seriously, You know how I get when I'm fighting, and they just-- she gestured grandly, tossing her hands toward her as if to show a stampede. "kept coming, I mean one after another, Bro, I didn't have time to calm down before they all were like dead. I couldn't tell who was mortal and who wasn't. I really didn't mean for that to happen. she said defensively. "Like Seriously, I was standing there like...'Death is gonna kill me'" she paused a moment, frowned before snickering. "Sorry, I didn't mean that...that time. she said with a smirk and a shrug. She had the attention span of a three year old sometimes, she was aware of it, for about thirty seconds. "You know it wasn't completely pointless, I did find that there's a den of crossed over demons, I found that out right before the rest of the gang came at me, Ooo boy, did that daemon scream after I--Never mind, the point is, there's a Den in Midtown, and apparently it's not the only one." She said, and sat back against the chair.

"I know," he said pointing at a pile of Daemon death forms. "I know," he said pointing at a pile of human death forms. "And again, I know. I was actually just about to call a meeting with the siblings." He never referred to the other Horsemen as his brothers or sisters. This was partially because over the centuries they had each run the gamut of sexes and orientations for their incarnations, and he had been no different. It had gotten to the point where it was simpler to refer to them as coldly and analytically as possible. And that suited Death just fine.

Hades came back and made a bow to Death, licking his fingers after the hand that'd been given him. "Yes thats quite enough, summon the others," he said with a dismissive wave of his whiskey hand, the other not stopping in its work. Eventually he sighed heavily and capped off his pen, sliding it neatly back into his breast pocket. He leaned back in the chair sipping his whiskey. He looked at War finally, his amethyst eyes impassively surveying the state she was in. Reaching into his vest he withdrew a silver cigarette case, taking a long slender filterless and tapping it against the surface of the case before snapping a finger, lighting it. He took a long drag, the smoke roiling through useless lungs and coming out of his nose like a chimney as he leaned over and tapped out the ash in a glass skull shaped ashtray on a corner of his desk.

"I know about the Dens, and about the increase in unsanctioned Daemon crossover. I am also aware of the other den, or dens as the case may be. But that is a conversation for the four of us."

Scarlet looked at him, musing what he said. He knew a lot. It was his job to know these things, but disturbed her though was that there were so many unsanctioned daemons she didn't know about until now. she was the one with her ear to the ground. She worked in the seediest nightclub, she heard whispers and rumors all the time, why did she just now find this out, and it wasn't from her brother. She was immature sure, but she was efficient at her job. Punishing 'Crossovers' as she called them. MAybe she had been too distracted, raising a teenager wasn't exactly an easy cover job, not that Lucy was just a cover job. She loved that little girl like she couldn't believe. Strange thing for War to love. She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts and tapped her chin, leaning on the arm of the chair with her elbow. "Oh the whole lot of us?" She said. "This can't be good."

He stood and put on his jacket while taking a drag on his smoke. Blowing the smoke out through his nose again as he straightened his jacket. He looked at War with the faintest trace of amusement on his face. "It isn't, its dead serious." He clapped twice and a dozen of those crow-man servants of Death started to prepare the room for the meeting. A long table was brought in, covered in food, famine was much more pleasant to speak to when she was eating. A large rolling pin-board with a map of New York pinned to it was brought in and placed to the right of Deaths desk. The map had a series of red pins in it, one of which was placed where War had just come from, the biker bar in Midtown. Throughout it all Death was conducting it all with the hand that held his cigarette, the glowing ember his baton while he drank from his ever-present glass of whiskey. Eventually all was ready and they just had to wait for the rest of the Horsemen of Apocalypse to assemble.

---

---

Human kind was strange. They walked about with smiles on their faces, laughing, talking, socializing. It was enough to make Solas wanna gag. A few would smile at her as she walked past, and knowing she had to keep up appearances she'd would smile back. At least she had acting like a human child down. She couldn't allow Anthony Scomparsa's "daughter" acting like a barbarian. Her boss was too important for her to blow cover, no matter how much she wanted to claw the runty look kid who made fun of her lack of hair. Screw you kid. The less hair she put on this form the longer she could keep it up.

With Deaths tower in view Solas was faced with a decision. She could risk being seen and turn into a raven to fly up there, or she could walk through as Ellie Scomparsa, the well behaved daughter. Eventually she'd end up going with the easier option. As soon as she stepped through the doors the man at the front desk waved at her. Solas wanted to roll her eyes. 'Ello there Ellie, off ta see your dad?'

Solas put on her sweetest smile. 'Yes sir. I'm eager to see him again.' Not a lie, she enjoyed working for her boss very much.

The man grinned a toothless grin. 'Aw I bet miss. Ready ta tell him all about school?'

