Dimly lit and alive with shadows, but the air is achingly familiar" She moves towards him, pulled by an invisible thread that pulses with a wild life; a shimmering, glorious promise. His eyes, stormy and aglow, beckon. She doesn't fight the draw, it is as if she flows to his side, body arching in towards his as steel-corded cold arms encircle.

This is a familiar dance"

There is no need for words, their *desire* has overwhelmed them, torn away logic or reason, shredded thoughts, objectives, goals" It is the longing, the intense urge that eradicates everything. She is in his arms, his lips brushing the length of her slender neck; there is only this moment"

Chill fingers trace her jaw-line, cradle her chin gently, dipping her head teasingly, torturously slow. The breath she hadn't realized she's been holding falls in a long satisfied sigh as with a single, sharp prick fangs find their mark with surgical precision. The celestial vitae spills like metallic honey into his mouth electrifying him, but he forces himself to take deep, measured pulls. Always so gentle with her"

Green eyes flutter closed as she relaxes against the iron hardness of his cold, unyielding frame. At first she is swept up in the rushing sensation of being inside of him, running through every physical inch of him; a sense of herself washing away to be filled with the essence of Vincent' Complete submergence, this is what she yearns for; this is what sates her addiction. To become *him*, abandoning herself in the current of his physical form as far from her beginnings as she can get' and for this one moment it is enough.

It is a strange affair; this "thing" between she and Vincent is not love, but close enough. There is caring for one another, a sort of passion, an idea of lust although there would never be a physical consummation of it. And yet' it is more like using one another than anything as noble as "love".

The blood Vincent feeds from is the essence of Belial herself. Bel's body is a construct, something physically manufactured to house her true being. The Angelic are beings of energy and their bodies are merely shells, created to spare the human souls pain or discomfort when dealing with their race. As Vincent imbibes, their energies merge, Belial begins to fill him as if he were now her vessel.

But all too soon her own personality inches forward, the resolve, oh-so-easily overlooked upon being this near him, returns, stealing her back" Back to his dimly lit bastion, back to the room where they've spent so many nights, much like this one" Only tonight is different, she had entered with another goal.

Pulling away from him, he is hesitant to break the "kiss", not yet fully satiated, fragile skin tears as fangs are forced without care from her throat. Blood spills over pale flesh, staining the clothing below. She avoids looking at him while quickly putting space between them. A small, delicate hand lifts as if to ward him away from her.

"No, Vincent, we cannot do this anymore!" Her words are low, softly spoken, torn from unwilling lips. It is hard to fight down her desire to return to his cold embrace, but somewhere between when they began this strange affair and now Bel's changed" She is loath to admit it, mostly to herself, but the truth can only be ignored for so long. She can no longer pretend that what he wants, what he strives for, no longer matters to her, because it does"

Somehow, somewhere she's gained a moral fabric, ethics of a sort and now she pays the consequences of thoughtless actions begun oh-so-long ago' and for all the wrong reasons"

Vincent denies that hand dismissing him, moving with preternatural speed to her side. His hand reaches out seizing hold of her wrist with an unrelenting grip, effectively capturing her.

"No, Belial, this will never be over. We are bound eternal. You are *mine* and always will be." There is no emotion in his voice; it is as it ever was, soft as a brush of wings, but cold as the frozen wastes. Only once has she heard true passion in his tone, and that most certainly isn't tonight. She knows, through experience and common sense, he's angry with her"

"You don't understand, Vincent?"

"No, Belial, it is you who does not understand." He interrupts, forcing her about with a cruel yank of her wrist to look at him. "You are mine." He repeats, as if she'd not heard him the first time.

Vincent doesn't believe her" he knows her too well and her needs. As she looks into those stormy depths, aglow with power, she fears him for the very first time.

"Maybe he won't let this be over after all" But it has to be!" she reminds herself forcibly. Shaking her head she tugs at his hand, trying to pull free.

With a low growl Vincent pulls her hard against him, forcing her to fit the length of her body to his. His free arm moves to encircle her waist, pressing her ever closer. "Do not fight me, I can keep you here if I must. Do not force me to, Belial."

