Private --[Jimmy and Lucifer]--

[St.Jimmy]

Hannah nodded, looking genuinely interested, and Max wondered what the hell she was playing at. Was she really on some kind of recruitment drive, trying to convince Judas to switch sides? Personally, he would have chosen the girl if that was his motive - at least she looked more or less like she could handle herself. Judas' lack of weapon and his many scars suggested that he was probably much less able.

"With all those scars already, you must be really pissed at Chelsea for giving you that permanent smile," Hannah said, choosing her words with care. "More pissed off than me and Max, anyway. I think it's your right to take him on - yours and the other Godprojects'. But you'll need this." She pressed her spare switch into his hand, and Max finally worked out what she was doing. She knew that someone was going to have to kill Jacob - EBPM did not let gang members leave without something to remember them by, and that something was usually a coffin. The fact that he had run away with a Godproject just added insult to injury, and practically sealed his death warrant.

And yet, Hannah didn't want to do it.

He knew how she felt; although Jacob had never had any close friends, both of them had talked to him a fair amount, and he really did not want to kill him. He would, if worst came to worst, but it would be so much easier to let the Godprojects deal with him - especially since he and Hannah had no qualms about murdering Messiah.

***

Jacob could not pick up on the full sense of horror that the dream had left on her, but even so, he could see that she was badly shaken by it - especially when she mentioned her brother. If possible, he tightened his hold on her, continuing to stroke her back lightly.

"It's alright," he said; "it's alright. I'm here." He knew this probably sounded ridiculous, but he couldn't think of anything else.

"If you ever need to talk to me, you know you can, right?"

[Saint Lucifer]

Judas briefly examined the switch Hannah had pressed into his hand, her words running through his head.
I think it's your right to take him on.
The switch felt cool and powerful in his hand, and he was glad to finally have a knife -- this would make things even between him and Chelsea. And all of a sudden, he couldn't wait to find them. It made sense now, why Hannah had started talking to him. But he wondered, was she reluctant to kill Jacob herself? Maybe she didn't have a personal grudge against him, even after he had run off with a girl from Godproject, which would make it harder to kill him. It didn't really matter, though. He was more than fine with doing the honours.

"Thanks." he said to Hannah.

Up at the front, Serena and Seraphim had both noted the slight change in buildings. They were getting shabbier, and graffiti started appearing on the streets. This is more like it, Seraphim thought. He glanced around, wondering where they should start looking. Some form of hotel or motel would probably be the best bet.

+ + +

"Yes," Messiah replied, comforted by Jacob's words. And then, after a slight pause: "Thank you."
She closed her eyes, but was as far from sleep as she could possibly get. She lay there, in Jacob's arms, feeling better just by having him there, and knowing he cared. Her hold on him also tightened as she realised she loved him, and that she wanted to stay here forever, and that she wanted him to never let go.

Her dream didn't make sense. Did she really have a brother? Did she kill her brother? Messiah didn't want to think about it anymore. All she wanted to do was lie here next to Jacob, listening to his breathing as intently as if it were the only sound in the world.

[St.Jimmy]

Hannah looked at Max and nodded, and he saw the faint flicker of regret in her expression before it was gone, replaced by her usual nonchalent face. He dropped back from Judas and she took the hint, getting back into step with him.

"You think they're around here?" he murmured to her.

"I don't know. You tell me. You're the tracker." Her reply was equally as quiet, and her meaning was clear. Max was good at being a spy for EBPM; he had in fact been gathering information on Godproject recently. It was a very dangerous job, but he was good at it. Now, however, he shrugged.

"How am I supposed to know? I've never been here before. We'll just have to check motels and stuff, I suppose."

"Hey, Serena! Seraphim!" Hannah shouted up to them. "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

***

Jacob's breathing began to become more even as he started to doze back off. He wanted to stay awake for her, but he was exhausted and it was too difficult. Chest rising and falling slowly, he held her against him and felt the sleepy darkness start to claim him all over again. It was warm under the covers, especially with Messiah pressed against him, and he couldn't stave it off any longer. His eyes closed and he tumbled back into sleep -- falling right back down into those never-ending corridors again.

