Dia stirred, opening her eyes to a pale blue sky and branches covered in delicate pink flowers that swayed in the breeze. The air was crisp, clearer, Dia sat up and stared out into the distance where the city stood out like a small blemish for the area surrounding it. She sensed the brooding presence of Grey lying beside her.

"I thought I told you no."

"I'm not a good listener," he mused, not bothering to open his eyes. "I saw you got a new pet; I wonder how long before you get bored of it."

Dia shrugged indifferently to what he had said, turning her attention to the trees above. He pulled around a picnic basket, "Wine, my dear?"

Dia chuckled, "Never took you to be a hopeless romantic, Grey." Extending a hand for a glass, as he checked the bottle and popped it open.

"Oh, most definitely not, but it is upon rare occasion to get you all to myself out in the countryside for the time being." He poured them both a glass before taking on a darker tone, "However, this is not what I planned for the day."

Dia rolled her eyes, how typical, he wanted her to do some dirty work for him. She eyed suspiciously, as a truck pulled up and five figures were dragged out of the back. Each one had a sack over their heads and hands bound to keep them from putting up a fight. One by one, the sacks were pulled revealing four men and one woman. They had seen better days since each one looked to have blackened faces and cuts all over. Dia stared wordlessly at Grey.

"So what, going hunting today?"

"Indeed, but there were supposed to be six," He sternly glared at his servants.

"He tried to escape so we ran him over a mile down the road."

Grey stood up and held out his hand to Dia, who looked at it gingerly and stood up herself. "Well I was hoping for even sport, but it may as well be more challenging this way."

"Are you suggesting a competition?"

"If I win, you get to stay with me for another day."

Dia laughed, another day to Grey meant a whole week. "If I win, you won't bother me for the next month." She watched as his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed at the thought. The next moment he gave his best disarming smile.

"Then I'll be sure not to lose." He guided her over to where some of his servants held out an assortment of weapons. "Pick your poison."

Dia briefly glanced over them before settling for a simple handgun. Grey grabbed two, checking to make sure they were assembled properly. He turned to the five targets their faces ranging from lush fear to walls of stone.

The one woman glared, "I will not play your game."

"Fair enough," Grey replied and shot her in the head, the others watched with shock and horror as blood splattered the ones next to her. She fell to the ground, slumped over, blood trickling down her face.

He smiled at Dia and with a laugh, "That counts as one for me." She glared in return, how typical of him not to play fair. "Now for the rest of you, I suggest you start running."

They didn't need a second warning and scrambled into the woods.

"How long do we give them a head start?" Dia asked, bored.

"When we finish the wine of course."

"Oh so not long at all, okay."

*

The bell chimed, as another group of customers finally left the store, again spending twenty minutes just walking around and asking pointless questions about everything. One was so bold to keep saying; they were all going to burn in hell for stepping into one of Satan's shops. The same kid tried to buy things with his soul.

"Is my shift over yet!" Fatima dared not to look at the clock, as she slumped onto the counter. Even if it was, she had to wait for either Kate or Chloe to relieve her.

She begrudgingly stood up and paced the floor, straightening the books and statues that the kids had carelessly messed with. "This is how you get on karma's bad side," she paused a moment, "Well, my bad side at least."

Once her OCD was sedated with everything in its proper place, she resumed her place behind the counter and lit incense to clear the negative atmosphere. Her stomach churned at finding the supplies were low and forced herself to light one of the angelic ones. She smiled to herself at how aesthetically pleasing the shop looked; this place is kept a lot cleaner than her room.

The sound of books slamming against the floor caught her attention. Standing up, she saw the books clattering against the ground in front of a figure leaning against one of the shelves inspecting the books before knocking them onto the floor. He was wearing a long trench coat and a hat that obscured his face from view.

"Excuse me!" she snapped sharply. The man ignored her. She noted that the bell didn't sound for someone entering the store. Her heart stopped a beat suddenly sensing a weird energy in the store. She marched right up to him and caught the book before he could drop it.

"Yes, can I help you?" She hoped to get a better look at his face so that she could get direct eye contact. The man shifted, so she would not.

"Just looking around." She looked at him, her face furrowed into a scowl. He cut her off before she could tell him to leave, "I am wondering if you by chance have or know where some certain books are located."

Fatima tilted her head debating on refusing service. She bit her tongue, as curiosity caught the better of her, "Alright, which books?" She grew impatient and wanted the man to leave.

"Rauðskinna by Gottskálk Grimmi Nikulásson and the Book of Thoth."