Green eyes stare up at him, unblinking and wide. She knows he can smell the fear, so she doesn't bother attempting to hide it. There are few beings capable of ending her existence" Vincent, she knows, is one of them. There is only one thing left to do?.

Her lifts her free hand to his neck, resting palm and fingers against the cool chill of his flesh, then gently she tugs his face downwards toward her as she stands up on tiptoes. He graciously complies but she thinks it is because she is seemingly acquiescing to his demand. Placing a light kiss to his lips as tears begin to build in those green, green eyes, she shimmers away from his den, leaving his arms empty' Before he has time to work his magics and trap her forever in the darkness of his fortress.

Belial ~Blood~

Belial finds herself crumbled on her knees a half a block away from the Dragon, the scream of her sibling only now fading into the distance. She's bleeding from her neck wound, reopened by Morningstar's rough handling, her right wrist is broken, and she's sure so are a few of her ribs" She slowly moves to her feet, green gaze sliding over the welcome site of the inn" Only' She can't go inside, too many people, too many questions that she can't answer. Instead she quickly masks her energy, making sure no new surprises can catch up to her and begins to make her way towards Westend and Sid's house.

She can't freaking believe the night she's having: First Vincent, then Fallen" What's next' Daug"!

Even as the thoughts form she senses them. She's known they've been watching the Dragon, why wouldn't they' Sid works there" Bel hangs out there" the only one they can't get to is Corwyn. So they post watch on the House and the Inn. One way or another they are bound to get lucky'

She sniffs the air to determine their locations but finds only her own scent strong in the chill night stillness. Too late she realizes that even most morals would smell the blood from her neck wound" too late to notice that the first of her determined Angelic assassins is behind her.

Blindsided, she drops, tucks and rolls but too late" the soul drinking sword slices through the fabric of her shirt cutting past skin into the bone and muscle of her back. Landing on her feet she fights off the stagger as she cross draws her blaster from the right holster with her left hand, her right useless due to the broken wrist. Sighting down the crosshairs she takes aim; first the head then the chest about where the assassin's heart would lay. The headless body falls to the ground, its sword clanking to rest a few feet away before both vanish, only the pooling of blood any sign that it had ever existed.

She can feel the one coming in on her right, but again she's just shy of a few seconds. Even as she pivots blaster directly pointing in the face of her newest attacker, she realizes it's too late; the Angel's sword arm is in full swing for a decapitating blow. She's going to take some damage" no matter what she does.

The blaster doesn't jump with recoil as she repeats her previous performance; head then chest. But the would-be assassin's blow still bites deep into her left arm before the body slumps towards the ground, vanishing like the first. Her left arm drops to her side as her blaster falls way, skittering to a rest on the cobblestones about seven feet ahead of her. Pain is tearing her open, but she knows there's one more" she can practically smell it on the air"

The Angelic assassin lands a few yards away, beautiful androgynous features are offset by the creepy white orbs of the newly created. It gives her a glorious smile as it slowly folds its massive wings, beginning to advance towards her with sword at ready. She attempts to appear defeated, and she hopes he'll buy it. She has a plan, and makes damn sure her eyes do not give it away. She can't summon her own sword as it is just as likely to feast from her as from him. That leaves one option open to her and she wont blow it by being obvious. That green gaze remains steadfast on her latest dance partner.

He moves a step closer. "It is a pleasure to meet you, at last, Abomination." The voice is melodic but unused to words; they fall harsh from stiff lips. "I am honored to be the one that slays you, for it is said among the High that you are superbly difficult to kill."

She would laugh, but that wouldn't really play in to the victim pose she's attempting. If she can just get him to come two steps closer" two steps further from her objective, and closer to her.

"Please" You don't have to kill me! You could say I got away?" Lame, it sounds lame even to her ears" She may be many things, but a great actress is not one of them.

"But it is what I have been created to do." Confusion moves across flesh too smooth to be human. He lacks the ability to judge her tone of voice, the subtleties of the emotions are simply too difficult for him to discern. He hears merely the question and feels compelled to answer it. He takes one step closer. "We all must do what we are created to do, it is our duty. It is one of the cardinal sins you've broken, sacrilegious creature that you are."

