The big city.

Sable nodded. "Yes, it's me," he said quietly. Raven took a step back, a wide smile on her face. She figured she should give them some time, and closed her eyes and disappeared. She wanted to thank Aden; he had left before she could.
~!!~
Andrea turned slightly to face her daughter. "You were always so strong," she said softly, suddenly. She turned away again, nodding slowly.
~!!~
Cora shook her head, and hit him in the arm lightly. "Idiot," She said quietly. "Do you really thin I could ever give up on you? That I ever would?" She asked.

Jade wrapped her arms around him, crying on his shoulder. She had missed him so much. She didn't know if she was dreaming or not. Right now she didn't care. "Sable." She kept saying. Her arms tightened around him. It was as if she was afraid he would disappear if she let go. Her now short hair fell over her face, as she kept crying. It seemed as if she was crying for everything. The child Sable killed, the blackness of his wings, his lost memory, her humanity, her fear of him, everything.

~!!~
Aden was sitting were had been first found.

"Not strong, just caring to others happiness." Annabell corrected, "I'm dead, now he has a chance at happiness with someone he loves rather than the girl dad made him marry, he deserves that. The least I can do is make sure that happens."

<~~~~>

Carlisle looked up at her and smiled a little, "I must have done something right during my life to deserve you." he said.

Sable held her tightly, unable to stop a few tears from slipping down his cheeks. He shook his head slowly. "I'm so sorry, Jade," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. For everything."
~!!~
Raven made her way back to where he had been, her face as bright as it had been in a long time. She ran towards him, and smiled. "Thank you!" She said. "Thank you, Aden!!" She cried, and wrapped her arms around him before she really realized what she was doing.
~!!~
Cora smiled slightly at him. "And I you," she said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
~!!~
Andrea nodded, but said nothing; she had no words to say. She was smiling, however slightly, however.

Isaac appeared behind them. "You don't deserve her." He said. "But you have her anyways, just as I do not deserve your mother, and have her anyways." He said.

~!!~
Aden hugged her back slowly.

~!!~
Jade pulled back. "Sable, don't cry." She said wiping his tears away."It's not your fault. Not yours."

Cora was unable to stop herself from glaring at Issac, but she held her tonuge for once.
~!!~
"How long?" Raven asked quietly, still hugging him. "How long before he forgets again?"
~!!~
Sable shook his head. "I should have been able to remember. The second I saw your face." He loked at her wrist, and flinched.

Carlisle rolled his eyes at his father before standing up, he offered Cora a hand without looking at Isaac. "Why do you decide what I deserve? Sorry you couldn't pick this one but I love Cora, perhaps more than you know. I'd never dream of hurting her, can you say the same about you and mom?" he said

Annabell sat silently on the bed and looked at her mother.

Isaac frowned. "I don't do it on purpose." He said, his jaw locked. Then he smiled. "But I did you a favor." He said. "If you chose your own bride you might of have fallen in love with her, and you might not have Cora now." He said.

~!!~
"I don't know." Aden said. "Until the next time he gets angry." He said.

~!!~
Jade shook her head. "I don't blame you." She said. "You weren't yourself." She said softly.

Cora was silent, looking back and forth between Isaac and Carlisle. She stood up and kept his hand in hers.
~!!~
Sable shook his head. "I should have been able to, though," He said quietly. "I should have."
~!!~
Raven nodded slowly, and pulled back from him. She smiled at him. "Aden," She said quietly. "Thank you. Thank you so much," she whispered. She rememberd what Jade had said. 'If you love him, you should tell him.'

She bit her lip, and looked over at him again. "You did win," she said quietly, standing up. "I love you."

"Good point." Carlisle answered, "I never resented you for picking Carmen, I resented Carmen for trying to get me to love her, so you know." he added.

Jade shook her head. "No, Sable." She said softly. "That doesn't matter, what matters is that you are here now, how ever long that may be." She said.

~!!~
Aden looked up in surprised. "It doesn't matter." He said. "That I won." He said. "Because I love you too."

~!!~
Isaac nodded, and disappeared.

Sable only held her tighter. Suddenly he realized something. "You're human," He said quietly. "Jade, what happened?"
~!!~
Cora turned to Carlisle once he was gone, but said nothing; she had a slight frown on her face, but that was all.
~!!~
Raven's cheeks turned red, and she smiled at him. She sat down next to him again. "I thought I should give Sable a few minutes with Jade alone," she said quietly, unable to think of anything else to say. She felt suddenly nervous.

