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I was lying in a pool of my own blood when my father, who had another crowbar (it seemed to be his favorite weapon),was "teaching" me the difference between a forehand and a backhand hit. He thought he was suave, teaching me how to torture and, at the same time, torturing me. I had to say, I wasn't learning much from this, trying to deflect the blows as much as I could. He had taken a liking to hitting my ankle, which rendered it completely unusable. I don't know how long I had been in Hell because the sense of time is lost here. It could have been three years, but I didn't know. It could have even been a day. Whatever it was, I knew I had to get out and escape again. But my body was refusing to move. For whatever reason, the more I died and resurrected, the longer it took me to heal. It used to be if I were to get hit, I'd heal immediately. Now my foot remained twisted in a weird angle and nothing was happening. It might have been my heart.

Without my heart, it was harder for me to use the energy I could before. I noticed I was much more tired than I should be. Even if it was forever ago, I remember my first time in Hell. I remember, even after the tortures, I'd feel like a spring chicken. Now I felt ten fathoms below shit. But what I didn't understand is how I was still living. The one way to kill a demon is to stop his heart. And Triinity did... Or so I thought...

"Can you hear me?" I flinched as my dad jabbed me in the stomach with the end of the crowbar. I coughed up a bit of blood and took in a ragged breath. "You look like shit, by the way."

I shuddered and closed my eyes shut. An image of Triinity flashed in my mind—it was crystal clear, and absolutely gorgeous. She was staring at me with a giant smile and I couldn't help but grin back. My father hit me harder than before in the side and I sucked in a breath, the image disappearing. "What are you smiling at?" he growled.

"That you hit like a pansy," I grunted.

That only made him hit harder.

"Derrick." I froze. It was a voice inside my head, but not my own that sounded. I looked up at my dad, who was beating away at me and didn't look like he heard a thing. Not to mention, he doesn't know my surface name. "Derrick!" The voice was urgent. Oh, God damn. I'm going crazy, aren't I? I'm imagining foreign voices...

"Is this thing on? DERRICK. Answer me!" I didn't know how to answer the crazy voice. So I just thought of a reply. Who is this? "EMILY! Who else?" My body went rigid as my vision went black for a few moments. "Look, Leon and I are going to try and get you out! I'm going to come in and distract your dad and I want you to hit him with something, knock him out, and we'll get out!" I didn't see how this crazy voice could help me. But then the vision went back to normal and I saw Leon standing in the far corner. My dad didn't realize he was there, but I did. He put a finger to his lips and I could see the smile behind his finger.

Then Emily walked into the room. She waltzed in like it was no big deal. She was wearing an incredibly low v-neck shirt and a really short skirt. I had never seen Emily with so much skin showing and, to be brutally honest, she looked smoking hot.. She grinned at my dad and there was something different about her. Hell brought out a lot of things about a person. If they were good in their life, for any point, they had this faint white aura. Bad people had a black aura. Emily had... A red aura. I didn't know what it stood for, but she had this blaring black and red glowing symbol on her right shoulder. It must have been the seal the Voodoo guys put on her when they turned her into a zombie.

My dad stopped beating me and glanced over at Emily before he froze. Then he stood up, straightened his suit and twirled the crowbar as if he were the coolest thing since sliced bread. He eyed Emily with eyes that made him look like a predator seeking out his prey. He leaned against a wall, twirling the crowbar. "Hello," he said.

My dad must have been really stupid, or really off that day. Normally, my dad would banish anyone out of the room when he was in the middle of torturing someone. But it was Emily's charm. Being a zombie, she could persuade anyone and gain the attention of anyone when she wanted. And now was that time. She let out a giggle and started to twirl her raven hair, grinning at my dad. I got to my knees and slowly to my feet before Leon had to catch me. Good thing the kid was fast.

"Listen to me," he breathed in my ear. "We need to get out of here. Triinity can't last much longer."

My body froze and I turned to look at Leon with a shocked face. Last much longer? I grabbed Leon's shirt and pulled him to me, glaring at him. "What is wrong with her?" I growled at him.

Leon frowned and smacked my hands away. I immensely wish I had my strength back. I really wanted to hurt him from keeping information from me. "We need to go!" He let out a growl and pointed at my dad.

"Tell me about Triinity!" I snarled.

At this point, my dad tossed the crowbar and it landed a few feet away from him. "No!" Leon snapped. "Let's go!"

"God damnit!" I grabbed the crowbar and threw it out of my frustration. In Hell, it's a lot harder to control my demonic self. So I threw that crowbar with as much hatred and demonic power as I could. And it flew.

Right into my dad's head.

He froze for a moment, rose a hand to his head, and looked to see his own blood. "Bloody hell..." he muttered before he fell forward. Emily squealed and jumped out of the way before she pulled her shirt up and her skirt down and glanced at us.