She glared at him, "Oh yes; they're right next to my Bezoar and Sessho-Seki stones." She scoffed thinking here's another prankster.

"Oh dear, seems I'll have to continue my search elsewhere. The books have turned up missing, and no one seems to have them."

"I'd check the black market, honestly. Not that I should be condoning that, but for those books in particular and stolen black market."

"And do you know how to reach them?" The man leered at her.

"Sir, I work in a little shop, live in a little apartment. My life isn't that exciting." Fatima decided she didn't like the energy radiating off him; it reeked of something dark and horrifyingly familiar somehow. She wanted him gone now.

He muttered something under his breath, and she caught, "It will be."

The man pulled out a rose. "Since you can't help me with the one issue I been having, perhaps you can do me a favor and give this to Ms. Dia for me."

Fatima blinked at him and took the rose staring at the black velvet petals. She had never seen a black rose in person before. She looked up to inquire how he knew; she knew Dia, but the mysterious man was gone. The energy didn't linger except from the rose, so she placed it on the far edge of the counter and covered it with a book.

She stared down at the mess he had left behind and scoffed again, "Good riddance," and restocked the books yet again.

The bell clanged as the door was slammed open, Fatima jolted at the sudden alarming sound. She ended up dropping the books she had in her hand, "I'm just a mess lately huh?" She shook her head, put out to the point she rather just be asleep behind the counter.

Dark hesitated, he could have sworn that a moment ago he felt Dia's energy to the point it should have been her. He stared incredulously at the little blonde girl who was reshelving books, no sign of Dia's energy, no sign of her ever coming into this store. Anger rose within him, it had been two days and while he knew he was close behind her, every time he thought it was her energy, it wasn't. Something was tormenting him, to make sure he never found her.

"Can I help you with something?" Fatima asked not fully paying attention as she placed the last book back onto the shelf. She turned to look at him but felt her gaze automatically cast downward avoiding him. She frowned at herself; this response wasn't normal, and she forced herself to look up.

Warmth fled from her face; she stared into piercing black eyes that felt like they could see everything about her and had a wall behind them. His aura hit her at full force, and she paled, as she was in the presence of an angel, possibly hostile.

Dark stared at her strangely for her drastic reaction. He glanced at the shop and audibly sighed, probably a weak medium that sensed his power. He took out Dia's phone that he pocketed from Grey and contemplated if the girl would know anything.

Fatima pretended that the store was a mess and began rearranging everything. The seal on her chest burned in recognition of something that hadn't occurred to her yet, as she kept mentally repeating, 'Don't notice I'm a demon, don't notice I'm a demon!'

"Hey you."

'I'm dead.'

"Yes, can I help you?" She plastered on a smile trying to keep from visibly shaking.

"I'm looking for a girl; I want to know if you have seen her recently."

A small wave of relief made the fear subside, as he didn't see what she was behind the glamour. "Alright, let me take a look." Dark tossed the phone at her, and she hesitated a moment considering the chances it was someone she actually knew.

She glanced at the image on the screen, apparently, the chances were high. She handed back the phone thinking up something believable to not put Dia in danger. The events from yesterday started piecing together; this guy was the angel after Dia. "Well I mean, I've seen her before, just not anytime recently."

"Where?" Dark demanded sharply, causing her to take a rather large step back. She strained her eyes to keep them directed at his face. She knew some of the telltale signs that she was lying and trying to think of something was looking up at one of the corners for a split second; micro movements are damn near impossible to control if you are unaware of what they are. Her eyes also got wider, but she disguised it as the already quite visible discomfort of being in the presence of an angel.

"I see her at the bar several blocks down, sometimes?"

"Thank you!" he said more of finally a lead and immediately left to investigate .

"You're... Welcome?" She stood there for a moment considering what had happened. "Screw this, I'm gonna see if Chloe can come in early."

*

'Light, there's no sign of Dia on the outskirts of the city.'

"Unacceptable, Dawn, she has to be somewhere." Light charged down the streets shoving people out of his way. They would turn angrily but only caught a glimpse before he was gone like a phantom. He backtracked all of Dia's lingering energy, every place she had been, even just once, he searched.

He skidded to a halt at the entry of a dark alleyway. Eyes are piercing the darkness, as he heard in his head, 'If it was the angel, when I find him, I'm dragging him to hell.'

Light proceeded into the darkness, his power pulsing through him with each step. He was completely aware of the life forces that closed in behind him blocking him from escaping, not that the thought ever came to mind.