[Saint Lucifer]

"How'd you find these kids, anyway? Y'never mentioned that." Seraphim said, in his usual lazy tone.

"Judas decided he'd go hunt down the EBPM after being beaten by Chelsea." she answered lightly. "I didn't actually meet them until after I'd told Thomas to find you. I was planning on catching a train to meet you anyway, but luckily the others decided they'd head on up too."

"And Judas happened to run into these two?"

She nodded.

"Hey, Serena! Seraphim!" That was Hannah. Seraphim turned at the sound of his name, as did Serena.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?"

Seraphim threw her a grin as he answered: "I never know where we're going. I was planning on checking motels at random and hoping we get lucky."

+ + +

Messiah watched Jacob fall back asleep, listening as his breathing became more even. For some reason, the fact that he'd fallen asleep again with his arms still around her made her feel safer somehow. She was content in watching him sleep, wondering idly what he was dreaming about.

A long time later, Messiah also fell into a light sleep, but this time she didn't dream.

[St.Jimmy]

Max didn't know how many motels he and Hannah waited outside of, watching the streets whilst the Godprojects checked inside. He was tired with a kind of gritty, sleep-depraved exhaustion that meant he was practically sleep-walking, but by the time the sun had fully risen, they were still no nearer to finding Jacob and Messiah.

"This is bullshit," he said quietly to Hannah. "I thought that Judas kid had some idea where they were."

"We'll just have to keep looking," she said, shrugging. "We have to find them, Max. They might only be round the corner, for all you know."

***

When Jacob woke, it was to the hazy light of the morning sun. Messiah was sleeping lightly in his arms, and he managed to get up without waking her, showering quickly before dressing and coming back through to the room. He crossed to the window again, looking out across the city and not relishing the prospect of moving to the slum side today, no matter how much more at home he would be there.

Of course, he had no idea who else was currently on that side of the city.

[Saint Lucifer]

It was dawn when the three members of Godproject emerged from yet another dingy motel with no result. That meant they had been chasing Jacob and Messiah for a whole night. Judas was becoming increasingly annoyed at their repeated empty-handedness. It didn't help that he was beyond exhausted, and all he wanted to do was curl up somewhere and sleep for a week. He wondered, vaguely, if this was a danger to them. What if they encountered Jacob and Messiah in the very next motel, but they were all too tired to fight properly?

Serena was also tired, and rubbed a hand across her eyes in reaction to the sun. Her eyelids felt heavy and gritty. She glanced wearily over at Seraphim: he seemed to be the only one not feeling tired, strolling along as if he didn't care about a damn thing in the world, while the sunlight caught the red in his hair and made it flame.

None of them were going to give up the search for the day, though Judas and Serena both wanted to.

"You're the wise guy," she said to him, slightly irritated. "So you tell us where Jacob and Messiah are, if they're not in any of the motels we checked. Everyone's patience is wearing thin."

Judas grappled for an answer. "I never said I knew exactly where they were. I had a vague idea, and really, why would they be anywhere else in the city but here?" he shot back finally.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I am kicking myself now for getting myself into this mess."

+ + +

Messiah woke sluggishly, and in a half-awake state she panicked, remembering Jacob's arms around her last night and not feeling him beside her anymore. Then she woke fully and spotted him standing by the window.

"Morning," she greeted him softly, sitting up. Messiah was reluctant to leave the bed, but in the end she did so, showering and dressing quickly before coming into the bedroom again. By the time she emerged from the bathroom, Messiah had managed to push her dream and all thoughts relating it to the back of her mind. She joined Jacob at the window and slipped her hand into his, squeezing it softly.

Looking out across the city, Messiah thought on the fact that today they were leaving this highly-polished world and moving to the slums. The slum side was her element, so why did she feel hesitant to move there?

[St.Jimmy]

Max finally stopped walking, rubbing his hand across his tired eyes. "This is getting us nowhere," he said, "and if we come across them now, they'll probably walk all over us. Everyone apart from him-" he jerked his head at Seraphim; "-looks exhausted. We should pay for a motel room, sleep for a few hours and then carry on."