"I don't know." She said softly. "Does this mean that you won't be able to love me any more?" She asked, scared out of her mind.

~!!~
Aden nodded and looked away. "If that is what you believe is best."

Sable pulled away, a frown on his face. "Why? Why would you think that?" He asked quietly. "There's nothing that could ever make me sotp loving you, Jade," he said quietly.
~!!~
Raven nodded. "It is," She said quietly, pulling her knees up to her chest in silence. She noticed how he wouldn't look at her, and wondred if she had done something wrong. She turned away; she hoped not.

Jade smiled slightly. "I'm sorry." She said softly. "I just thought. Sable I'm going to start aging again." She said.

~!!~
Aden looked down. "Why?' He asked. "Why do you love me?"

Sable frowned, but only for a moment. "But you'll always be you," he said queitly. "If you can keep loving me like this, Jade, then there's nothing in the world, not even that, that can make me stop loving you."
~!!~
Raven blnked in surprise, and glanced over at him. "Well, I don't know, "she said quietly. "But it's not something I'd ever think I'd understand. I can't stop thinking about you, and you've always been so nice to me, even when I didn't deserve it," She said quietly. "And whenever I was sad, whenever I felt alone, it was your face I wanted to see, you who I wanted to talk to."

"Have I told you that I love you today?" Carlisle asked as he looked into her eyes with a small smile.

James threw his text book against the wall. He hated school. He hasn't even been back in for a month, and he was already failing. That was just great! Not only that, but his father was thinking about moving. He has told Alice yet. He didn't think he would. He didn't know how to.

Kate was sitting next to him. "Calm down, James, the world isn't going to end.

~!!~
Jade was sitting at the the table, she sighed. Sable was insane, and found a lot of amusement out of hurting her. She buried her face in her hands, and cried. She was so thin, and pale. Her body was weak like it was when she was first human, but she wasn't helping. If anything she was making it worse. She rarely ate, she was barely surviving.

~!!~
Dust stood up when he heard the crash. "I think that boy is crazy." He said. He looked at Lenora.

~!!~
Mason appeared in a small house, invisible to the man living here. It was so neat, so clean. It reminded him of home. How the maids would run around like crazy making sure everything was neat and clean. "I had no idea you were a neat freak." He said, walking up beside Chip, now visible. He was looking about. "Nice place." He didn't want to tell him why he was here.

~!!~
Josh had Samson pinned against the wall. "Will you shut up!?" He yelled. Samson smirked. "Would you get a clue?" He asked, clam.

Aline wrapped her arms around Brianna. "Would you both go away!?" She yelled. Mary appeared in the room. "Sorry Aline." She said. "Time for you to go." She said, holding out her hand. "No!" Aline yell. "No!." Mary grabbed her, and they both disappeared, leaving Brianna behind.

~!!~
Isaac appeared in the living room. "Is Annabell still here?" He asked, whoever heard him. "And Andrea?"

Laurinda hated it here.

She had gone to the police that night, and spilled her guts, quite literally. She had told them everything, and after showing them their scars and giving them her uncle’s information, she was taken to one of the officer’s house for the night. They brought her uncle to court, along with her aunt. She was put on the stand, and couldn’t ever remember being so nervous. But her aunt had broken down, and together they had gotten the job done; her uncle was in jail. For life, most likely. She wasn’t allowed to stay with her aunt, not that she would have wanted to, and had been placed with a foster family, just as she had feared.

Only they treated her like she was some fragile little kid, like she was still 12. She may have looked that young, but she most certainly didn’t feel it. She was 16, even if she did look younger. All of this was what had driven her to take a duffel bag and fill it with clothes.

Over the past month, she had gained weight. You could no longer see any of her bones, and she looked almost like a normal 14 or 15 year old, though she was 16. She was still very short and small, but not nearly as skinny as she had been before. She had plenty of clean clothes, food, and everything else back ‘home’, but that was just it; it wasn’t home. She didn’t know those people, and had no desire to. They had sent her to school, and she hated it there too. And the entire time, there was 1 person she missed the most; Lance.