Nope. 'You bet I am. Today we learned about space. It was very interesting.' Now that there was a lie. Solas didn't go to school nor planned too. As far as the public new she went to a very private and prestigious school. The humans thought she was a genius and Solas wasn't about to correct them.

'Well,' said the smelly human. 'Best not keep him waiting. Tell him I said hi.'

'Will do.' Total lie. 'Goodbye.' The moment then elevator door closer the happy smile slipped from Solas's face. Humans, ugh. Why were they so talkative? It seemed all they did was talk, eat and die. What a boring lifestyle. The doors opened again and Solas stepped out. She should be safe here on the top floor. Death normally didn't allow many humans here.

She pushed the doors to Anthony Scomparsa's office open, stopping dead in her tracks when she noticed he wasn't alone. War. Great.

She stepped forward and allowed the door to close behind her. 'Sorry boss. Didn't realize you had company. Want me to leave?'

---

---

Lilsyss' woke up with a sharp stabbing pain invading her head, she knew it wasn't a hangover as she rubbed her temples. War had given into her own twisted lust and it made her presence known to the succubi. Lilsyss had always known she lived in the same city as them, better to hid under plain sight, mainly because she'd grown tired of running and an individual demon and her tether wasn't going to be a threat to them. She looked at the body lying next to her, his features so handsome and well defined, his golden hair delicate and styled, his body was that of a promising athlete, a strong chest, broad shoulders and a lean, flat stomach. The dried blood clinging to the skin around his eyes, ears, nose and mouth caused a sigh to escape her lips at the wasted potential, the though of him at least dying in complete ecstasy, brought a smile to her lips though, her desires had never been as satisfied before, except for when she lived in Apocalypse and played the part of Pestilence's concubine, like all the succubi and incubi would if he had need.

Lilsyss lifted herself out of bed, her naked body casting a perfect silhouette against her bedroom wall, she looked to the fool on her bed and simply flourished her hand in a dismissive manner, the recent feeding making her magic powerful enough to just dispose of him with no evidence bar the blood on her pillows. She sighed before summoning her thralls to deal with the linens. Grabbing a satin robe, she left the room and made for her balcony, she requested the apartment with the best view of Death's office, he wasn't as subtle as his brother and sisters, not many birds fly in and out of an office tower so freely, she could see such a bird perched on her recliner, cawing at her as if to shame her.
"Don't make me turn you into roast chicken." She hissed at it, before going back to watching the city. Death didn't hide himself, he had no reason to, but the other three were somewhere in the city and if any of them found her, she would be sent back to apocalypse. She nibbled at the end of her tongue as she contemplated a way to avoid them, Alexander was her tether, his agreement could nullify their hunt and keep her there but only if Death got to her, War would no doubt happily kill him to get to Lilsyss, whilst Pestilence and Famine would possibly kill him by accident getting to her. She clicked her tongue as she thought about it, her train of thought being disturbed as the bird cawed once more before taking flight and heading for the office. "Oh I hope they aren't capable of reading my mind."

Death looked up from his conducting when he felt another presence enter the room. It was the young Daemon, what was its name, Selera? No, that wasn't it, Solas, that was it, Solas. 'Sorry boss. Didn't realize you had company. Want me to leave?'

Death raised an eyebrow at the young Daemon. "Actually, I do, but since some of my siblings haven't deigned to make an appearance yet, I see no reason for you to leave." She was playing the part of his 'daughter' and while annoying it was effective. The humans under his employ seemed to like her enough while giving him a semblance of legitimacy. It was a mutually beneficial relationship in the barest of senses.

He sat down in his office chair just as a crow flew in and landed on his shoulder. He listened for a moment and rolled his eyes. Another succubi related death of a human, the sixth in the last month. He sighed and withdrew a blank sheet of parchment as he unscrewed the top of his pen. A few moments of scribbling he signed it and rolled it up. He took a stick of black wax and melted a glob of it to seal the letter, pressing his pinkie ring into it leaving his seal, a skull crossed by a scythe. He handed it to the crow who flew off with a sharp caw.

The bird flew back in Lilsyss' window and deposited the letter on the pillow of the bed and gave another sharp caw before it flew off again.



The text was tight and clear calligraphy, the signature itself in the shape of a skull and scythe. The words themselves clear and to the point, indicative of Deaths style and deportment. He only gave one warning, and he always followed up on his warnings. Death was no idle threat.

The room was surprisingly well lit for what it was, even if only at its centre but since that was where the entertainment for the unknown number of spectators who roared their approval from the shadows were it didn’t matter much. Two figures traded blows with one another but it seemed to be an ill-fated fight for one of them as his blows were being turned aside with seeming ease and answering hits causing him to stagger, a final strike to his throat causing him to splutter and fall to the dirt coughing blood before either passing out dying. For the spectators it mattered little which since they’d either won or lost their bets which was all that mattered.

