---

The Twilight was fading fast, as was Morgan's reach along with it. And still he had not found any of them. Not a single one. He stopped a top a building, angry with himself. But then, it wasn't really his fault. He sighed, looking down at the dark alleys below him. Nothing stirred.

He lay on his back, looking up at the stars that had begun to make their way into the sky, thinking. He wondered what the others would be like.A flash of recognition flickered through his head. He felt two presences nearby. One human. The other was not. He sat up quickly, pulling out a small rod, no more than seven inches in length. At a distance, it looked a lot like a magic wand from the Harry Potter movies. Until of course it expanded, a long, curved blade protruding from the top.

The scythe took its form. With a wry smile, he leaped off of the building, hitting the ground on his feet some thirty feet below. He was going Demon hunting. He closed his eyes for a second, concentrating. A shadowy copy of himself appeared next to him, wavering for a second, before becoming solid. He looked at his copy, who stared blankly at him. "Search for the others." The copy nodded silently, and ran off in the direction opposite of the Demon. Morgan turned back, heading of in the direction his senses led him. He began to pick up signs on the Demon. It was large, and lizard-like. He sighed. "A Hexon...I'm definitely near a Reaper then..." He said softly.

A Hexon Demon was made for tracking. They were fast, nimble, and had poison-laced claws. Morgan knew he had to find either the Reaper before the Demon found them. He began winding his way through the dark, trying to locate the slow-moving presence. Suddenly, the Hexon took off. "Shit..." Morgan muttered. The Demon had located the Reaper. He took off, following the Demon's direction.

He didn't expect it, but he turned a corner, knowing he was getting closer, when he nearly ran head-long into a male with startlingly green eyes. As soon as they made eye contact, Morgan recognized him. His reflexes took over, making him freeze and then spin to the right to avoid a collision with him. He was...

"Air Reaper..." Morgan said softly. He wasn't focusing on the boy, rather, his gaze met the Hexon Demons'. The lizard-like creature snarled at the sight of Morgan. It knew it was in trouble. Morgan grinned. "Hey Ugly...let's dance."

He leaped into the air as the Demon clawed at him, landing on it's arm, and sliced downward. The Hexon let out a gruesome howl as it's arm lay at his feet, dark black blood oozing it's way onto the ground. Morgan used the momentum of his fall to propel himself forward, slicing through the Demons' body, effectively killing it. Though admittedly, it was slightly messy. The blood that sprayed from it's severed body covered Morgan from nearly head to toe as he turned, staring at the Reaper in front of him with an emotionless expression.

His red eyes flickered slightly as he spoke. "Welcome back, Air Reaper." As he spoke, the Demon's body slowly began to crystallize, and once it was done, it shattered, scattering the alleyway with black powder. His gaze was lucid and emotionless. Nothing moved through his dead-like red eyes, not a flicker of life or anything at all. But after one hundred and fifty years of being a Reaper, 'Morgan' no longer existed. In reality, nothing human remained at all, he was simply the Void Reaper, in body, soul, and mind.

---

The last several hours had been complete torture for Daemon. After two lectures, calculus and physics, along with an entirely too long lab course for the science, the teenager was virtually spent. He groaned loudly as he plopped himself down onto a low wall on the side of the walkway. To be honest though it wasn't the classes that had him irritated.

For weeks the young man had been flirting with a rather attractive upperclassman and he had thought things were going well. That was until said older man stopped contacting him. There was no way how Daemon understood why this would happen, but he was sure it had something to do with the other male not being 'out'. Daemon hated when people couldn't be open about who they were.

A sigh left the teens mouth as he reluctantly stood, slinging his heavy back over his shoulder. He switch his Ipod on to a rather angry sounding song, the music blaring from the purple headphones that hung around his neck. It would have been much quicker to take the bus but to think Daemon really liked to walk. What he really wanted to do was run, but with a bag full of textbooks it was rather impossible (uncomfortable), he'd have to wait till after he got home and dropped all his stuff off.

His pace was slow, relaxing, as he bobbed his head to the music. Daemon stopped abruptly though as another male came out of nowhere and almost collided with him. His green eyes were wide with shock as he took in the side of the person before him; very attractive with his black hair and strange red eyes. Daemon had never seen eyes that particular color before.

"Air Reaper..." The other guy whispered, leaving Daemon even more confused.

"Huh?" The brunette asked curiously, staring.

"Hey Ugly...let's dance." Daemon's jaw literally dropped with the words. NEver in his life had anyone called him ugly; cute, adorable, even handsome but never ugly. Anger bubbled in the pit of his stomach, rising up his chest. He glared harshly, about to tell this guy just how rude he was being until the newcomer was suddenly airborne.

The teens mind couldn't really comprehend what he was seeing. There was some kind of creature he hadn't noticed before. There was black ooze and an unsettling howl before the strange thing all but disintegrating.

For a second there was just silence, no movement, before the black haired man turned his attention on Daemon. "Welcome back, Air Reaper."

Daemon blinked his large green eyes in a stupor. What the hell just happened? He thought. The teen tried to form something coherent to say, he really did, but his mind was experiencing an utter blank. "…what?" Was his intelligent response to an unbelievably weird situation.

---

Morgan simply stared at the boy in front of him. "You have yet to awaken. But with only being forty-eight hours, I can't say I'm surprised. The Soul Element is probably still recovering." He watched teh boy closely, and gave a small, almost invisible smirk. His mind was balnk and whirling at the same time. The boys thoughts ranged form how cute and attractive he thought Morgan was to whether or not he was a stalker to the Demon behind him. The thought about Morgan being a "crazed stalker" made him chuckle. Not much made him laugh any more.

"I would ask that you calm your mind, please. I understand that this is a lot to take in at once, but you're giving me a headache. You must calm down in order for me to help you remember who you really are as of this moment. Daemon Vallis is your name, but it is no longer who you are. From this moment forth, you are the Air Reaper." Morgan then lapsed into silence, waiting for the inevitable denail that was sure to come. It happened every time, and it seemed with every passing repossesion that it got harder to convince them. Once they actually remembered, it was easy, but until that time came...

---

Night was already settling in, the sun had already sunk beyond the horizon in the Western skies, and the world around had commenced its routine of fading with the last colors of the day into nothing but black. It would seem as if darkness would threaten to engulf everything in sight—until the streetlights would eventually begin their scheduled buzzing before shortly flickering to life, providing humankind with some semblance of comfort through the coming hours. A sense of shadowy calm settled in upon the city it seemed, the streets around had begun to empty, the people thinning out, ducking into their homes to escape the night, while it was there could be heard the distant sound of car horns, people probably getting irritated at one another because they were caught in the grasp of after work traffic. It was the usual sort of foundation to an evening.

The sights, the path she walked, the sounds and all around remained the same as ever. The trek toward home was unchanging, feeling no different from that first day she’d traversed it when coming home from her occupation some long months before. With the day having ended, all that remained for her to do now was to slip back into her domicile, and to retire for the eve, only to awaken in the morning to repeat the set pattern that had become her life. Her living was ever the same, nothing of it or within changed. And, this is how she preferred it would stay, should she be made to continue on breathing. This life she led wasn’t one which even belonged to her, the air that seeped into her lungs was air that should’ve gone to another soul. With this stolen existence, she muddled through the days, the hours, the minutes and the seconds, every moment of it was yet another that should’ve gone to another.

She was nothing but a thief; stealing this life from her own sister. . . .

No matter what she may’ve yearned for or desired, her wishes were never granted. Perhaps living onward through this thieved life was meant to be some sort of divine punishment for surviving in the place of her sister. It would continue as this, it would never change for her, and she would for the remainder of her existence persist through day after day, weighted with the knowledge and guilt she carried, always remembering the fact that the moments she experienced now weren’t really hers.

Gloved hands within the bounds of her pockets, head downward with her eyes to the pavement below, her blonde ponytail hanging partly over her shoulder, she toiled on, feet moving under her as if set on some form of autopilot. There was no conscious thought applied to her movements, simply she moved for the sake of it, because it was a part of her everyday ‘punishment.’ It was a part of the pilfered years she possessed. Those sage-colored eyes of hers were half-lidded, dull and listless; they were reminiscent of the eyes of a soulless puppet. Her mouth was formed into a thin line, her eyebrows drawn downward, leading to her tired and pallor face to form into a scowl. The typical expression found upon her features. There was no reason for her to carry another sort of expression—she’d no right to a smile or anything of the sort, after all.

The day had blurred together, blotched into the blob that was her life. The same had happened as it would always, she’d greeted people at her workplace, led them to where it was they would be seated before handing out their menus, informing them that their waitress would arrive shortly to tend to them. . . .

She shut her eyes for a moment, still taking steps forward as a slow and quiet exhale slipped from her. Yet another breath that doesn’t belong to me.