She looked up as she reached his house. She was hesitating now, but she couldn’t. She wouldn’t; she wouldn’t go back now. She reached up a hand and knocked. Her red hair had grown and now went a bit past her shoulders. She had no reason to cut it short anymore; she wasn’t scared of being found.

As she waited for someone to answer the door, she realized that she had no idea what she would say when she saw him. She stared down at her feet, whispering something to herself.
~!!~
Ivy was watching Josh and Samson with a mixture of amusement and something else on her face; concern? She hadn’t felt that in a while. She glanced over at Brianna as she began to cry.

Brianna stared down at her hands; Aline was gone. She was shaking, and she could still feel that she was hugging her. She looked up at Samson, glaring at him through her tears, though it hadn’t been his fault. Things had been worse than ever, since she started school. Her parents were fighting even more, and now...now Aline was gone.
~!!~
“It would appear that I am,” Andrea said, appearing next to Isaac. She had been upstairs. “Sorry, does that disappoint you?” She asked. “I’m not going anywhere, not until you do,” She said simply, glaring at him. She still blamed him for Annabell, that was obvious.


Cora was upstairs, sitting on the edge of the bed with a slight frown on her face. She had a book open on her lap, but she wasn’t reading it, not really. She heard voices downstairs, and recognized them almost immediately as Isaac and Andrea. She sighed; this wasn’t going to end well. Nothing ever did with them.
~!!~
Elliot was sitting in the underworld, her eyes dull and distant. She was insane again, and in Andrew’s cave this time somehow. He was watching her with a somewhat amused glint in his eyes, though not nearly as much as usual. Ever since Lee had shown up, he had been different. Not that Elliot could tell; she hadn’t stayed sane enough to tell much of anything lately. She looked over at him, glaring.

“Again?” Andrew asked simply, as she approached him. He grabbed her by the front of her dress and pinned her to the wall. “No,” He hissed. She glared at him, and kicked out with her foot. It connected, and he fell away from her, glaring. She tumbled to the ground, on top of him. She grabbed for his neck, and he turned it over so he was on top of her, prying her fingers off of his neck.

“Normally, I wouldn’t protest about this,” He said. “But you’re really staring to get on my nerves, Elliot,” he said. That was strange; he hardly ever said her name. Something flickered behind her eyes as she heard her name, but not enough to change anything. She kicked up again and was soon back on her feet. She ran at him, but he caught her. He did something strange then; he wrapped his arms around her tightly, and even as she struggled she couldn’t move. “Elliot, snap out of this,” He growled. She mumbled something into his shirt, trying to move. He only held her tightly, with a death grip. Soon her struggling stopped; he pulled her away, and saw that she had her normal eyes back; she was staring up at him with confused eyes filled with tears. She began to cry then, and much to her surprise, he wrapped his arms around her. Not roughly or tightly, but….gently. She didn’t protest, and allowed him to hold her as she cried.

“I---I—“ She tried to speak, but no words came out. He shushed her, and whispering calming things to her. She didn’t even think about how wrong this was.
~!!~
Hymn had more bruises and cuts. Not nearly as bad as before, but they were still there. She hated this; she wanted to disappear. They just wouldn’t’ leave her alone, and she let her temper get the better of her, like she always did. She had a large bruise on her upper arm, not visible with the long sleeves of her tight dress, but still there and painful. She also had a bruise on her cheek, hidden by her cloak’s hood. She was wandering the darkest parts of the underworld, no longer frightened by Chris’ father. In fact, she was very angry, and almost wished he would show his face just so she could knock some sense into him.

She walked faster, anger practically coming off of her in waves.
~!!~

Melanie was sitting in the underworld, her face tired and sad. With everyday that went by she felt worse and worse about what she had done to Warren, or more specifically, Hope. She had started all of this by wanting what was best for him, and ended it by hurting him worse than she ever thought she had hurt someone before.

As she sat there, she found herself remembering her life with him. Their first kiss, the way he would make her sneak out every night. How mean she had been to him; a small smile came to her face with this thought, with how things had changed. But it was gone as soon as she realized where she was, and what was happening.
~!!~
Ava was in the meadow; it was around 3 pm, so she had no danger of it getting dark when she was there. She had her violin in the case next to her on the grass, and she was laying back with her eyes up towards the sky. She was finding shapes in the clouds, something she had done often as a small child when she had come here. She closed her emerald green eyes, letting the wind blow her hair out of her eyes.
~!!~
Lenora heard the crash upstairs, and sighed. She turned to Dust, shaking her head. “No, he’s just frustrated,” She said, with a small sigh. She knew what was wrong; she had been with him long enough to know. She frowned and ran upstairs. She didn’t knock on his door, seeing as he still didn’t have one, and instead walking in. She sighed, and moved closer to the bed where he sat.