Simple way of thinking, but Belial understands it; she once believed the same herself" You do as you are created to do" But those days ended for her a long time ago. With that last step closer to her, she is one step closer to her goal. Just one more step and he'll be right where she wants him' She'll be able to make her move while still keeping herself just out of his reach.

"Sacrilegious" Have you read this or has it been told to you?" She asks. It may seem to any overhearing a silly question, out of place for the situation, but there is much to be gained by the Angel's response, and not just time"

The newly created being frowns, at first not understanding the question then as realization dawns it grants that peaceful smile anew. "It is the word, the word of our creator, he whom has set us our goal. You have broken the rules of GOD, and must be relegated to Oblivion." And he takes that last step towards her, almost as if his objective has been renewed.

Bel allows him the time of speaking, but with his movement forward she's in sudden motion. Too fast for a human eye to follow she's hops high into the air, spinning over the would-be assassin's head, to land in a crouch putting her blaster merely inches away from her left hand. Fingers curl about the cool metallic surface of the grip as she pivots to face him, left arm already flowing into position with the momentum of the turn.

He is of her race and although her sudden movement caught him briefly off-guard he quickly follows, turning around as she spun overhead, striding towards her crouched in the street, sword arm lifting for the initial blow.

He'd turned too quickly, and Bel is forced to switch her aim from head to sword arm, sheering it away before she takes another blow from a soul drinker" she's too weak already. As his right arm falls free, flopping uselessly to the street, she swivels marginally, firing at the face of the one determined to kill her. Her aim is shaking, her arm weak, her shot goes wide, searing into a nearby building thankfully made of stone. She forces herself to steady, steady and fires again. The headless body falls backwards landing with a thwamp upon the cobblestones.

Staggering clumsily to her feet, she saunters towards her fallen brethren, watching as the left arm lifts, hand groping. A glance to the sheered right arm and she watches as the soul blade vanishes.

"Even without his head he's still as determined as ever?" She wonders what happened to her that she's lost her drive and focus"

Before he can summon his blade back to him, she straddles his prone form. Taking aim at the center of his chest she quickly puts an end to tonight's little tango with a direct shot at the heart. A few seconds pass then this body also vanishes, leaving only blood and a scorch mark where the blaster's hit had seared the ground.

Bel sighs as she fumbles to re-holster her blaster. By the Gods, she's done carrying only one! Had she had both blasters on her tonight she could have saved herself a lot of trouble and time. She's done worrying about how the patrons around Rhy"Din will feel should they catch sight of her high tech toys. It's not like the Stars End Sector doesn't exist! It's simply better to be safer rather than dead. From here on out, she's packing as tightly as she was before and her body armor is coming out the closet!

She stumbles a few feet forward, not quite sure which direction she's going. The soul drinkers have drained her pretty badly and now she's paying the price" Pausing she attempts to gather her wits, figure out what to do, where to go' Like a brilliant epiphany she attempts to heal herself, and fails" she's simply too weak. Next she tries to teleport, concentrating hard on Onyx House, but this too fails. She's expended a lot more energy than she'd been aware" She tries to mentally connect with any of those she typically remains open to and finds that even those mental lines are down. Sighing, she moves towards a nearby alley way, creeping down the length of it until she's buried in the deepest shadows. Turning to face the entrance she leans her right shoulder against the wall and slowly slides down the wall until she's kneeling.

In her peripheral vision she catches sight of a deeper shadow moving within shadows near the opening to the street. Even in her weakened state she senses the evil emitting from the creature.

"The Dark Man" One of the Mysteries, like Scottie and his kin....The Mysteries are beyond the understanding of the Angelic; they existed without rhythm or reason, their origins unknown even to her race. The Dark Man is most typically seen by mortals, either before a terrible tragedy or during heinous deeds, but rarely ever seen by her race"

"Now why would he be here"" but before this thought can be fully realized Bel passes out. A block and a half from the Red Dragon Inn, deep down a random alley with only a drying blood trail leading from the street to where she's collapsed.

Belial ~Blood~

If you've got a picture of your face, Could you leave it on your way out the door" I don't care if it's color or black and white. I just need something to remember you by.