Why was it that she was still alive . . . ? Her life should’ve ended that night some years ago, but it hadn’t, the life that had been lost was one of an innocent little girl. And no matter how many times she tried to find a way to slip away from the world, to vanish, it never happened. Every time she believed it to finally be over, she would again awaken, only left with injures and with more scars. Her flesh was marred and marked times over with reminders of her many failures to disappear. To be hurt so many times, to risk herself repeatedly without managing to achieve death, certainly living this stolen life was a chastisement.

Overhead her, there came the timed buzz before . . . blink, the streetlights came to life for the night. Passing underneath one of these lights, Fia came to open her eyes again, the nighttime quiet settling in upon the city. Nothing different. Ready to continue moving on, to allow herself to sink into the silence around her, she wasn’t quite ready for what it was that happened next. . . .

From the alleyway next to her, right as she managed to cross the halfway point of its entrance, the sudden clatter of trashcans being tossed about made her nearly jump out of her skin while her heart very nearly leapt into her throat. Freezing in place, body taking on a natural defensive sort of stance as her wide-eyes peered down through the dark lane, the question formed within her mind of what had sent the trashcans tumbling rippled through her mind. Certainly, a cat or a dog would not be enough to do that . . . ? Unless, of course, said animal was much larger than the normal sort one would find wandering the streets.

Ready to shake it off, to resume her usual trek home, and to put past her this sudden out-of-the-blue incident, Fia merely sighed to herself before she shook her head, turning away when it was a sort of strange . . . sense rippled through her body, from her core to her toes and fingertips—the only way to describe it was to say that it felt like a sudden, weak jolt of static electricity had been sent through her. Her eyes wide once more, though not a sound slipped from her shut mouth, Fia remained where she stood, looking at the ground below her as her heart had skipped a beat from the jolt. A foreboding sort of sentiment settled in upon the teenager’s body following this, a sense of danger. It was something she didn’t understand, but her body reacted regardless, she could feel her muscles tighten, her hands balled up into fists at her sides while she clenched her jaw shut, teeth pressed together uncomfortably.

With her peripheral vision, she caught it. The sight of a shadow moving within the alley next to her. Quickly, her head turned, and she was looking within the darkness again—knowing she’d seen something, something that sent a chill through her. She knew it was ‘danger.’
Perhaps, she should’ve ran away then . . . but her feet below didn’t move from their place on the cement sidewalk while again there was another moving shadow, slowly enough treading forward; toward her. Fia was able to make out the sound of a sort of hiss, akin to that of a snake, poised to strike. The silhouetted something within the darkness ceased its movements for a moment before, there slipped from it a low, throaty rumble—and Fia’s body reacted before her mind.

A cry slipping from her lips, the woman managed to thrown herself forward, pulling her left arm inward, draping it over her middle as her hand ended upon the hip opposite while it was her right went ahead of her, the weight of it used to pull her downward into a roll, the weight of her form supported upon her left shoulder. As soon as it was she was right side up again, Fia was quick about turning herself around, crouched down as she watched the something from the alleyway slip into the artificial luminescence of the streetlight above. It had leapt from its place within the darkness, right through the air that her body had inhabited a second before. She knew what that meant, understood well enough that this dangerous-something had been ready to strike her down, for whatever the reason.

The beast was something with which she was not familiar, at the very least, it was bipedal, reptilian—perhaps reminiscent of a raptor, only . . . not exactly the same as that. The expression upon Fia’s face formed into a very notable glare. . . .

It turned around, looking at her again, illuminated by the light from above it. Remaining quiet this time, the creature simply stared her down while it was she returned the gesture. What the Hell it was Fia was suppose to do to deal with this, it was beyond her. All she knew for the moment was that the something was dangerous, and that it was after her.

---

The copy of Morgan sensed the precense of Fire and the demon before he heard the cry. They were close. He jumped down from the building he'd been running across, and landed, ever silently, on a street lamp not fifty yards from the pair. It seemed the two of them were having some sort of staring contest. The copy gazed at the new Fire Reaper. She was female, slender, blonde...interesting. Her last body had been male, with dark hair and blue eyes, and rather muscled. A part within the Copy smirked at Morgans' memories. But as the Hexon Demon let out a snarl, his focus went back to the battle in front of him.

The beast lunged at the girl, who dodged again. She was taught the basics already....that would prove useful. Still, with no expeirience and her memories still locked away, the girl, Fiammeta, he believed was her name he caught from her subconious, would not stand much a chance against a Demon, even if it was only a Hexon. With that thought in mind, the copy of the Void Reaper threw its' scythe at the Demon, the blade spinning through the air and catching the beast by the tail. Black blood spurted from the wound, and it howled, low and greusome, as it turned its' head and hissed at it's attacker, who simply lept down form teh top of the street lamp and landed a few feet away from Fia. He gave her a simple, emotionless stare before walking over to the beast, who lunged at him. The copy simply stopped moving, his hands in his pockets, and the beast missed him by a mere inch. It couldn't move any further because its' tail was held in place by his scythe. He smirked softly. "Yeah, sorry...but it's time for you to die now." With those words, accompanied by a hiss form the Demon, The copy of Morgan shoved his hand straight through the creature's head, ending it's life abruptly. He didn't move as the body slowly crystalized and turned to dust. Then, he walked over, picked up his scythe and swung it over his shoulder, turning to Fiammetta. Her thoughts, while harried, were at least calm.

"Fiammetta Rose Thorne...fitting name, for the new Reaper of Fire."

All the light had faded away. Only the moon and stars hung above her. The stars were fireflies dancing around their mother, the moon. Not a cloud was in sight. Crickets began chirping all around and in the distance a wolf could be heard howling. A floral smell filled the air. The beauty of it all was so strong that Lillianna could just drink it in. It was the kind of night that the girl always enjoyed. She smiled to herself.

A sigh was let out as the girl strolled onward. Where she was going, she didn’t know. However, anything was better than there. Lillianna would never turn back. She would never return to the place that was once so joyous. Not even in her memories. Some things are better left untouched or forgotten.

Plus, there would surely be something better in the future. The tragedy of the past was definitely not going to be the last, but as long as Lillianna looked ahead nothing would hold her back. Hold her back from finding something wonderful… Something to live for. What it was, she didn’t know or care. Nonetheless, she would find out.

As Lillianna wandered, she noted that the crickets had stopped chirping. The howling of the wolf had ceased as well. Everything fell silent except for the girl’s footsteps and some whispers in the distance. Even the soft smell of flowers seems to evaporate. Although she couldn’t quite understand why, an eerie feeling settled in. Was there danger up ahead?

The wooded area was behind her. Lillianna hadn’t realized how close to the city she was. Ahead of her she saw a building. Something about it seemed a bit… Off. Although she felt the need to get away, something compelled her to that building. When she entered, she fallowed her feelings… Or rather, she went where she felt she shouldn’t go.

The closer Lillianna grew, the more she felt as though she should run. It wasn’t long before she saw two figures. It was then she realized that one of them was hurt. She rushed to his side. The girl was both frightened and confused.

“H-h-how b-b-b-bad i-is your w-w-w-wound?” She stumbled as she spoke. With new people, no matter the circumstances she could not form words properly. Her heart pounded in her chest. Was she too late to do anything? Or was the wound only minor?

The city rolled by outside the window, lights refracting lightly as they shined through the dark tinted glass. The night was alive, as it always was in New York, and the passersby were no more interested in the dark Mercedes Limousine than they were each other. The bright neon of Times Square reflected off the dark amber bourbon in the crystal glass sitting within the grasp of a finely kept and manicured hand. Of course what else would one expect in the hand of one of the richest men under thirty in the city? Then again, that was only an outward persona, a façade, a mask. Batman masquerades as Bruce Wayne not the other way around right? Well that is no different from the situation of Xander Steale. He took another sip of his glass as he watched the world go by lazily propping his head against one arm. His sharp eyes were not as relaxed however as they pointedly stared into the distance. A dark smile crept onto his face with a cruel gleam in his otherworldly eyes, “Gotcha, you son of a bitch…”

Xander sat up straight and turned to his driver who was focused on the road ahead, “It’s as I heard, Daniel, he’s there… are you sure this is the fastest route?”

“Yes, Mr. Steale, I assure you the traffic will subside around the next corner, we’ll be there shortly.” His driver was short and to the point but with the utmost respect, Xander sat back a little, more relaxed again, Daniel was a loyal employee. Sure he was a human unlike the Homunculus that Xander trusted his home and self with, but despite that limitation he was an extremely useful driver, with an innate and frankly rather impressive sense of direction and traffic patterns which was essential to navigating the city that never slept at all hours, and he understood that Mr. Steale was not the kind of boss you let down. It wasn’t a good idea to let down a demon.

Yes, Xander Steale, born (or something akin to born) just Xander millennia ago, is a demon in the world of men. His kind was constantly roaming the shadows of Earth, always seeking a meal of human souls, never sated. From the Void of another plane they stalk the humans as a lion a gazelle, or most do, however Xander is not most demons. Maybe that’s why he’s lived so long in the world of man, or rather the world of the Reapers.