The victor stood in stark contrast to his fallen opponent as well as the majority of their audience given his pale skin compared with their darker tones. However it was the crown he wore which made him memorable, even if none there could properly agree to any coherent description of him agreement beyond his crown or the colour of his skin.

Almost as soon as his the loser’s body had landed face down the crowd had erupted in madness as they fought among each other to claim their baubles from the various figures who’d been managing the bets placed. In the midst of this chaos the pale figure had simply turned on his heels and walked away; slipping between the packed spectators as if they weren’t even there. And then, neither was he.

---

At the other side of the world a door opened into an office ringed with glass that stared out high above the sprawling city below; it was a room in which nothing could live and not even dust would survive here for long. He wouldn’t stand for even the merest blemish to exist. He now wore his suit and was straightening his tie as the door opened to reveal his personal assistant Clara, who despite her title was the public face of his organisation since it was very rare for him to do much in the way of actually running his empire. His role was more in ensuring that his ‘cures’ were partaken of by as much of the world as possible. Nodding to her he went and sat in his chair, leaning back and smiling warmly at the girl as she ticked off a list of recent events for his perusal.

A curious creature she was, as much as partner in crime for him as any for the many millennia they had worked together but her continued existence was more due to her adaptability than anything else. While he held a great distrust of the demons and other servants of the Morningstar and his kin who constantly tried to gain entry into the world of man, young Clara was something a little different. Born as one of the Lilin she had an ancestry almost as sacred as that of Morningstar and just as sordid, and the conflict of natures amused Pestilence greatly as had her resilience to his infectious nature when first they had met that her siblings had not shared much to their sorrow. And so he had kept the outcast as his servant. The sound of wings disrupted their discussions as a single raven perched itself upon the oaken desk and elicited a sigh from Pestilence and caused Clara to shake her head as he waved her away.

---

“Gods ain't gonna help ya gal, You'll be sorry for whatcha done”

The dry voice was rather quiet coming from the other end of Death’s chamber, almost like a whisper of air escaping from a tomb. Pestilence smiled a mirthless grin towards the Daemon as he lounged in a leather chair and continued his soft lament.

“They ain't gonna catch you when you fall, You'll be pleadin' while you're bleedin'”

His eyes were narrowed towards his sibling’s daughter, as he itched to riddle her body with every contagion known and many not but stayed his hand since she had some apparent value. Even so he distrusted her presence and would have rather handed her to war and had done with it. To help ease his tension he closed his eyes for a heartbeat as several hundred starving children rasped; their lungs filled with bile.

“Gathered again at last… ah, waiting on Famine as usual I see. How times have not changed. Still keeping your mongrel around I see.”

Death didn't look up when Pestilence entered his office. He had sensed his presence as soon as he had set foot near the building. "Of course I keep the mongrel around, she is, after all, our sibling." He knew he was referring to the little Daemon masquerading as his daughter, but there was just something left in him that couldn't resist making that jab. And besides, the little Daemon was useful, compared to others. "And you're right, times have not changed. You still persist to insist on speaking in gibberish," he punctuated the statement with a jab of his pen into a well of ink.

He sighed when the paperwork for the starving children came in. Sometimes he didn't believe that Pestilence truly understood what their aim was in this existence. Their job was to maintain balance, keep the worlds separate, and to keep the natural or unnatural order of things. Yet Pestilence seemed to continuously revel in the handiwork of his contagions. Much like War seemed to revel in the slaughter of a fight. He signed off on the paperwork and dropped it in a bin, the papers being swallowed by shadow. These he had sent for reassignment. As cold as Death was, Children still deserved a second chance in his hollow eyes. Death pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed as Hades came flying back in and landed on his shoulder. The large black raven leaned in to his ear and seemed to be whispering, the onyx beak clacking like the teeth of a barren skull. "Yes yes, take care of it. And while you're at it find our other sibling.

Death leaned back in his chair and withdrew another long cigarette, lighting it and taking a long drag. The glowing ember was the only trace of warmth in the room around them. The entire complex was a monstrosity of marble, steel, glass, and stark lighting. Deaths chamber itself was reminiscent of a mausoleum. The Marble floors were carpeted in a deep crimson and the steel walls had dark tapestries lining them. The lights themselves seemed almost scared to shine, casting only the barest of illumination. Only the large window wall at Deaths back offered any respite from the feeling of being trapped in a coffin.