“James…” She said quietly, reaching out a hand towards him. She had been going to school next to him everyday, only visible to him. She had a frown on her face; she did care for him, and not just because she was his guardian. She really did care for him, did love him as a close friend, almost like a really annoying brother.
~!!~
Sable was next to Raven, his eyes dull and glazed over. Raven was sitting on her other side, a sad expression on her face. Sable had gone insane again a week or so ago, and showed no signs of going back anytime soon. Still, Raven was grateful for the short time that Aden had been able to give tem.

Aden…she missed him every minute she wasn’t with him, almost as bad as she missed her brother; almost. Part of her still remembered all that he had done to Jade, and part of her still didn’t understand why, but she still knew she loved him, regardless of what he had done in the past.

She flinched as her brother met her eyes, and gave her that grin that she hated so much. She quickly turned away, trying not to cry again.
~!!~
Chip jumped and turned to face the source of the voice that he had suddenly heard. He was standing in his kitchen, rummaging through the fridge.

“….Mason?” he asked in confusion. “what are you doing here? How did you get in??” He asked quickly. That was when he saw her; Ashlyn, standing next to him suddenly.

“…Ash?” He asked, his voice suddenly much softer. Ashlyn looked at him, hardly seeming to see Mason next to her. That night that she had gone back to see David, she had lost control of herself, her anger, and accidentally killed him. Since then, she was different. She didn’t seem to remember much about herself, nor care to know. Even now, standing next to Mason and Chip, she didn’t seem to remember anything or at least not much. She had been given the job to be Chip’s demon. She knew him; she knew that much. But she couldn’t remember exactly how or why, nor did she care. She barely remembered Mason. She didn’t understand why, nor what would make her remember. But right now, she didn’t want to. She just knew what she was supposed to do, and she would do it.

Carlisle was with Annabell in the spare room when the young girl suddenly scowled, "What's up, Annabell?" Carlisle in concern.

"Stay upstairs." Annabell muttered before she disappeared and reappeared next to her mother, "Yes?" The girl asked.

Carlisle shrugged and stepped out of the room. He walked down the hall until he was in front of the door to his room, he opened the door slowly. "Cora..." he muttered as he leaned against the door frame.

Lance opened the door, with a yawn. He blinked in surpise. "Lulu? Why are you here? Somthing wrong?" It wasn't like he wasn't happy to see her, but she never came too him before. It was always him finding her. "Are you okay?" He couldn't keep the worry out of his voice.

~!!~
"Put me down." Samson said. "Now." There was a dark edge in his voice. "And I don't want to?" Josh asked. Suddenly he droppped him, flinching away in pain. He put his hands over his eyes. Samson had bent the light in such a way to hurt his eyes.

~!!~
"Not at all." Isaac said, with a bored look on his face. He almost smiled at Annebell, almost. He frowned instead. "I wanted to see how you were." He said. He almost sounded like a father, or prehaps he sounded as close as a father as he could be. If he thought about it, he had no right to call himself her father. He should of have been able to protect her from death, but he didn't. He couldn't.

~!!~
Tyler had been standing in the entrance, unseen. He was frowning deeply. He stepped back, when Elliot was sane again. That should of have been him, him claming her down. But it wasn't. It was his fault she was insane. He disappeared before they could notice him.

He appeared in heaven. He had to hurry. Aden looked at Tyler with a look of discuse. "What?" He asked. "I want you to take Elliot's insanity away, and give it back to me." Aden as an elder angel, so he had that power. Aden nodded slowly, and disappeared after him. Moments later they wer standing in Andrew's cave.

~!!~
James looked at her. Then he did something no one thought he would ever do. He threw his arms arounf Lenora.

~!!~
Jade rested her head on the table. Her breath was short and raggered. She hated being sick. Oh how she hated it. Such a weak body.