There were seven of those blasted beings, demon hunting machines with immortal souls that sought to slay ever blighted shadow who consumed the life of men. Not that Xander really hated them mind you, he is a third party in this war, and knows both sides well. In fact he knows one member of the Reapers very, very well indeed. And that is what drove him now. The Limo carried on for some time before finally stopping before a shabby pub in the lower east side. The driver came around and opened the door, allowing the dark blue suited business man to step out into the dim street light of the seedy corner. “I won’t be long, Daniel, ensure that no one makes off with the wheels won’t you?”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Steale, she’ll be ready for you.”

“Good man, he strode forward, the bouncer nodding low, almost bowing, as he pulled open the door for the man, not daring to look him in the eye. Not in those inhuman eyes. He swiftly shut the door behind Xander and looked to Daniel before stepping in front of the door, determined not to let anyone else in.

Pausing just past the threshold Xander took in the scene, to the left was the long and damaged bar, behind which stood the proprietor, another human though one who looked Xander in the eye and nodded in a polite greeting, to which Xander replied in kind. Otherwise there were very few souls in the tavern at all, a sleeping waitress on a bench, a man having a beer and drowning his sorrows near the door, and another woman sitting at the bar, no doubt a lady of the night. In fact the only real life in the place was at the back, where three men in dark jeans and leather jackets toasted something while standing around one of the billiard tables. “What can I get for ya Mr. Steale?” the bar man asked.

Xander turned to him and answered with a smile, “I’ll take the usual John, actually maybe something a little stronger I think.” It was a standard comment but the barkeeper looked like he’d just be punched in the gut. His face was drooping as He followed Xander’s moving eye to the call girl, she smiled and winked to him in flirtation to which he just returned a warm grin.

“I’ll just get you the usual.” He said as he poured a whiskey and placed it on the table. Xander took the drink and continued down the length of the pub toward the three men. “Pst, Anne, get!” the barkeep gestured for the woman to leave.

“What’s your deal Johnny, I’m waiting on a client, what is that guy a cop or something?” she asked under her breath, the owner just repeated himself and forced her to leave, rather quickly, much to her chagrin.

Xander, of course, didn’t hear any of this, he was too busy focusing on the group before him as he caught bits of their conversation, the tall one with red hair laughing and bragging as he prepared to break. “…You should have seen her face! One second with her back turned and boom!” the man declared as he slammed the cue ball forward breaking the pack apart, the others smiling with pride, “Never saw it coming, so much for the big bad Reapers eh?” they laughed as Xander stepped up to the table, taking a swig of his whiskey.

“Gentlemen…” he paid little heed to the other two as he stared the red haired leader down, “Mind if I join this game?”

The man looked like he was astounded some prim bastard had interrupted their story as he sneered toward Xander, “And who the hell are you?”Xander didn’t answer but merely placed his drink down and took a Cue from the nearby wall. However just as one of the men stepped towards him the lights flickered. Dimming as Xander shot them all a glare masked by the gentle expression on his face, the entire area felt more condensed, as if the air pressure had skyrockets as their ear rang and thudded, the ground seeming to shake ever so slightly. The man backed away slowly, only the red head having the gall to stay where he was. “Oh… you, uh, you must be that guy we been hearin’ about, Xander, right?”

“Actually yes…” Xander looked at the table and noted he was solids, “Three six combo…,” he glanced at the other two to gauge their reaction, backing up behind their boss like two halfwits, great, “You are correct, I am ‘that guy’. But,” he shot and sent both balls in with a clack, “you have me at a disadvantage here, you know who I am but all I know about you is that they say you killed a Reaper… what’s your name?”

The red head stood straighter, grinning broadly, “Name’s Kepler, and yeah, I’m the guy you heard about. Dame wasn’t even aware what hit her, ain’t that right boys?”

The two agreed with a resounding laughter and rally ‘of you tell ‘em’s and ‘that’s right’s. Xander simply kept up his smile as he shot again, a perfect bank, he was really on his game tonight, maybe it was just his way of warming up, “Dame you say? So it was one of the females I take it?”

“Yep,” he took a gulp of his beer as he stuck out his chest a little further, “A bunch of us ambushed the fuckers, see, and while her back was turned fighting a few of our brother I got up behind her and tham! Took out his spine.” He made a motion like his hand was a knife and he was stabbing it up and into something with glee. Xander took another sip of his whiskey as he stepped over near the others, putting down the cue and laughing along. “The rest didn’t go down so easy though, we got out of there before the rest got killed but way I heard it only one made it out of there alive, the King’ll be pleased.” He looked to his croneys, “Think I’ll get a medal?”

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic!” Xander agreed but placed his drink down again and looked quizzically at the man, “But tell me, Kepler, which one was it you managed to best? Light right? I always heard she was the weakest of the bunch.”

“No, no, I took down that flaming bitch, hehe, that fucking whore will think twice before-” he stopped with a gasp as he was pinned against the wall. Standing before him was the same man save for his right hand , which was breathed in a silvery gold armor holding a broadsword which had expanded form the air, slamming Kepler against the wall and pinning him there with a blade through the gut. “Yo-you bastard!” he grimaced.

Xander was as stoic as ever, and as the other two advance, one’s arm turning into a large pincer like a praying mantis’s and another growing almost foot long claws he drew his blade form the man on the wall. Kepler squealed in pain as the blade was yanked out, unable to see as Xander without moving form that spot brought the blade through the claws of his ally to cut down one and back around to stab into the face of the other, both turning to a deep red crystalline substance at the point where they had been struck and vaporizing outward. Kepler almost moved away from the wall, almost had enough time for his mind to contemplate what had happened but before he could the blade was one more stabbed into him, in the exact same place and pinning him to the wall as it had before making him howl again.

“No, you worm, you’re bastard. And one hell of a lucky one at that,” the man cursed as he tried to pull the blade out but Xander held firm with visually little effort, “How the hell did a little weakling like you manage to take down a Reaper? It’s sickening, to think that one of the most brilliant women I’ve ever known was slain by some son of a whore who just got lucky… well, Kepler, it seems your luck has run out.” Xander slowly turned the blade in the other demon’s gut, the man’s face deforming into something akin to a giant bat as he continued cursing Xander in the demon language.

"Why?" he demanded, "You fucking traitor, why?"

Xander didn’t respond as he just pushed the blade upward a bit under the demon’s ribs and withdrew it quickly, the body falling to the floor where it began to degrade as the other’s had, clothes and all, from the abdomen out. "Because you hurt my pride."

Xander’s blade and gauntlet were gone before the man hit the floor as he picked up his whiskey and downed the rest, letting out a gasp at the end and crushing the crystalized head of his foe into dust that collected on the floor in a pile like the others. “Sorry John, it seems I’ve made a bit of a mess of your place.” He turned again the gentlemanly soul he had entered, straightening his tie and placing his glass on the bar, “I’ll send someone to clean up.”

“No, no it’s fine Mr. Steale, I’ve got it.” he took the glass and cleaned it to look busy, “You need anything else sir? Another drink?”

“No, not tonight my good man, I’ve got a meeting to get to.” Xander just put down a hundred on the counter and waved goodbye and walked toward the door, the Bouncer opening it after having undoubtedly looking in to see what the screaming was about. Xander took out a large envelope and handed it to the man, patting him on the shoulder, “See that Hound gets this when he drops by won’t you?”

“Yes, sir, I’ll give it to Mr. Warrwick, anything else?”

“No…Yes, actually, tell him to watch his back, things are changing out there.” The bouncer just nodded as Daniel closed the door and looked back to him, “Say hey to the family, Frank.” Daniel said casually, clearly not unnerved by whatever was going on as he opened the car door. From the bar he heard John shouting at someone.

“Lauren! Get up girl! Go get a broom, quick-”
Daniel shut the door and looked to his employer, “Where too sir?”

“Just drive, Daniel… I’ll let you know when I sense her.” The man nodded and pulled away lightly as usual. Xander made note to apologize later for being so short. He glanced at his hand where three small balls of red floated, tiny as aspirins. He frowned and poured a drink before taking them and swallowing them whole, shuttering in disgust as he chased the objects, “Such weaklings taste terrible.” He commented to no one in particular as he sat back, “Now, where are you?”

RINGRINGRINGRING The familiar sound was buzzing in Kylars ears as he waved his hands to the source of the disturbance, when he had finally found it he smacked it away and regained a comfortable sleeping position. It wasn't long until yet another loud sound woke him up. "Kylar wake up! Your going to be late to the lecture!". It was amazing, even at 19 Kylar relied on his mothers voice to make sure he gets to class on time, after all the times he would've loved to sleep through high school, his mother got him through it, and he graduated. College was something he shouldn't mess with. Ky was groaning as he rolled around on his pillow which seemed like heaven. Amy burst into the room yelling all kind's of nonsense trying to wake him up, it was Saturday and Amy didn't have school, unfortunately for Ky, he did. Ky muttered something under his breath and sat on his bed, had poised down at his feet. He let out a loud breath.