Oh, before my life (went dim), before my life went dim. Oh, before my life (went dim), before my life went dim. No one told me the trouble I was in before my life went dim.

I painted half my face all green. Don't you know I painted half my face blue. In hopes of showing you, both sides of me, both sides of me. I guess it came down to, don't you love me" Don't you love me"

Can't this car go any faster" Can't this car go any faster" Can't this car go any faster" Can't this car go, cause I can still see where I am.

Oh, before my life (went dim), before my life went dim. Oh, before my life (went dim), before my life went dim. You should've told me the trouble I was in before my life went dim.

"Dim' by Dada

It would be easy to let go of the physical, revert back to her truest state of being but she knows how long it took her last time to, literally, put herself back together" Her best option is to ride it out, trapped in her pain-ridden but nevertheless physical construct.

There are always choices, sometimes they are hard to see, kind of like the "forest through the trees" theory: the choices are there, right in front of you, but, like a blind man, you just can't see them. Sometimes you have to shift your perceptions before you find your inner sight, before you can 'see" the obvious.

Lost as she is experiencing the pain Bel is aware of the mental shift. Perhaps it happened so gradually it slipped past nearly unnoticed, until now" Or perhaps she was yanked inside by a force external" Either way, Bel's conscious reality has suddenly shifted, her senses have returned and the pain" It has become a distant thought; there but not really. She feels like she's floating on a cloud but she can feel the soft ground beneath her. It thrums with the beat of familiar magics. She can feel the pulse of the Heart and she knows she's in Mel's territory now" Somehow Bel has made her way into the Dreamscape.

With a graceful, flowing movement she stands, that green gaze sweeping over the starless night dark landscape. The lay of this land is not like what she is used to seeing when visiting Mel. This place is practically blank, a rolling dirty brown barren land, darkened with shadow, with a sense of incompletion. Bel's been to the Dreamscape before but only through specific choice" several times to consult the Dreamwitch, and once to hide something precious" the Heart, from Daug who'd had plans to use it for nefarious purposes" (Doesn't Daug do that with everything he collects") But this visit is different. Bel herself is dreaming, something she's never done before"

Suddenly the Tree of Life is standing before her, it wasn't there and then it simply was. It seems as if it's been there in front of her lurking, just beyond sight, well" forever. The Tree exists in all dimensions. It, like the Mysteries, is a natural occurring thing; its origins unknown to the Angelic, all save for one: The Dreamwitch Mel. And truth be told, no one knows exactly what knowledge Mel possess"

A millennium ago, sometime after the Great Fall, the magics of the Mysteries merged with the glory of the Angelic and Mel "became". Something, something more. She found she could traverse the Dreamscape, move like fluid through mortals" dreams. She learned how to open the fabric that knit closed singular illusions and shape them into what she chose. Bel has always admired this accomplishment but even now wonders at the chaos it has created inside the Dreamwitch. Still, the power of the Dreamwitch is unquestionable. Mel is more for her "becoming" and many of her race would take advantage if they could" But to Mel's credit none of their brethren have been able to manipulate her.

That green gaze drifts over the Tree, noting the changes since last she'd seen it. The Heart which Mel had taken from Bel and placed in the hollow of the Tree has fully integrated itself. The Tree glistens and gleams as if lit by internal fireflies. Blue glowing veins inch every branch, thickly ring the massive trunk. The Dreamscape forever changed by a random act of desperation' What had she and Mel done"

The Consequences are yet to be tallied"

"You're dreaming, Seraph." The familiar voice drifts from behind the trunk of the Tree. A moment later, Mel's head pops out, a hand sliding to caress the smooth wood of the Tree's trunk, as silver eyes alight with a million stars gleam calmly at Belial. A mischievous grin plays over Mel's lips; the game is a foot"

"You destroy it here; it no longer can haunt you there.

"You know," Mel continues, speaking in a conversational tone, "it is the Dreamer who creates reality here and, with the Heart to feast upon, figments become *real*. They breathe, they feel, they think. They take on a life of their own now.

"Fascinating, is it not?"