"That'll waste time," Hannah argued.

"No point finding them when we're too beat to stand up," Max countered, looking dead on his feet. "This place only costs $15 a night." He nodded his head towards the motel they were standing outside. A line of splintered glass led the way up to the motel's main entrance, glimmering in the morning sun like an ugly parody of streets paved with gold. "It makes sense."

Reluctantly, Hannah nodded. "Alright. What do you three think?" She looked across at the Godprojects, noting the way that Serena and Judas in particular looked exhausted.

***

Jacob squeezed her hand reassuringly as she slid it into his, kissing her lips softly before turning to look back out at the city.

"So, $15 a night motel from now on?" he asked, with fake enthusiasm. "Well, at least the guests won't have their heads as far up their own backsides as they do here. It'll be easier to fit - though not as funny." He smiled briefly, remembering the way they had wound up the other guests last night and at the same time trying to beat back a mysteriously ominous feeling that had just descended on him. Jacob was far from superstitious, so he never paid heed to such flashes of emotion. Today, though, it was a little harder to shake.

He let go of her hand and crossed to the door, shrugging his coat on from where he had hung it on the hook in the wall, and then picked up one of their bags.

"Ready?"

[Saint Lucifer]

Judas opened his mouth, but before he could protest, Serena cut him off.

"We're fine with it." she said, with a meaningful look in Judas' direction. "Now you mention it, I reckon it would be the smartest thing to do at this point."

She looked across at Seraphim, one eyebrow raised in question. Seraphim shrugged. "I don't much care either way. But I'll pay unless y'all give some big damn about someone else paying for you. $15 a night, yes?"

He reached into his pocket for a wallet as he did so, and opened it, pulling out a hundred-dollar note. Nobody knew where Seraphim got his money, but he always seemed to have shitloads. Most people assumed he dealt drugs or some other illegal substances in order to obtain all that cash. And he always acted like money was nothing.

"Y'all want your own room, or are you happy to share?" he said to Hannah and Max.

Judas, meanwhile, was eyeing up the motel. It didn't look nice -- looked like total shit, actually, but he was too tired to give much of a damn.

+ + +

Messiah was surprised as Jacob kissed her, but it was a pleasant kind of surprised.
Then he commented on the motel's price, and she couldn't help but smile as she noted the fake enthusiasm in his voice. She chuckled lightly as he mentioned that it wouldn't be as funny as here -- she thought she may actually miss winding the other guests up at any opportunity.
"That'll be a shame." she said, though she too was trying to brush back an unsettling feeling that had seemingly come out of nowhere.

Pushing it away, Messiah shrugged her own coat on, feeling reassured by the weight of the switch in her pocket. Then she picked up their other bag, taking Jacob's hand again with her free one.

"Ready."

The two of them left the hotel room and took the stairs down to the lobby, handing the key (somewhat grudgingly) back to the woman at the desk before crossing the all-too-clean floor and exiting the hotel. As Messiah walked down the street with Jacob, she noticed her pace was slower than usual.

[St.Jimmy]

Max glanced at Hannah and saw in her face the same thing he was thinking. "We'll share," he said - he would rather the Godprojects try to attack him whilst he was in the same room as someone he trusted in a fight. Pushing open the door, he went inside and looked around at the scruffy interior - it somehow managed to appear even worse inside than it did outside, which in Max's opinion was quite an achievement.

"Room for two, please," he said, thrusting his own money at the bored adolescent behind the counter - he didn't want to be in the debt of any Godproject. The young man yawned and pushed a room key at him, scribbling down the made-up name Max provided into the motel register.

"We'll meet back here at this time tomorrow, right?" He was working out time that would be spent sleeping and getting something to eat.

***

Jacob noticed the way her pace had slowed, and checked his so that it matched hers. "Are you okay?" he asked, squeezing her hand. She seemed unusually melancholy today, and he wondered if it was to do with the dream she had had the night before.

"Want to talk to me about anything, Messiah?"

[Saint Lucifer]

Serena pulled a face at the interior of the motel, which she noted was somehow even less appealing than the exterior had been. Seraphim, meanwhile, booked a room for three, and watched as the young man jotted down the false name he gave him in the register before handing over the key.