After showering and putting on his usual clothes and a white beanie he was ready for breakfast. He jolted down the stairs. Incredibly enough, the same boy who didn't want to leave bed, was jumping and wide awake. He sat at the kitchen table as his mom brought a quick breakfast. He ate it rapidly and was out the door in no time. "Thanks mom, love you" he said as he closed the door. It was a beautiful morning, well morning might be over doing it, it was 2 pm. He grabbed his BMX and in second he was off, jumping and doing tricks at rails and steps. After 20 minutes of riding he arrived at school. Put his bike away and walked through the door.

"Hey Ky" a voice said behind him, it was Lance, a friend he knew for years. "Morning" Ky said to his friend as they were passing a pretty girl, which Ky winked at. "Another boring lecture from Dr. Packs" Ky laughed "Don't remind me, the man should be in a nursing home." The passed around a couple of jokes as the entered the lecture room. When the room was filled the lecture began and Ky tried his hardest to stay awake.

The bell rang signaling the end of the lecture, which lasted 2 hours. One Saturdays Ky has one class, a lecture class. He walked out of the classroom and instantly turned and started talking to girl he was flirting with. "You'r hair looks nice today Jo" he said while she was blushing. "Thanks Ky!" she said happily. "Hey I gotta go, call me later?" the girl nodded and Ky ran towards lance passing a couple of his other friends from school. "Ready to go?" Lance asked and Ky gave him a look of approval. Ky and Lance separated the week into different parts, each day they would either Skateboard, BMX, or Scooter, and then after class go and practice. Today was BMX day, so like their usual routine they left school and went on to the skate park to ride. A few hours later the sun was starting to set, and Ky's right handle broke off. "Fuck." he said angrily as he threw the frame to the side. Lance rode next to him. "Hey, my house is right here ill take your bike ill fix it and bring it tomorrow", "Thanks bro" Ky said as they shaked hands for goodbye.

It was already starting to get dark, Ky loved walking as-much as he loved everything else, so he had no problem with it. He simply put on his headphones and paced home. He should be home in about an hour if he keeps a steady pace, which he did like he always does. After 20 minutes he stopped because he heard a loud noise from around the alley, he glanced it briefly but thought nothing of it. He just continued walking hoping to end his day normally.

"I'll see you later!"

"Be careful Pipsqueak! It's dangerous out there at night. Have you got-"

A dull thud resounded around a dimly lit-street as a heavy wooden door was pulled to a close. The gentle patter of footsteps followed suit as a tiny figure walked quickly between the flickering orange street-lights which cast their artificial beams onto the paved street below. Shadows lurked and danced on the fringes, where the tendrils of light could not penetrate, especially the depths of darkened alleyways. It was here that all manner of dark and dangerous things crept silently, eyes watchful and ears keen for misfortune. It was these that the figure cautiously avoided, preferring not to linger in the particularly shadowy alleyway openings. Sweeping a wave of auburn hair over her left shoulder, she cast a wary glance at her surroundings. A tingle edged up her spine, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end as though her senses were warning her of some unseen peril that lay in wait. Quickly she shook off the feeling and continued on her walk.

Turning the corner, she came up short when the next street was completely encased in blackness. The streetlights showed no sign of life. Taking a deep breath, Merinda Perri set off at a quickened pace. Her deep maroon eyes were determined and glinted slightly as she marched forwards, hair trailing behind her like a cape. No sound other than her footsteps echoed around the deserted street and Meri began to regret her decision to visit a friend who lived six blocks away. But normally the walk was easy and she could cut across the park which would be peaceful at this time of the day. The lack of other people made her nervous. Her whole body was tensed and ready to spring into action the moment that she needed to. In all honesty, her body was ready to run if she needed. Her height meant that in fight she would possibly come off worse. A disturbance down one of the alleys caused her to jump and walk a little faster. The end of the street drew nearer and the gates of the park loomed into sight. A sigh of relief escaped her pink lips as she allowed herself a smile.

That was until the thundering sound of paws descended upon her from behind. Twisting, Meri eyes scanned before her mouth opened in a scream. A huge black dog was running full pelt towards her, muzzle cracked open, pink tongue lolling. Spittle and froth foamed from between pointed white teeth. But it was the eyes that caught her attention. Bright red with slits for pupils. Meri didn't give herself time to think, she simply took off at a run towards the park. Darting between the trees, she allowed another ear-splitting scream to leave her lips.

Nihilus has been around this one little girl no older then ten all day, whispering in her head and telling her what to do. The weak willed child was easy enough to manipulate into doing deeds that was completely out of her usually sweet character. The first thing he made her do was try and stab her teacher with a pencil, the original plan was to have her murder her class mates. Sadly, the staff had contacted her parents and put her in a room where there was nothing Nihilus could make her use for his evil doing. So he began to formulate his plan, and growing bored of being silent he decided to interact with the girl when they got to her house.

"What came over you, Samantha?" The girls Mother asks in a sweet and sensitive tone that makes Nihilus gag. "I don't know mommy, I don't even remember doing it." The little girl says. "Oh for... Samantha , don't play games with us! We just want to know what happened." Her Father asks in a harsh tone but he tries to make sound softer when his wife gives him a look, which causes Nihilus to burst out laughing and rolling in mid air where he floats around to watch what unfolds. "But Daddy! I'm telling the-" Her Father cuts her off with a wave of his hand. "Just... Go to bed Sam, we will talk about this in the tomorrow." After the father says that he walks into the Kitchen and Samantha goes to her room.

Nihilus grins as he comes up with an idea on how he can salvage this little mission, although the spoils wont be as large as he originally hoped to receive. He follows the girl upstairs to her room where he finds her pouting. "Mommy and Daddy don't believe me." She says to no one. "Now i'm in trouble for something i didn't even do! I hate when Mommy and Daddy don't believe me!" Nihilus giggles as he gets ready to appear to the girl, but first he takes a moment to shake himself loose, as if he was getting ready to put on a big act. Which in fact, he was.

Nihilus materializes in her room, but he is only visible to her. If her parents were to walk in they wouldn't notice him, and if they were to get to close to him they would just walk through him. Samantha looks up and gasps. "Wh-Who are you?" She asks more curious than scared. With a big friendly grin on his face, Nihilus does a grand, over dramatic bow where one hand swings to the side with a graceful sweeping motion. "My name, is Nigel the Clown. And i am here to make your day." He pauses and stands up straight and reaches both his hands upward and sparkles shower around him. "Brighter!" Samantha and a smile spreads across her face. "Dear Samantha, you must promise me one thing, you cannot let your parents know i'm here, or my magic will fade and your day will darken once again. Do you promise?" The girl nods enthusiastically. Nihilus jumps ups and down and claps his hand. "Oh good." He says as a malicious smile. "Then let the party begin!"

After two hours of entertaining the child with magic spells, and engaging in her boring game of house with her dolls the parents finally go to sleep and Nihilus stands up. "Now it's time for my final trick. I am going to help you and your loving parents into true happiness, you will never fight with them, you will never cry because of them, you will always be happy. But i cannot do it without you." Nihilus waves his hand and the girls face goes blank. "Come sweet child." A small, ornate knife appears in front of Samantha. "Take the Knife, and follow me into my garden of shadows." He walks backwards out of the door with the girl following him as he swishes his colorful cape around. "C'mon c'mon, hurry. I don't have all night!" He snaps as he stops by her parents room. "Come on, in here." He gestures at the door with his hand and it quietly swings open.

"Now, go in there, and slit their throats." He whispers in the girls ear with a grin that looks far too large as he has a smile painted on his face, giving him and even more demonic look when he smiles. "Go one, and bring them Happiness." He says as he places a hand on her back and gently pushes her forward. After the nudge she walks forward and climbs on top of the bed and sits between her parents. She places the knife on her mothers neck, who opens her eyes and before she could say anything Samantha quickly swipes the knife across the skin. The cut spurt blood with each heart beat, and each beat the distance the blood travels becomes shorter and shorter. "Hehehehehe, very good. Now your Father." The girl repeats the process in much the same way and Nihilus breaks his hold over her and flicks on the lights. "M-Mommy? D-Daddy?" She says as she recognizes their faces then she looks down at her dress which is covered in blood and she screams and Nihilus laughs.