Confused as always, Bel simply nods to Mel's comments, not really sure she gets the meaning. She's never dreamt before and as usual Mel's words are cryptic. She knows there is a greater wisdom being shared, but for the very essence of her, she doesn't understand what it is"

"Speak plainly, Dreamwitch, or" is it your choice to confuse?"

"You believe in Fate, yet you do not." Mel smiles gently at her sister although her tone is hard with truth that Bel may not wish to hear. "You scorn the Ancient Teachings of our race, and yet' You do not. You, dear sister, are a mass of contradictions. You are what you crave and yet you do not perceive it. Does that make it less real"

"Let me ask you, Bel, has it never occurred to you that you were *meant* to be exactly as you are" That perhaps you've been destined to be this way' That maybe you have been made this way for a purpose, one yet to be realized?" Mel shrugs as if dismissing this topic. "Destroy what holds you here in this place and it will no longer haunt you there. Heed my warning, Seraph, for now is the time of strength, not weakness. Soon' Very soon, everything changes *forever*."

In a flicker Mel and the Tree of Life, with the Heart firmly entwined, vanish. Belial is left alone in the starless night of a dreary Dreamscape of her own making.

Hey you, hey you, Devil's little sister Listening to your Twisted Transistor Hold it between your legs Turn it up, turn it up Low end is coming through Can't get enough

Hey you, hey you, finally you get it The world ain't fair, eat you if you let it

Excerpt from Korn's "Twisted Transistor"

Strange that trick of the mind so easily fallen into a past lost' And yet, she can't deny her desire to respond" to have that past back" It was a simpler time, when things seemed so much clearer. Choices were obvious, and the intensity of passion ruled her world.

"It *is* as it *never* was?" Mel's voice drifts through the darkness surrounding them as if floating by on a passing breeze.

But Bel doesn't want to hear her sister" No! She wants to submerse herself in Welv. She wants this moment to last, as he'd just promised, forever" And didn't Mel say this place is hers to craft as she will" There was only one thing that could make this better" a "kiss" of a different kind.

Again it is as if he is reading her mind. He breaks the hold of his mouth over hers, brushing lips with a whisper "Thought you'd never ask."

The idea is enough to nearly make her swoon. The thought of becoming one with him, experiencing him so completely lays her bare, open to him and his will. "Yes," she thinks, "this is what I crave?" This moment, and only this moment is what is important to her most now. Everything else? A hazy distant place that grants only confusion and chaos. Here, now, is all that mattered; everything in this one moment"

He holds her close with his arm about her waist as his hand frees her wrist, lifting to cradle her head in his palm. A rain of soft kisses, gentle with her now that she's surrendered to him, over full red lips, before drifting teasingly slow to the pale perfection of her cheek. He is confident in his conquest, he can take his time.

Bel feels the heat radiating off of Welv, in waves that intensify with the mounting passion shared. And she is aware he's growing stronger with each passing second; every sense of hers is screaming it loud and clear"

"But this isn't right?"

"Destroy what holds you here and it will no longer haunt you there" Mel's voice melodious and smooth as warm honey, "Remember *everything* Seraph, remember it *now*!"

Like fabric being ripped apart, memories assail, unveiling the past that had followed. Unwanted, perhaps as these memories steal away the bliss of the moment, forcing her to face the unrelenting facts"

Welv's abandonment, his betrayal of their bond and how it had shattered her life" His return but only after she'd picked up the pieces he'd left in his wake and pasted them back together again? How she'd hated him for coming back when he had. Ruining whatever she and Ash were trying to build. How, when seduction was unsuccessful, he'd threatened and abused those closest to her in hopes of coercing her back into his bed.

When all else failed, the death threats had begun" He surely would have killed Tasha that night, had Bel not answered his summons.

The pain" It was the intensity of the pain that they brought to each other that had finally torn them apart. It is that pain that fills her now" and she never wanted to feel this again, *never*! In a cold harsh wave panic leaps to life inside of her, overriding the passion of only moments before. A part of her may want to return to that past, when black and white were so easy for her to discern. But the price" Too Steep" It would require she not be who she is now"

Strangely she feels the heft of wood like a sudden presence in her hand and simply *knows* it's a stake. Paranoia" fear" whatever it is, drives her now, creating a protective shield against the pulse of his will. She feels the brush of his fangs against the tender slope of her throat' Only a second before he will break skin"

With the preternatural speed of her race she slams the stake into his chest where his heart rides".