"Right. Same time tomorrow." Seraphim answered, twirling the key on his finger as he did so. "Right, then. Let's go."
He strode out of the building and started looking for their room, locating it quickly. He made his way toward it, with Serena quick behind him, and Judas trailing in their wake.

The motel room was anything but flash -- it smelt of stale smoke and there were cigarette burns all over the one sofa and one of the beds. Seraphim flopped down on one of the nicer beds, kicking his shoes off as he did so. Serena nabbed the other non-burnt bed, and Judas, who was last, ended up with the burnt one. He pulled a face.

"You should have been faster." Serena told him, pulling a cigarette out of her pocket and lighting up.

+ + +

"I'm not sure." Messiah admitted. "I have this bizarre feeling of uneasiness, but I'm damn sure it isn't connected to my dream."

She was silent for awhile, before continuing. "But, about the dream. It doesn't make any fucking sense. Because now that I think about it, I'm sure I didn't have a brother.. didn't I?"

Messiah hadn't been planning to add the didn't I on the end -- it sounded like she was unsure, and she hated that. But as much as she was trying to convince herself that she didn't have a brother, there was a niggling doubt at the back of her mind.

[St.Jimmy]

Hannah led the way down to their own room, which was a little way apart from the Godprojects'. It wasn't in much better repair; lit by a single bare lightbulb and the weak daylight which filtered in through the dirty glass and the grimy slats of the blinds. Max sat gingerly on the end of one of the lumpy beds, and inspected the grey carpet and walls stained yellow with nicotine.

"Nice place," he said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and smiled. "You were the one who wanted to spend the night here. Door locked?"

"Obviously."

"Alright. I'm going to sleep." She climbed under the blankets and was out like a light; moments later, Max followed suit.

***

Jacob squeezed her hand again, not wanting to intrude on her personal memories but worried about how traumatized she seemed to be by the whole incident. He held on tightly to her as they made their way through the upmarket district.

At long last, the streets began to look more rundown and there was evidence of graffiti across every wall. Finally, Jacob stopped.

"Is this our $15 motel?"

[Saint Lucifer]

Judas was the first asleep -- on top of his blankets, Seraphim noted. Serena stubbed out her cigarette soon after before crawling under the covers and dropping off also. Seraphim didn't fall asleep for a long time after that. He checked the door was locked, then lay back on his bed and twirled his knife in his hands for awhile, a pastime he found endlessly amusing. His knife glinted in the weak light filtering in from the holes in the curtains.

Eventually, Seraphim gave this up and lay back on his bed, closing his eyes but not falling asleep for awhile after. While he lay there, he wondered idly why he never seemed to get tired.

+ + +

Messiah was comforted when Jacob squeezed her hand tightly. She was glad that he had listened to her, and didn't mind that he hadn't said anything. They walked in silence, until finally their surroundings changed: the buildings were more rundown, and graffiti scrawled across walls. She felt more at home here, even though it was nothing compared to what she was used to.

Jacob stopped in front of a motel. The vacancy sign was garish, and the paint on the walls was peeling away.

Messiah nodded to him. "Yeah, this is it."

As they walked inside, she dug in her pocket for her wallet and pulled out all her remaining money. As she counted out the notes, Messiah noted that the interior of the motel was in even worse shape than the exterior. A bored-looking young man sat behind the desk.

"Can I help you?" he drawled.

[St.Jimmy]

Jacob nodded, running a hand through his hair before answering. Like Messiah, he felt rather uncomfortable here, but he had little idea why. Sleazy motels were part of the world he'd grown up in, and he should feel more at home in this filthy Reception than he had in the grand lobby of the pristine hotel.

"We want a room for two, please." He provided a false name and watched as the man scrawled it down in the register, beneath two other new arrivals that day. Then a room key was thrust at him, and Jacob led the way through to their door.

"Well. I like what they did with the carpet," he said sarcastically, locking the door behind him and examining its industrial grey, marked with cigarette burns. "The walls are a lovely shade of nicotine stains, too. And that bed is nice and lumpy."