"What did you do?!" She screams at Nihilus, who reacts with a mock looks of shock. "Oh my dear, How could you think i would do something like this?" He laughs as she looks back at her parents. "Of course i did this, I made you do this. But it's just like i promised You will always be happy and you will never fight with your parents again nor will you ever cry because of them." He can't hold back his laughter as she sobs but he quickly grows serious. "But don't worry my dear, everybody dies. You just helped them along their way. And now, you will join them, as your soul is filled to the brim with sorrow and pain, it will make devouring it more pleasant." He snaps his fingers and the girl is engulfed in flames and three smoke like tendrils seep off the bed and go into Nihilus. With his act over he leaves the house as it burns down behind him.

As he was walking he feels a sensation that he hasn't felt in a long time and he sneers. "Reapers."

The great beast lunged, making for the throat of the young woman it had been chasing. It would grab the back of her neck and bring her down before killing her. It would consume the sweet and powerful soul within; the Dog would soon be more than just a dog. Jaws wide as it arced into the air. She was quick but not quick enough. So close, his tongue could have tasted the air from her spent lungs as he flew into the night. Yes, the soul was his, all he had to do was-!

The beast split, crystalized in a straight line down his midsection from his mouth to his rear and turned to dust as the cloud of ash splashed over the girl. Still of the same weight as the dog had been it would no doubt bring her to her knees. She was close to a road; however there was no traffic at this point of the city at this time of night, still a single dark limousine with a large man in a suit and hat stood by waiting on someone as an aide. Standing behind her, still holding up the glimmering broadsword that the demon had rushed through the man in the suit looked at her with a long cold and vicious stare. “Damn… you’re not her are you?” he said quizzically, he was cursing how weak these new Reapers were, he could barely sense their presence and even at this range he couldn’t recognize the aura.. The blade remained in his one armored hand and he seemed rather dark. The feeling he put off like a cold wind that chilled one to the bone. He felt wrong, he was wrong, something about this man, who ever or whatever he was he was wrong at a primal level.

---

What was she suppose to make of this now? First, playing a game of dodging with a bipedal lizard, before a scythe had slipped through the night air to keep it pinned down by its tail as an unknown person entered into the scene, staring at her before moving to end the miserable creature’s life as if it were nothing. The form of the monster crystallized, before it disintegrated rather quickly following this stranger running his hand right through its head. Despite the rather . . . abnormal series of events that had played out before her so quickly, Fia remained where she’d landed before, following the last round of dodging she’d played with the lizard. The expression carried upon the suited young woman’s face was one of disinterest, it remained upon her face as a scowl, the sort she always held on her features. Still crouched toward the ground, a hand at her front on the pavement below, her eyelids drew a bit lower as it was this unknown quickly swept the scythe up from where it remained, planted into the asphalt of the road, before he left it to rest against his shoulder.

This stolen life of hers was about to undergo a rather drastic change . . . wasn’t it? Change was not something she deserved, she was meant to live out her mundane days in misery, knowing forever what it was that she was guilty of taking the life that was supposed to have belonged to her sister. It was meant to remain unchanging, nothing was suppose to happen to interrupt all she knew and all that made her wallow through the days and seconds as she did.

But that thing, that reptilian monster. . . . There was no doubt that it was beyond all her earthly knowledge, whether or not she was numb toward this situation, toward this person who seemed to have came to her rescue, this was something that wasn’t supposed to be happening.

Fia kept her sage-eyes upon the man, a part of her wondered if he was going to expect her to treat him like he was her knight in shining armor or whatever for apparently saving her life from whatever. Tch, whatever, this is over and I’m ready to go home, and to continue on with this thieved existence of mine.

He turned toward her before he spoke, “Fiammetta Roselle Thorne…fitting name, for the new Reaper of Fire.”

To hearing her full name spoken, to hear some stranger know her full name when there was no way that knowledge would be held by them, Fia couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in questioning. Slowly, she ascended back upward, standing up to her full height, keeping her disinterested gaze upon this scythe-wielder. How the Hell did he know her name? As if it weren’t enough that something had gone and interrupted her established routine. . . .

There slipped from her only a sigh as the sense of apathy returned, she didn’t care if he knew her name, she didn’t care about the thing that had triggered a sense of danger within her before, Fia didn’t care about what was meant by ‘new Reaper of Fire’ either. Unless it meant that she was going to be granted her wish to vanish away, the term and this man held no importance to her. Life was to continue on regardless of whatever bizarre happening had occurred just before her, so why would it matter if she gave it thought? The only thing that mattered now to her was to live out her life, always remembering what it was she was guilty of.

Expression returning to its usual—a scowl, an apathetic one as it was Fia came to slip her gloved hands back into her front pockets and her head tilted forward again, giving her a somewhat hunched over appearance. “. . . .unless whatever you’re talking about is going to let me finally die, whatever the freak just happened with the giant lizard and you, I don’t care.”

She stepped forward, walking back toward the sidewalk to continue her trek homeward. The little life within her eyes had vanished once again, leaving them wholly idle, empty and devoid. Though intent on leaving now, there was something within that stopped Fia dead in her tracks. There’d been nothing before, she had felt little but questioning beforehand, when it was she had looked at this stranger with the scythe, but with her back to him, as she tried to walk away a strange jolt slipped through her body, a sense of knowing, familiarity, something that didn’t belong there.

“Mmph?” slipped from Fia’s throat as she stopped walking, her hands remaining within her pockets while her eyes widened. Why was this happening to her now? What was happening? Why did she know his . . . ? Fia’s body went rigid, and she did not turn around to look the supposed-to-be stranger as the familiarity took hold of her. Though there surfaced within her no conscious recollection, or memories, there did come with the sentiment of knowing, a name. A name that felt like it belonged to the scythe-wielder. Though she did not mean for it to, Fia found the name slipping from between her lips quietly, in a manner most questioning as for a moment she forgot of the guilt she carried. “. . . .Morgan?”

---

"You have yet to awaken. But with only being forty-eight hours, I can't say I'm surprised. The Soul Element is probably still recovering." Another slow blink was all Daemon could do as he stared at the other male. The guy was clearly crazy, or so the teen believed after hearing the nonsense that spewed from his mouth.

Looking at his surroundings and taking into consideration that he was basically in the mouth of an alley way, the possibility of the clearly unhinged man dragging him away was looming closer. With this thought in mind, Daemon unconsciously took a step back. Is this guy some kind of stalker? He thought as he recalled gruesome weapon the other had been wielding. Is he going to kill me? And what had that….thing been? The creature had appeared out of virtually nowhere and then disappeared once the black haired guy killed it.

"I would ask that you calm your mind, please. I understand that this is a lot to take in at once, but you're giving me a headache. You must calm down in order for me to help you remember who you really are as of this moment. Daemon Vallis is your name, but it is no longer who you are. From this moment forth, you are the Air Reaper." Daemon's mind was racing a mile a mind. How had the man known his name and what the heck was he talking about?

"Look, you're really cute and all but you're starting to creep me out." Daemon slowly walked backwards, taking cautious steps away from the man before him. "So I'm sorry to say but uh…I'm me and not this 'Air Reaper' you're looking for." He used his fingers as quotations to emphasize his point. "I promise, I'm just me…no one else, so I'm just gonna go now…People are expecting me."

His body was tense and ready to bolt at the slightest movement from the stranger. Now Daemon was naive, his brother yelled at him about it all the time, but even he realized that this situation wasn't right. This could get dangerous and with this guy knowing his name, the teen was all the more eager to get home and back under the safety of his family.

---

Inside, Morgan sighed. This wasn't going to be easy...

“H-h-how b-b-b-bad i-is your w-w-w-wound?”

The soft voice made him turn, and he took in a blonde female, who looked concerned for him. [color]"Actually, none of this is my own. I am not wounded inthe sligh-"[/color] He cut himself off as a familiar feeling ran through him. So this was the new Water Reaper. He smiled slightly, skimming over her thoughts, touching on what her name was among other things. He then winced, and turned back to Daemon. [color]"You're thoughts are getting worse, as is my headache. No, I am not crazy, and I don't appreciate being thought of as 'unhinged'. True, it may be that I really am no longer very human any more, but I am as sane as you are, Daemon. And no, there is a lot more buried deep within your subconcious, just as there is this woman's, whose name this time around is Lillianna Aretha Dauglas, if I correctly read her."[/color] He turned back to the girl, and said, "You are the new Water Reaper. This night just got simpler. I only have three left to find." This time, he really did sigh, and then said to both of them together, "I know you both are confused, and I know none of this makes any sort of sense. But it will get easier. You'll remember me soon enough, along with the others, and who you are. Or rather, what you are. Now, wil you come with me, or am I going to have to simply follow you until you remember?" He stared at the two of them in turn with blank eyes.

---

---

The copy smiled somewhat. "Well, yes and no. That would be the name of the Void Reaper, I am only one of his copies. He'll be pleased to know that you're already starting to recover your memories. Air isn't taking it so well, the boy is in complete denail and thinks Morgan is a stalker. Oh well, I suppose it's to be expected in some cases. Just how much have you rememebered? Or is it simply his name?" He was curious about the new Reaper. She seemed to want to embrace death willingly. Perhaps he could play upon that to get her to agree.