His head lifts from her neck with a start his gaze reflecting the hurt of her sudden, unanticipated betrayal. Shuddering he releases her; sudden and without warning she's left to catch her balance or fall. Staggering back from him she watches him crumble to the ground. A black thick ooze freely flowing from his chest wound, not at all the blood she'd expected.

But it is his expression that cuts deepest"

He gazes up at her with such a sting in his eyes, his expression speaking loudly of her treachery. One hand reaches for the stake, fingers tugging at it in futility. His other hand lifts in pleading gesture as his mouth works to form words he has no breath to make heard. And somewhere inside her head that little voice explodes!

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE"! STOP This! STOP This NOW!!!"

Rushing to his side she falls onto her knees, that small hand pushing his aside as fingers curl tight, preparing to pull the stake free. The black ooze is gone, not even a flicker or shimmer, just blood left to slow in its place. A confused glance up to Welv's face and she finds him smiling at her.

Propping himself up on his elbow, he reaches for her. "I knew you couldn't do it."

'By all that's Holy, what?s going on"!'

The stake is still firmly planted in his chest; he should be dying but' His hand finds her shoulder and he is pulling her in to him"

"You give it life?" Mel's voice is a whisper surrounding them, becoming the very air, "only you can *take it*!"

And like a switch being thrown inside her head" it clicks. She gets it.

This is a dream of Welv, he is her creation. He feeds from her energy. There is only one way to severe the ties that bind" She has to let him go.

Forcibly she tugs free of his grasp, sitting back on her heels while closing green eyes. She has to look deep to find it' but there" there it is. She gingerly tests the cord, oh-so-gently, for she recognizes that this is of the physical as well as part of her dreaming, she doesn't want to call the real Welv back. In fact' her goal is quite the opposite. She wants what started so long ago to end right here and now!

With the force of her will she cuts the metaphysical umbilical cord, much as she had done earlier that night with Vincent. Green eyes flutter open and she watches as the dream of Welv melts away, leaving no trace of his existence. Tears spring fresh in glittering eyes of green and she wipes at them furiously, angry that she would cry over this" something she should have done years ago.

"No! Damn it, no tears! No remorse. It is time to lay this past to rest!"

As she wipes the last of her grief away, clearing her vision, Bel is pleasantly surprised to find the barren wasteland of her Dreamscape revised. Gone are the starless sky and the brown nothingness replaced by a fertile splendor that could rival the beauty of the Lands.

"What have you learnt here tonight, sister?" Mel asks as she glides up seemingly out of nowhere to stand beside Bel.

"That I create my own demons?" Bel's words are spoken softly as she stands to join Mel, enjoying the sudden sense of freedom coursing through her.

"Hm, yes, much like mortals, wouldn't you agree?" Mel gives Bel that look, the one that says she knows something she's not sharing" Or is she"

Bel chuckles as she shakes her head, amused by Mel's cryptic games. "This has to do with what you said earlier tonight, yes" About me having what I want?"

"Ahh, but if the blind could see or the deaf hear." Mel responds.

Bel nods just once. She gets it, she really does. She's been blind too long now, it's time she opened her eyes.

"All is as it should be, Belial. As it *should* be. If you cannot trust in anything else, trust in that." Before Bel can respond the Dreamwitch is gone.

Dawn breaks on Bel's Dreamscape, the first rays casting a glorious light that steals her breath away. Bel nods to no one, letting the smile take full, red lips. All that has happened tonight has happened with purpose" and, as Mel pointed out surprisingly clearly, all is as it should be?

A slight frown moves over her delicate brow erasing her smile of only seconds before. She suddenly realizes what Mel had called her earlier tonight' "Seraph". Mel can't be serious" Bel can't be Seraph; it's simply not possible" or is it' A glance around finding she's got more questions for Mel, but the Dreamwitch is gone" and Bel isn't going to be getting her answers, at least not right now.

Belial ~Blood~