[Saint Lucifer]

Messiah chuckled. "Agreed. And I do love the curtains. The holes are especially attractive, and I'm sure they'll be even nicer when we're trying to sleep in the early morning."

She sighed, and shrugged out of her coat. "Still, we're here now. And it's a whole lot cheaper than that damn hotel." She smiled at him, or tried to, at least.

Flopping down onto the bed, Messiah realised she still hadn't shaken her feeling of uneasiness -- it had, in fact, intensified since she had been at this motel. Trying to ignore it, Messiah stared up at the (unattractive) ceiling and wondered what they were going to do now. Get more money was high on her priority list, but first she would have to figure out how to do that.

[St.Jimmy]

"At least we're somewhere where we can probably find and sell drugs fairly easily," Jacob pointed out, sitting down on the bed beside her. It would cost them a little more if they had to pay for meals that weren't included in the room cost - but certainly a good deal less than $150 a day. If anything, he was just glad that he was still here with her - still here and in one piece.

"And we're together, right?" he murmured, laying back so that he was beside her, on his back. Reaching out, he entwined his fingers with hers and turned his head to face her.

"I love you," he told her suddenly. Jacob had never been good with emotions and admitting his feelings, but he suddenly had to tell her. He felt almost as though he wouldn't get many other opportunites to say it, but that was ridiculous. Nothing was going to cut short the time they had together.

[Saint Lucifer]

Messiah was surprised as he told her he loved her, but again it was a pleasant kind of surprised. She didn't know what to say to that -- like Jacob, she had never been good with admitting her feelings, which was mainly because there often wasn't anything to admit to. But now? Messiah looked down at their entwined fingers and back at Jacob. Now it suddenly seemed important that she told him how she felt about him.

"I love you too." she told him softly.

Messiah stared at him for the longest moment, realising that it was completely true. She loved Jacob -- she would die for him, she realised. He had become the most important thing in Messiah's life, including her life itself. It didn't matter that they were in some dingy little motel room, or that they were short on money, or that they had been from rival gangs. All that mattered was him.

Messiah was kissing him before she realised it, more passionately than she had ever done. She still couldn't quite shake the feeling of uneasiness this place gave her, but when her lips touched his, it lessened considerably.

[St.Jimmy]

Jacob pulled her closer to him, so close it seemed unlikely he would ever be able to let go. He didn't want to let go. It was the most natural thing in the world to be beside her like this, kissing her and holding her and knowing that he loved her. Had it really only been a couple of days since they had met? He knew it was a cliche, but it seemed like a lifetime.

***

Max woke up when the evening was drawing in. The first thing he realized was that his stomach was very empty; the next, that he had hardly any money left with which to buy food. He looked across at Hannah's bed and found that she was already awake.

"Hungry?"

"Very."

"Let's go out, buy some food, then catch up on more sleep."

He nodded at her suggestion and stood, not bothering to wash before unlocking the door and stepping into the hall.

[Saint Lucifer]

Messiah lay like that for a long time, with his arms around her and hers around his. Being in Jacob's arms felt right, and she knew she never wanted to let him go. With him beside her, she felt like she didn't need anything else in the world to live. She didn't ever want to move, and she wondered if she would be able to force herself to let go of him, because she knew that, as much as she wanted to, Messiah could not stay in Jacob's arms forever.

Eventually, the light filtering through the holes in the curtains grew dimmer, and Messiah knew it was evening. She also became aware that hunger was gnawing at her stomach, and realised she hadn't eaten all day.
"I'm hungry," she murmured to Jacob, a faint smile crawling across her lips. "Are you?"
Still, she didn't move.

+ + +

When Judas woke, it was to the sound of low voices. Upon opening his eyes, he found himself lying on top of some lumpy bed in a small room. For a second, he was disoriented. Then he saw Serena and Seraphim, who were sitting at the tiny table across the room from him. Serena glanced up as he rolled out of bed.

"Evening, Sleeping Beauty." she greeted him, her tone somewhat sarcastic. "We were just considering going out for something to eat."

"Where the hell do you get grub in this place?" Judas asked, rubbing his eyes.