---

“H-h-how b-b-b-bad i-is your w-w-w-wound?” It took a second but Daemon finally took notice of the new arrival. A slight blonde girl…who happened to be much taller than him. In a way it caused a bruise to his ego but Daemon had been shorter than the average male all his life so the damage was minimum. The brunette roughly shook his head. Stay focused here! No ADD moments, this is important!His mind all but screamed at him.

"You're thoughts are getting worse, as is my headache. No, I am not crazy, and I don't appreciate being thought of as 'unhinged'. True, it may be that I really am no longer very human any more, but I am as sane as you are, Daemon. And no, there is a lot more buried deep within your subconscious, just as there is this woman's, whose name this time around is Lillianna Aretha Dauglas, if I correctly read her." And there is was. As the other man spoke Daemon concluded that he had been completely mind-fucked in the last few minutes.

"I'm going nuts. Lance always told me I was crazy but I actually think I've snapped. I didn't think rejection from a guy would just…knock me over the edge." The teen muttered, almost reasoning with himself. His body sunk, bending at the knees, as he covered his face with his hands.

He needed to leave, sleep this fit of insanity off? Maybe he was actually asleep now…he pinched himself on both cheeks extremely hard. Pain shot through his face as he squeezed, which means I'm not asleep. Hallucination maybe?

Abruptly he stood, ignoring both of the people in his immediate area, and made an about face. With his back to the 'couple' he briskly walked away. This entire situation was unreal, so he would do the normal thing for once in his life and walk away.

---

The day was coming to its end. Colors painted the sky a purple, orange, and pink hue while crystalline eyes clouded over in thought. It had been a strange day for Erys as she recalled today’s events. First, there was this strange feeling in the back of her mind that she was being followed. Paranoia her friend had stated, but this feeling was so strong, it felt like she was suffocating. She didn’t like this feeling at all and she wanted to get away from whatever the cause was. It wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be and she had taken a few turns here and there, some down a few closed alleys in which she had to retrace her steps. She kept telling herself there was nothing to be afraid of, and that she shouldn’t be afraid. If she were being followed, the perp would receive a brutal beating. She wasn’t exactly trained in self-defense, but she knew how to hold her own against most. With a defeated sigh, she continued on her way home, ignoring the smoke that seemed to rise from the neighborhood she lived in.

It wasn’t until the sirens of the fire trucks snapped her out of her stupor that she finally looked up. It was the house that the little girl, Samantha if she recalled correctly, lived in with her parents. She overheard the bystanders saying something that the house just suddenly caught on fire. The weird thing about it was that no one was seen going in or coming out, meaning that the residents were still inside. Erys felt her heart break a little for the little girl still inside, so she left the scene. Instead of heading home, she decided to go for another walk to clear her mind. The sense of being followed again had crawled up her spine and sent the hairs on the back of her neck on end. She could feel something breathing down the back of her neck, like the sick hot breath of a stalker close to their prey.

She ignored the feeling until she grew closer to inside the city. With more people around, the feeling slowly faded. But the fact that it was still there bothered her. She could feel her temper rising with each step she took. It wasn’t until she finally had enough that she turned around, only to face empty air. She felt a slight slip of her guard, and that was all it took. Something had pushed her rather hard and she fell forward a few feet. She quickly caught herself and regained her composure and turned to see what it was that had pushed her. It was a large, reptilian like creature that was obviously not your average pet. It snarled at her, ready for another attack in which Erys felt a familiar feeling inside of her. The beast charged her, claws outstretched and ready to penetrate her skin. Erys felt her body evade the attack and did a back flip, kicking the creature in its jaw. It let an angry roar escape its throat before it twisted and struck out at her again. She felt its claws rip at her shirt before she caught its arm and twisted it over her shoulder. Evading was becoming difficult as she felt herself tiring.

Dancing with a thing wasn’t exactly supposed to last longer than it should have, so instead of seeing the fight through, she ran. The hexon demon followed suite, and as Erys evaded others on the street, she could feel it lunging for her with its poisoned claws. She turned a corner and felt herself grab the person she almost collided with and twisted both their bodies to avoid the demon that had been following her. She turned to face the male she almost ran into and the first thing she noticed was the startling green eyes he owned. Before she could take in much more, the demon roared and shook off the debris coating its body. She cursed beneath her breath. The demon thing was obviously after her, but who was to say it wouldn’t attack this boy if he got in the way? Instead of running, she charged the demon and felt a familiar surge through her being. She couldn’t recall what exactly happened next as she felt herself black out for a second. Her whole right arm was sticking out of the demons chest, heart in hand as the black ooze dripped from it. She was holding its poisoned hand in her left arm, inches away from her face as it became to crystallize and turn to dust. She placed her shoulders back and sighed.

“Sorry about that,” she stated, turning to see the boy behind her and noticed two others. The woman had blonde hair and seemed to be attending to the black haired boy. Something about the two seemed familiar. An air of familiarity also surrounded the boy she almost ran into. This was turning out to be an interesting day now wasn’t it?

Escape was futile. Meri understood that now as she zigzagged between the tall trees that lined the pathways in the park. The beast-dog-thing was gaining ground on her quickly, easily tearing across the ground towards her. In the bottom of her stomach she knew that it wasn't an everyday stray dog that roamed the streets of New York. This was something otherworldly. Desperately her eyes scanned for a suitable tree to clamber up. If she couldn't outrun it then she at least believed she could outclimb it. Or at least that was the hope. But she could hear the snarling only feet behind her and she could feel the hot breath on the back of her bare legs. Pumping her arms hard, she gave another burst of speed, her breaths coming in short, sharp gasps as she tore blindly across the patchy grass in the park. Blood pounded painfully in her ears and her legs felt as though they might give way at any second. This thing was going to catch her at any moment and tear her to shreds. Locking onto a particularly gnarled and bent tree, Meri's eyes had a sparkle of hope. Just. A. Little. Further.

But she never made it.

Because a heavy weight collided with her from behind. With a scream, she tumbled to the ground, forced face first into the dirt. Screwing her eyes shut, she clenched her hands into tight fists and prepared herself. Firstly for the pain, secondly for the fight that was bound to come with it. Except neither came. No pain wracked her body and no struggled ensued. "I'm dead." Was her first logical thought after she had calmed her thoughts and pounding heart. "It broke my neck and I died. At least I didn't suffer...Oh my...I'm dead. Her thoughts switched to all the things she didn't manage in her short life and then to her brother who would be waiting for her. He would stay up all night looking for his little sister if she didn't return. Her heart shattered and tears welled in her eyes.

“Damn… you’re not her are you?” Wrenching her eyes open, Meri twisted her body to stare up at a big man in a dark suit, holding a broadsword. His face held nothing but contempt and disbelief. Gulping, she inched away, a sudden fear shooting through her heart. Who on earth carried a broadsword? Again, a feeling in the bottom of her stomach warned her against messing with this one. There was a dark eerie quality to this man and she didn't like it in the slightest. Backing up slightly, she never tore her eyes from his, keeping them trained on his face at all times. But even she didn't fail to notice the pile of ash that surrounded her. It coated her entire body and she could feel the gritty substance on her skin.

At any moment she expected the dog-creature to appear out of the shadows and lunge at her. It didn't come. The dog was gone and in its place was this daunting gentlemen. Silence enveloped them for a while, until Meri found her voice and began to babble. "Who do you mean? I think you probably have the wrong person, because I don't recognise you in the slightest. I think I would remember a man such as yourself. And I don't see why someone like you would have any business with someone like me. I'm Merinda Perri, by the way." She came up short when she uttered her name. Pulling herself together she squared her shoulders and asked the burning question. "What happened to the dog? Did you scare it off? Or did you kill it?" Not once did her voice falter and as she picked herself up for the ground she stared openly at the man, never looking away from him. As though she were challenging him in some silent way.

"Who are you?"

Xander looked at this girl and noted her terror, definitely not Pyre’s style, no not this one plus she felt different now that he was so close. He just lowered the blade, to his side as he awaited her answer. He didn’t’ know what he was waiting for, boredom maybe, curiosity? Either way he felt the urge to see what response this girl would provide. “Who do you mean? I think you probably have the wrong person, because I don't recognise you in the slightest.” He frowned slightly at that, feeling that memories or no a soul should recall someone like him, “I think I would remember a man such as yourself. And I don't see why someone like you would have any business with someone like me.”

Now that made him actually lighten a bit and almost smile, ”Oh, you will, trust me there.” He muttered to himself as he glanced to the Ash pile she was sitting in, damn thing had had some serious momentum.

He heard her say her name and raised an eyebrow slightly. “ What happened to the dog? Did you scare it off? Or did you kill it?” now that question he had to answer as he raised the sword to lay across his shoulder with a look of ‘are you stupid or something’ at her.