Sorry boss. Didn't realize you had company. Want me to leave?'Scarlet turned from the chair she was slouching in as a small voice broke her from her boredom. She turned in her chair and smiled to see Solas. As much as she knew this was only a ploy, but it was so amusing to see this child interact with her younger brother. Pretending to be his daughter.
"Actually, I do, but since some of my siblings haven't deigned to make an appearance yet, I see no reason for you to leave.Death said coldly and Scarlet sighed, rolling her eyes. It was then she really missed Lucy, and she suddenly realized she'd been gone much too long. , the small girl was at home, probably finishing up her homework or having finished and drawing or something. Scarlet couldn't be sure but she wasn't worried, Lucy, despite her disability was pretty self-reliant. Scarlet reached in her back pocket, muck smearing the touch screen, she slide the phone unlocked just as her other sibling made his appearance known. She looked up and smiled but it faded almost instantly as he spoke.
“Gods ain't gonna help ya gal, You'll be sorry for whatcha done” He said and Scarlet cocked her head.

“They ain't gonna catch you when you fall, You'll be pleadin' while you're bleedin'” He said and he eyed Solas like dinner. She arched an eyebrow.

“Gathered again at last… ah, waiting on Famine as usual I see. How times have not changed. Still keeping your mongrel around I see.” He said and she frowned hard. Granted the daemon wasn't someone she wanted around, especially not Lucy, but the creature had it's place and it wasn't like she was hurting anyone and she was sancution which for War's line of work that was a nice change of pace. She actually ask to be here, she didn't just break through an illegal barrier and in doing so opening the door to others like her. She had permission, so why did she get all this hate. That wasn't fair.

Scarlet opened her mouth to speak again but then Death spoke
 "Of course I keep the mongrel around, she is, after all, our sibling." Scarlet opening her mouth to reprimand them for the shade they were throwing at the girl until it hit her and she stammered and huffed. " Wha- uh- Hey-! Rude!" She folded her arms and pouted. It wasn't like it was unwarranted, she makes jabs at him all the time but still. She wasn't as perturbed as her face betrayed. "And you're right, times have not changed. You still persist to insist on speaking in gibberish,"  He said and Scarlet rolled her eyes, and proceeded to send a quick text to Lucy.

[Hey Kiddo, You up?]

She looked up as Death went on, she wasn't listening really until she saw the starving children. Her heart broke for them. It wasn't like War to be so sympathetic but Lucy had been changing her that way. Before she had time to think on it long and why they were even there, her phone chimed. The phone was the only modern looking thing in the room, and besides Death's cigar and it's glowing embers. She looked down and smiled.

[I'm awake, I finished my homework, Drawing and watching Henry Danger]

Scarlet smiled.
[Alright Kiddo,]

[When are you coming home?]

Scarlet's smile faded. She had no idea, and she really wanted to see her. The thing was, that wasn't just a simple question. Lucy knew more about things then her siblings would have liked, that's why they didn't know. Lucy knew what she was, she was a smart kid and a little too nosy . She'd overheard her and Death over the phone and that ended in questions and questions and to the point she couldn't lie to her. So she told her, she told her everything. She knew what she did, what she was, but Lucy wasn't afraid, she was a little sad, thinking that the only reason Scarlet fostered her was to hide but that wasn't it. She told her that honestly she fostered her because she cared for the girl and she was nice to her. Afterwards, Lucy was excited and she even hugged her. She told her she'd keep her secret and ever since then she'd been worried every time she went to 'work'.

[Don't know yet, Siblings are being them]

[LOL Okay,]

[Did you eat?]

[Not yet]

[Order something from Chin's, Whatever you want]

[I wanna wait for you]

[Aw, I don't know when I'll be in, Don't you have school tomorrow]

[No, it's Friday]

Scarlet sighed. Being a parent was something she'd only tried this century, every other time she'd been someone's lover or something with a lot less work, and a lot less rewarding.

"Ugh, guys, I really gotta get home, where the hell is Famine." Her usual playful tone was gone and she was all business but quickly changed her tone back to normal. " Unlike you, Little Brother, I really do have a daughter at home."

[Scarlet?] Scarlet looked down at her phone.

[I'm here, Kiddo]

[I'm scared]

Fear shot through her.
[Why?]

[There's someone at the door, they're trying to get in, you told me not to open the door but not they aren't stopping, they'll still trying to get in. I'm really scared, they banging it getting louder]

Scarlet got to her feet, upsetting the chair, not caring for Death's reaction to the motion if he had one.

[I'm on my way]

"Death, someone is about to die." all amusement left her voice, malice and violence replaced it. Yellow eyes ablaze. Looking at her brother. "Someone is breaking into my house with Lucy inside. Come on " That was all she had before she dashed off in a literal fiery blaze, sitting Death's once again pristine carpet black and burned.

Once downstairs and on the street she hoped into her Mustang, it was a obnoxiously candy red, and it was fast, hellishly. Much like with her exit from the office, she sped down the street, literally burning rubber.