"That's what we're going to find out, right?" Seraphim answered. "You hungry?"

Judas was starving. He hadn't eaten in what felt like a week, and his stomach growled as Seraphim asked his question.

"I'll take that as a yes." Seraphim said with a grin. He stood up, as did Serena. "Let's go then."

Judas jammed his feet into his shoes, and followed the two of them to the door. Seraphim locked the door after Judas had stepped into the hall, then pocketed the key. Looking down the hall, he was surprised to see the two members of EBPM.

"Hungry as well, I suppose?" Serena said to them, a hint of amusement in her voice.

[St.Jimmy]

"Yeah, I am," Jacob replied, but he felt that he really didn't want to move. Their lips were still only centimetres apart; he kissed her softly, because he could, and then sat up. He ran his hand through his hair, grabbed his coat from by the door, and shrugged it on.

"Ready?" he asked. Once he had her assurance that she was, he stuck the key in the lock and opened the door, locking it behind him and slipping the key into his pocket before realizing there were voices in the hallway.

Max had nodded in reply to Serena. "Starving." A few doors to his left, someone had just stepped into the hallway. He heard the key turning in the lock and looked over out of bored curiousity, at the exact same moment that the other person turned his head. Both of them froze in a second.

Jacob found himself looking at a boy with wavy blonde hair and wide blue eyes, and he knew at once who it was. Max.

Shit shit shit shit shit, his mind shouted, but somehow he managed to react fast enough to pull his knife out of his pocket and move so that he was directly in front of Messiah. Max's eyes flickered and Hannah turned at the sound of Jacob's movement. Her own eyes widened and the knife was in her hand in a second. Jacob looked past them; saw Scarface and the little blonde girl, and a taller boy he didn't know.

"Consorting with Godprojects, Jake?" Max asked at last, sounding very wary.

"I might ask you the same question."

He was half tempted to get back in the room, but what the hell good would that do?

"It's not like you to stand in front of someone else," Hannah said. "Especially a girl."

"It's none of your fucking business what I do or don't do."

"It is while you've got that tattoo." Max nodded at his arm. Jacob's hand tightened on his switch and he tried to work this out. Three Godprojects and two EBPMs against himself and Messiah. Who would go for who? Would the Godprojects be more interested in killing him or her? He was fairly sure Messiah could best Hannah or Max on their own in a fair fight, but against two of them she would struggle, as would he -- and Max had a gun.

[Saint Lucifer]

Messiah had drawn her switch the instant she saw who was down the other side of the hall. She recognised the blonde girl, Scarface, and.. Seraphim? She spent a heartbeat wondering what he was doing here, then took in the boy with wavy blond hair and the girl in the hat beside him. They clearly recognised Jacob -- there was no doubt that they were EBPM.

In another heartbeat, the fear she felt for Jacob had dissolved into a cold, grey anger. When Messiah felt rage, she didn't lose her cool and start wildly attacking people or making stupid, hot-headed decisions. If anything, anger helped her to concentrate better, especially when she had something to fight for.
Or someone.

Messiah quickly weighed the odds. It was the two of them against three Godprojects and two EBPMs, making five opponents in total. It was an extremely unfair fight, but Messiah had once single-handedly taken on three members from an opposing gang and come out on top -- she knew it was all about strategy.

"Well well well," Scarface was saying, and as he spoke, Messiah's hand tightened on her switch. "This is convenient. I wasn't expecting to run into you quite like this." his voice was teasing, but his face was hard. Messiah's eyes flicked to his hand, and she saw he was holding a knife. "I'm not complaining, though. See, I can finally get my revenge."

And with that, he lunged at Jacob, knife raised.
Before he could realise what was going on, however, Messiah was in front of Jacob, and she had plunged a knife into his heart. He gave a small grunt of surprise, then Messiah wrenched her blade from his chest and he fell back onto the floor of the hall.

"If you don't want that to happen to the rest of you," Messiah said in a cold voice, stepping back so that she was standing at Jacob's side, but never taking her eyes off the four who remained, "you'll use your intelligence and back off now. If you know me at all, you know I don't lie."
Messiah knew it was useless, but she had to try anyway.