”Killed it of course, damn things are pests, even in my world… you really don’t remember anything yet do you?” he lowered the blade, the metal peeling away in small squares as the weapon dissipated into the air each piece fading away along with his gauntlet. The blade was gone as quickly as he had appeared and now he just looked to the rest of the world like a typical rich jackass from Wall street, though much better looking.

”Who are you?” Ah, the million dollar question.

”You’ll figure it out soon enough… you know your past incarnations were much quicker on the uptake… I blame television.” he then turned and began to head off, though he thought better of it and turned on his heel to look her in the eye again, “Oh, and by the way you owe me for this, we’ll quibble about terms when your more yourself, Sunshine,” he then again headed to his car this time actually putting one foot in before he shouted back at her, ”Oh, and by the by, you might not want ot wonder about while you are still so damn pitiful!” with that he got in the car, the driver closed the door and tipped his hat to her before getting in the front and pulling away. Within and beyond her sight he swallowed the small black bead that had been the other demon; this one was slightly less horrid as the others, though he hated consuming such weaklings just to keep his hunger sated. Fact was he was fighting himself the whole time not to consume her where she sat, it would have granted him great power he was sure but the fact was he had more to gain by letting them roam for now than he had by taking them down. “Such wasted opportunities… hope I don’t regret this, Morgan. Your truce had better be worth it, for your sake.” He again spread out his essence, seeking his goal, feeling the multitude of smaller demons that had come out of the cracks to hunt for a chance at the power of a Reaper.

Then the wave of his senses washed over two groupings with a much brighter signatures, definitely not demons, and by the strength they were probably multiple Reapers in one place… so they were grouping now were they? But the question remained, which one was she in? He knew they’d all sense that ‘being watched’ feeling and previously it might have sent them into hiding however at the moment only one would sense him. “Daniel, third street…”

“Yes sir.”

Ugh this walk is way longer the usual. Ky stopped in his tracks, the view of the city was remarkable. Lights flickered, sky scrapers towered above everything. There was no sound in the distance, except that one wretched sound he heard not long ago. Ky continued a normal pace, not walking but not running either. The luminous streets of New York made it easy for him to find his way. Ky stopped in his tracks, he heard a noise, from the same direction he heard it before. Not a coincidence. The fact that the sound was heard was heard through his headphones made him feel even worse. What the f-- he turned on his heel and walked towards the sound.

Surprisingly enough he heard another sound, but this one was a lot more, disturbing. He heard a scream, his eyes were open wide, should he be scared or should he help? Should he risk his life for someone else or should he continue home like nothing ever happened? Without a second thought he started running, not a slow type of run but actually sprinting towards the sound. It couldn't be far, he heard another noise, a shattering of some sort. A low blow came before a sudden silence, no sound in the horizon but the sound of his feet hitting the earth. He ran as fast as he could.

Ky could swear he heard people talking, a girl and man, but he wasn't there yet. How had he heard a scream so far away? He was baffled but nothing would've stopped him now. It was just around the corner, he could feel it. He heard the sound of a car door closing just as he turned. He saw the car drive off, but in-front of him was something else, a girl stood looking at the place where the car once was, dirty like she went through a struggle, obviously dumbfounded but what ever had preluded the car going off.

He picked up his pace and within seconds he was next to the girl. "Ah-- Are you okay? I heard a scream and noises." He looked at the girl who seemed to be in deep astonishment, he sight seemed locked on a spot where someone must have once stood. "Do you need me to call 911-- o-or are you hurt?" He seemed to stuttering, Ky wasn't the shy type but he was also not the type to go running head first into trouble.

---

The name, how did she know that name? Where from her memories did it surface . . . ? And it to have slipped from between her lips so easily, so simply without a single hitch. . . . She didn’t understand it, how it was so easy for her to say a name she knew she should not have known. A glint of confusion reflected within Fia’s eyes, an unsettling sense of not understanding how it was possible for her to know this stranger’s name. All she had wanted to do was to go about her business, and as she’d tried to walk away from him, to enter back into her stolen existence of a life, there it’d been, that sense of knowing. She had no memories in her head of this man, only a lingering sentiment within the depths of somewhere that she knew him, that he was invaluable. That shouldn’t have been . . . possible. She didn’t bond with people or speak to them when she didn’t have to, she regarded them all with the same attitude and mentality, feeling like not a one of them deserved to have themselves burdened down with her.

So then, why? what had been said before, ‘new Reaper of Fire.’ Did that have something to do with this absurdity?

A breath escaping from her, Fia drew her eyebrows downward as a frown formed on her face, a look of discomfort passing through her eyes. There was a sense of sorrow bubbling up within her from within her now, along with the feeling of knowing. So, she couldn’t help it, turning herself around. She kept her hands in her pockets still, but that uncertain, pained, expression remained on her face as she looked upon the scythe-wielder whose name she evidently knew.

There was something of a smile on his face, a sort of weak one. “Well, yes and no. That would be the name of the Void Reaper, I am only one of his copies. He'll be pleased to know that you're already starting to recover your memories. Air isn't taking it so well, the boy is in complete denail and thinks Morgan is a stalker. Oh well, I suppose it's to be expected in some cases. Just how much have you remembered? Or is it simply his name?”

Okay, so none of what he had just said to her made much sense. ‘Copies?’ Void Reaper? So, what, I’m suppose to believe that this guy standing in front of me is a . . . copy of the real person? The person who really carries the name I shouldn’t know? the frown remained upon Fia’s face while she stared at this supposed-to-be-stranger. She just stood there silently observing him, trying to understand what she’d been told and wondering if she should really even be caring? Something in her told her that she did, that she should, but then there was just this . . . apathy that bespoke of the need to not. Whatever had happened before, the lizard, and this ‘copy’ killing it, and her knowing the name of ‘Morgan,’ while it was indeed strange, was it something she really needed to concern herself with anymore than she already had?

Unless this led her to a chance to finally vanish away like she wanted, for some sense of redemption for having stolen the place of her sister in the world, then, no she didn’t need to concern herself with this insanity anymore than this. Even knowing the name of a stranger . . . she didn’t need to. None of this mattered, not to her. Whether she’d been addressed by her full name and she’d managed to address a stranger by his name. . . . It was just something else that happened in her life.

Fia could only come to shake her head at herself with a sigh, one of her gloved hands slipped from her pockets as she brought it up to place on the side of her head. Why is this happening . . . ? It shouldn’t be, all I’m supposed to be doing is living out this miserable life as my punishment for Cosette’s. . . . The thought of her sister’s name sent a dull pain through the scar that remained on her side from that night.

“Why does it matter?” she suddenly asked.

“All of this shit right now, whatever the hell you’re going on about. . . . Does any of it matter?” her voice lowered while it was there was an uncomfortable sort of feeling in her chest, a pain. There within it was that spark of familiarity again, along with a sense of sorrow, sadness and an ache she didn’t recognize for a moment, having spent so long numb to everything but guilt. . . . .loneliness? “All I want to do is to turn around right now, and go on with living my life like I was before. I can ignore and forget what happened with the reptile thing and you as if it were nothing, because that’s all it really is. Even knowing your name. . . .”

“That’s what should be happening, how it should be since that’s how everything else is, and yet. . . . I can’t. There is something that’s not letting me do that. Your talk of ‘copies,’ ‘Reapers,’ and ‘memories,’ I don’t understand any of it.” she prattled on, not knowing where she was going with this. “Why does this matter to me if I don’t understand it . . . ? Explain it.”

“Actually, none of this is my own. I am not wounded in the sligh-“ She cut himself off as a strange expression flowed over his face. Any arrogance that had seemed to be in his tone faded. It was as though he saw something… What Lillianna couldn’t tell. And what did he mean, not his own and not being wounded? Did he hurt someone else? What little colour Lillianna had faded from her face. And icy feeling washed over her. The girl felt a prickling sensation on her face. It was like when her feet would fall asleep.

“You're thoughts are getting worse, as is my headache. No, I am not crazy, and I don't appreciate being thought of as 'unhinged'. True, it may be that I really am no longer very human any more, but I am as sane as you are, Daemon. And no, there is a lot more buried deep within your subconscious, just as there is this woman's, whose name this time around is Lillianna Aretha Dauglas, if I correctly read her." At first, Lillianna had been confused by what this man was talking about. However, by the end she was shocked. How did he know her name? Who was he? Some kind of stalker?

"I'm going nuts. Lance always told me I was crazy but I actually think I've snapped. I didn't think rejection from a guy would just…knock me over the edge." The other man in the room spoke. From what the other man said, Lillianna was sure the brunette was Daemon. If he was crazy, then Lillianna was in a mental institute for imagining all this stuff… But she was sure this was real… It felt real.

"You are the new Water Reaper. This night just got simpler. I only have three left to find." What did he mean? “Water reaper?” “Three left behind?” This was like a book… It was like when the protagonist finds out that she’s special and has some kind of importance that was dire to the whole world. This, however, was the real world. Things like that didn’t really happen, did they?