~!!~
"Walcome to the secret life of the dead. Where those who warn a right in heaven must protect people like you from the people they love." Mason said bitterly.

Laurinda looked up at him, her hair falling back from her eyes. She smiled weakly at him. "Um, hi, Lance," She said quietly. "I---" She bit her lip, staring down at her feet. "Can I stay here with you?" She asked suddenly, looking up at him. "I hate it where they sent me. Everything that's happened, and just...they keep treating me like I'm 12, and I don't know them," She said. Her eyes were pleading, and she suddenly realized how stupid she was to come here. "I--I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." She mumbled, and turned on her heel to leave.
~!!~
Ivy ran forward. "Are you okay??" She asked, kneeling down next to Josh. Normally Brianna would have found this strange, but she wasn't paying any attention to them. She ran up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her and locking it with shaking hands.
~!!~
Andrea turned away from him once Annabell was there, shaking her head. She was strangely silent for...well, her.

Cora looked up as she heard Carlisle's voice, and offered him a small smile. "Hey," She said, standing up and stretching, placing a fake smile on her face. "What's up?"
~!!~
Elliot pulled back after a few moments, her vision blurred with tears. That was when she saw them; Tyler and Aden. Confusion passed across her features, but only for a moment.

"Ty!" She said, and ran towards him. Andrew grabbed her arm, shaking his head. He could sense where this was going. "Let go!" Elliot shouted at him, still struggling to get to Tyler.
~!!~
Lenora blinked in surprise, and sat frozen for a few moments before wrapping her arms around him. "Everything'll turn out okay, James," She said quietly.
~!!~
Sable was keeping his smile, so Raven forced herself to turn away from him. "Do you need anything?" She asked Jade quietly, looking over at her.
~!!~
Chip looked confused. "What are you talking about??" He asked. "What are you two doing here??"

Ashlyn hadn't said anything yet; she was looking past Chip, her eyes blank and unfocused. She didn't seem to realize much about anything right now.

Despite the fact Annabell was angry with her father she couldn't help but soften a little and let a small smile show. "I'm getting better, the pain is becoming bearable." She told him, "How are you?" she asked.

Carlisle frowned at her, "You do know I can tell that's fake, right?" he asked, "You don't have to act happy for me." he added

Lance grabbed her arm. "No you can stay." He said softly. "No please stay." He begged.

~!!~
Josh groaned. "Fine, sweetheart." He said.

~!!~
Isaac smiled softly. "I had been worse." He said softly, through he wasn't sure how true that was.

~!!~
Aden sighed, and walked to her, and placed a hand on her head. "Tyler." He said, and place the other on his. He pulled a way. "There." He said and disappeared.

Tyler looked at Elliot, sadly, and disappeared as well.

~!!~
All James could do was shake his head.

~!!~
Jade looked at her. "Can you get me water?" She asked. That has been the only thing she been putting in her body lately.

~!!~
"We are dead, Chip." He said. "Remember that talk I had with you? The one where I said I was like her body guard. Lucky you." He said. "You know have me as your angel, and she as your demon."

Laurinda slowly turned back to face him, and nodded once, twice. "Okay," she said quietly. She smiled slighlty, taking in his features once more. She had missed him so much, but she'd never say so aloud.
~!!~
Ivy frowned, and nodded slowly. Brianna was up in her room now, her back against the door, crying softly. Aline was gone; she couldn't believe it.
~!!~
Elliot's eyes widened. "No!" She screamed. "No, Tyler!!!" She shouted, but he was gone. She knew what he had done; she could feel it. Andrew let her go, and she slipped to her knees.
~!!~
Lenora said nothing now, just kept her arms around him. "I'm sorry," She whispered finally. "I'm sorry, James."
~!!~
Andrea couldn't help but feel something when she saw how he smiled at his daugther; anger, yes, but also something else. She turned away from them once more.
~!!~
Raven nodded simply. She disappeared into the kitchen, and returned with a glass of water which she set in front of her. Sable was silent, she noticed with some surprise.
~!!~
"She wasn't dead before," Chip said slowly, shaking his head. "Ash, what happened to you...?" He whispered. She turned to him, but did not answer. It was as if she couldn't even speak.
~!!~
Cora's smile slowly faded. "I know," She said quietly. "I'm just....worried, is all," She said quietly. "About Annabell, and everything that's been happening."