He felt another rapidly approach him; he smirked, "Dawn, no matter who took her, we're going destroy them if they hurt her." He took a step forward and thrust his palm up the guy's jaw, snapping his head back severing his neck. "As we will to anyone who stands in our way."

The body hit the ground, as the other humans in the alley froze temporarily, then began to flee. A few ran trying to ram Light into the wall, but he merely sidestepped and redirected one of the men's forward motion to run directly into the others. The rest were fast but not fast enough, as Light plowed through them slamming the closer ones into each other and the wall and reaching the farthest assailant just before he made it out onto the street. Light grabbed the boy's arm, slammed him into the wall and then stomped his knee, shattering it. He wailed in pain and Light grabbed him by his collar and picked him up so that he dangled.

"Where's Dia?" he sneered at the lowlife.

"Man, I dunno man. I haven't seen the lady in months, man!" The boy stuttered in a slightly higher pitch than normal. "You're not the only one lookin' for her man."

"Who?"

"I dunno man! Just asked his questions then left! Ain't doin' no crazy shit and killin' my homies man! Now I can't walk either, man this sucks."

Light gripped his collar tighter, "Then allow me to put you out of your misery."

"No, no, no! Man, shit. I can tell you where that man went, man. No need killin' a homies life for." Light waited impatiently slamming his fist into the wall leaving an impression. "Last I saw him, man. He was followin' a lead in the shoppin' district, man. Suddenly bolted into a store, two minutes later bolted right out and down the street, man. I don't know about you, but he seem like bad news."

Light dropped the boy then stomped his other knee. "Don't waste my time again."

The boy cried out, "Shit man! I rather you kill me if I known you done that!"

Light stepped out of the alleyway; his knees buckled causing him to trip over himself. This body was unused to such extreme movements, the muscles untrained, he had torn a ligament already. Light slammed his fists down and shoved himself up again. This body was wearing out faster than the amount of time he had left.

The body crumpled to the ground as Light took a step out. The shallow, ragged breaths signifying the body was already pushed far past its limitations. Even if the original soul recovers, the body will be permanently disabled. Briskly, he turned and ran back to one of the unconscious bodies he left behind. He inspected them for the one with the least amount of damage.

Kneeling down, he shoved his hand into the corresponding limb of the body, hoisted it up and slammed it into the wall, before forcing himself into the body and shoving the soul out. He flexed, feeling every muscle reluctantly buckle and recoiled from his control. He flexed again and felt his movement was smoother.

He charged back out of the alley and down the street where the kid had told him. He skidded to a halt catching a whiff of an angel, one who was not Dia. "I think I found Dark; He 's tracking her through lingering energy of where she's been before."

'Should I get the rest to track him down?'

"No, we need to find her before he does, I'll follow to make sure even if he does find her, he'll never get close enough to touch her." Light stopped right in front of the bar Dia seemed to favor, the one where she met Fatima.

Light kicked the door open and stepped across the threshold staring at the flustered bartender and few patrons who sharply turned to see who was causing a ruckus. He boldly stepped up to the bar and yanked the bartender close.

"Where is Dia?"

"What is this? Good cop, bad cop?" The bartender shoved Light off. "Listen, I just told your friend, I haven't seen her the past few days. I don't know where she went; I don't care to bother my customers by prying into their lives. She usually hangs out with a tiny blond girl, but that's it. Now either buy a drink or beat it, some people have to make a living."

Light slammed the man's face against the flat wooden surface and held him down as he grabbed a knife and stabbed it into the bar right next to the man's face. A lone shudder ran up his arm in recoil; he was exerting the body's full capable strength. The was the problem when he or the others took over someone else's body; they don't feel limitations or restraints like all the physical potential is unlocked to them.

The bartender shoved Light off and pushed himself away from the ledge. His nose was crooked, and blood spewed out, he was lucky that this wasn't the first time he was assaulted or this time would have instantly killed him. Light yanked the knife out of the bar leaving a concerning crack and gaping hole of about four inches deep.

The man immediately reached for the gun he hid under the counter when the knife went flying out and stabbed through his wrist. Light casually approached him, giving a steely glare at the people causing them to remain seated where they were.

"Now, you're going to tell me what you know about the other man looking for Dia." He grabbed the knife and twisted his hand as the man shouted in agony. "Then you're going to tell me where you sent him, and you're going to get your friends in the underground to find out where Dia is for me."

"Ha, underground, are you sure you have the right guy?" Light slammed the knife back into the bar pinning the man's hand before grabbing the man's neck and pulling him closer again.

"Dia wouldn't come to this specific bar if it weren't for its ties, so unless you want your face smashed into your brain, I suggest you start talking."