But why did all this seem so familiar somehow? Why did “Water Reaper” actually seem click within Lillianna? She didn’t know. Lillianna took a few steps back.

"I know you both are confused, and I know none of this makes any sort of sense. But it will get easier. You'll remember me soon enough, along with the others, and who you are. Or rather, what you are. Now, will you come with me, or am I going to have to simply follow you until you remember?" Did that mean he really was some kind of stalker?

Daemon stood and began to walk away after pinching both of his cheeks. Lillianna was in too much shock to move. She tilted her head to the side and her mind buzzed with questions. What was a water reaper? How did thisred-eyed man know any of this? Was this a dream? When did the dream begin? Lillianna didn’t remember falling asleep… For now, she would just follow the dream where it lead her. If this was a dream, what would it hurt. If it wasn’t… Lillianna would find out soon anyway.

Recovering a little from shock, Lillianna regained her ability to speak... As much as she could around new people. "W-w-what does this m-m-m-m-mean? W-w-w-w-water r-r-reaper? H-h-h-how do y-y-you k-know m-m-my n-n-n-name?" She stuttered.

“Sorry about that” Lillianna heard. She turned her head to see a strawberry blonde looking at her and the red-eyed man. Lillianna saw that her hand was injured.

“A-a-a-are y-y-y-you o-o-okay?” Lillianna asked in a hushed voice. From where she was, she couldn’t see how bad the wound was. On top of that, she was no doctor. She couldn’t really tell how bad wounds were… She had to ask. The only way she really knew how to tell how bad wounds were was is a wound was deep, it’d gush. If there was a possible spinal injury, call 911 and don’t move the person. Let the paramedics handle it… And that was about the extent of her medical knowledge.

Meri stood where she was, utterly speechless. In a matter of seconds the strange, eerie man had caused his sword to disappear into thin air, spoken endless cryptic words that made little sense to her, claimed that she owed him a debt (which she didn't like to think about) and then cleared out of there. Suddenly he'd climbed into the black car and driven out of sight, before she could even protest. He'd abandoned her, leaving her completely defenseless and more puzzled than she had been before he had begun speaking. A tingling sensation crept up her spine and even without his looming presence, she still felt jumpy and restless. His words still rang in her ears, though many of them didn't wholly make sense to her. For some reason his insults stung her to the core, though she decided not to linger on it for too long. After all, he was gone. It was unlikely that she would see him again.

That didn't prevent her feeling as though she'd been shaken to the core. Looking down at her hands they were trembling. Her heart was fluttering madly in her chest.

"Ah-- Are you okay? I heard a scream and noises. Do you need me to call 911-- o-or are you hurt?"

Startled, Meri jumped, twisting to face the new-comer. Fixing her almost-red eyes on his blue ones, she found herself giving a weak smile. Typical, she was frightened and yet she still attempted to put on her I'm-brave-I-can-handle-this look or the let-me-comfort-you face. It was clear he looked a little worried and her heart went out to him. What this strange girl must have looked like to him. Covered from head to toe in ash, pale-faced and wide-eyed. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her nerves and pushed all thoughts of the odd man from her whirling mind. Giving him a bright smile, she nodded her head.

"Thank you for your concern, but I think I'm okay. Just had a little bit of a fright. Are you okay? You look a little...panicked." Her smile turned to a concerned smile as she studied his face for a moment. She was grateful that someone had at least ran to her aid, that someone had heeded her screams. If she had been in real danger, at least someone would have found her. Her thoughts returned to the dog-beast, who's remains surrounded them, and the danger that had come with it. Glancing down the street, where the car had disappeared, she knew in her heart that the two were linked. Something tickled the back of her mind. Like a memory trying to pry itself loose. But the harder she tried to remember, the further it slipped from her grasp. Eventually, she gave up. She would remember when she remembered.

The envelope contained a large stack of bills, some hair in a plastic baggie, and a letter, no signature but the sender was obvious,

Hound,

Though I’m certain you’ve heard already about the change of guard, so to speak, with the Reapers that is the least of our concern right now. In the vacuum of power left by their suddenly, albeit short lived, absence that “King” of ours is sure to come waltzing in to finish off the weak Reapers to tip the balance of power. Being that you and I are among the only demons on note in the city He’s sure to come knocking soon. Be ready. If you need aide in dealing with him let me know. He’s not to be underestimated.

Also, you should avoid seeing your family if at all possible, tell them to go on a trip, if you need help convincing them to leave for a bit let me know, last thing we need is your competent side going MIA for a bit. Speaking of missing cognitive functions, the Clown if back as well, watch your ass kid.

Anyway, to business; a client needs to find a deserter of his who took some classified files when he ran. Guy’s name is Mallory, Henry Mallory, he’s somewhere on the lower east side, there should be a hair sample to help you locate him. Typical job, find him and let me know, I’ll handle the rest. Enclosed, as I’m sure you’ve noticed and are probably counting by now, is a down payment for the next job. Consider it a good faith payment you’ll accept the contract.

Xander lounged out in the back of his limo, wondering when he’d feel it, that damn Betrayer, the one who claimed himself King of the Void, it’d been a few hundred years since they had last ‘talked’ and several small towns in Germany were still buried under ash. Okay, maybe not that bad, but a mountain was missing a side in the Alps, that was the Betrayers doing there, Xander had more respect for mother Earth. Anyway that wasn’t really his issue at the moment, though it was his motivation. The situation had his whole existence threatened, his way of life. As it stood the Betrayer would gain too much ground and Xander would no longer be able to fly under the radar. Of course there was option one and two here, he could either help the Reapers long enough to where they could play his decoys again, or he could eat them, and hope the power he gained would be enough to best the Betrayer and his henchmen. He didn’t like the odds of either. “Turn here Daniel… then it’s the forth alley, should see a few people out there.” he was closer now, close to Morgan, he knew there were two of him out right now, but he’d gone for the real one, suspecting that was who he really needed to speak with. It would be Morgan’s answers that would decide which option Xander would take, and thus the fate of his siblings.

---

And yet someelse joined their little party as Daemon began to wander off, only to nearly be run over by a female with pink hair. Morgan didn't even have to look at her to recognize her. It was the Earth Reaper. Which left only Light and Darkness. Exasperated, he sighed. What a night. Thoughts were flying every direction, and he was losing track of who was thinking what. Finally, he twirled his scythe once, and then swung it downwards, the blade sinking into stone. A ring sounded out where metal had struck stone, causing the others to lapse into silence and stare at him. There was a flicker of fire in his eyes, but other than that, his expression stayed flat.

"Alright, that's enough. I can't think straight with all of you in one place like this. So..." He stood up straight and closed his eyes. Two copies of himself flickered into life on either sides of him. He turned to one of them, saying, "Find Light and Darkness, they're the only two left." The copy nodded once, and took off. He then turned to the second one. "Take these three back to the base. Explain all you can, but just make sure the get there. Xander is close. I have no doubt he wants to talk to me, so I'll stay here and meet up with you back at the base." He then closed his eyes for a second and relayed the information to his copy with the Fire Reaper. He turned to the others, who al showed stages of shock and disbeleife, nodded once, grabbed his scythe, and walked across the street. Xander would be able to find him. The demon always could.
[h][/hr]

---

"Explain it." The copy smiled slightly again. "Hm, where to begin. Well.....We don't actually know where we came from. For as long as the Reapers remember, we've just been. There are seven Reapers total, one for each element. Air, Water, Earth, Light, Darkness, myself, which is Void, and then there is you. Fire. We each have complete control over our element. They are called the Soul Elements, and in order fro them to become Reapers, they must inhabit a human host body. You have been chosen by the Soul Element of Fire. The Reapers are the only defense for humanity against the creatures we call Demons. Not in the Christian sense, as you'll soon find out, that God does not exist. There are only humanity, the Reapers, and the Demons. No more, no less. The more time you spend near me, the more memories you'll recover, and you'll come to understand exactly what has happened. You'll remember who you were in past lives, who I was, though for me, I've inhabited the same body, this 'Morgan' for one hundred and fifty five years now. As I said, the more you remember, the more it will make sense. Now, the Water, Air, and Earth Reapers are being led back to teh base. Will you join them?"

He waited for her answer. He was hoping she would come. He didn't want to have to do anything drastic, but then again....what she'd once done to him to make him believe...

On the real Void Reaper, his scar itched.

---

---

After The true Morgan left the four of them, the copy turned to Daemon, Erys, and Lillianna. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to insist that the three of you come with me. I can explain any questions you may have, but it is going to be getting dangerous, we really should be getting off the streets." He glanced sideways back down the alley, where a Hexon had once been, traces of dust still lingering on the ground. "Unless of course you fancy getting ripped apart by Demons. So....shall we?"