"Let's get out of here!" she said quickly.

I looked at my dad with a crowbar in his head. Then Emily did exactly what I was just thinking of doing. She sent a nice kick right to his gut. I winced myself at the force she did it with. I turned around to see Leon already had a portal open and he was beckoning us. I limped my way to them before the ground around us started to shake. Emily was at my side by now. I turned to see my dad was awake and as pissed as ever. His eyes were red and he grabbed the crowbar from his head. "You're making a mistake," he growled.

I frowned at my dad before Leon gripped me and pulled me in the portal. Before he could, though, I shouted, "Burn in hell!" in a light voice. I could hear my dad was shouting for demon reinforcements. Being Satan, he was damned and couldn't walk the surface or heaven. So he had disciples do his bidding for him.

Emily came in after me and then Leon was in the portal. But soon, the demons were upon us. I tried to fight my way from them, but the farther we went from Hell, the more drained I felt. I could feel sleep calling my name. And I was about to gladly accept before Leon grabbed me and shook me violently. I jolted awake in time to see Emily go full zombie. Her eyes turned crimson red and her teeth elongated into dangerous needles. She grabbed one of the demons and tore its head clean off before she bit the other one and tore his head off. I stared at Emily in fear. Okay, she just... She just... I can't even describe it! All I know was the fact that I was scared shitless. Done and said. It wasn't long before she returned to her normal, smiling, innocent self.

We came out of the portal and the first thing that hit me was the blinding light. It's always dark below the surface, or at least dim. The sudden change of lighting made me wince.

"You look like hell," Leon muttered. He turned to me and grabbed me so I would collapse. My eyes stung and my foot was most likely swelling. I was in desperate need of a shirt, new pants, and a nice, long shower. But I most certainly was not going to get that anytime soon. I glanced at Emily who was running off into the fauna.

"Mmmph." I rubbed my face, trying to get used to the light.

Leon shook his head. "Where is she?" he growled, looking obviously irritated. "We have to be on our way."

Emily then showed up and she peevishly pulled up her shirt and pulled down her skirt. "They're here." It was the rest of Triinity's band. Alex and Reaper. They came up to me and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Man! How we've missed you!" Alex said. He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "Because Triinity's a wreck."

I frowned deeply and was about to grab Alex when Reaper stopped me. "Don't think about it, Mephis." He glanced at Leon. "Nice work, Bro."

"He's your brother?" Alex gasped.

Reaper frowned at Alex. "Are you stupid?"

"Only slightly. But my mother always thought it was because I was special."

Reaper rolled his eyes and glanced at Leon. "Carry him?"

"Reaper..." Leon said with a warning tone.

"He can barely stand up," Reaper reasoned. He looked at me with serious eyes and I simply smiled at him. I was feeling severely loopy off of no sleep and no food.

"Whatever." Leon narrowed his eyes at me and picked me up. "Let's go." They made their way through the forest. Emily shuffled behind us, Alex cracking up inappropriate jokes about her outfit and how much skin she was showing. Emily, for the most part, ignored him as she fiddled with the clothing.

I was carried to a door. Reaper knocked on it lightly before Raphael opened it. Raph looked like shit. I always remembered him being clean shaven, always being picture perfect. But now, his hair was grown out, there was stubble on his face and neck, his clothes were mismatched, and his shirt was even off a button. The sight was absolutely bizarre and I wondered just how much I missed.

"How... How long?" I asked, looking around. When we came outside, the sun was just going down. The sunset was what glared in my eyes. And now the sun was almost swallowed by the horizon, casting the sky in hues of purples and blues. The brighter stars were now peeking out.

"Four weeks," Leon said quietly.

"Come in," Raph said gently. "But be quiet, Triinity is sleeping. Even the slightest noises give her a headache."

My head was reeling over the four weeks I've been gone that I almost didn't notice the words Triinity and headache. "Triinity doesn't get headaches," I whispered.

"She does now," Raph said sadly.

I looked at him. He seemed desperate at this point. Like everything was unraveling in his fingers and nothing was going right anymore. He looked as if he was a man who was trying everything he could to save someone he loved. But I was the one to save her and I knew it killed him. It killed me, too. For the fact I couldn't have saved her sooner.

Emily pushed past us and ran into the house. Reaper and Alex filed in before Leon and me. He set me down on the floor in front of a couch. The room was filthy; it was covered in clothes and picture frames everywhere. I looked all around, mesmerized a bit by the mess. Last time I checked, Triinity would kill anyone who messed up her place like that.

Then I realized I had never been in Triinity's house before. I let my fingers brush over the fabric that embroidered the couch. There was a table in front of the white couch. There was a giant TV, which was on, but was on mute. The glow of the TV and the glow of the dieing sun outside cast an eery glow on everything in the room. Then, I looked up and there was Triinity.

She looked like death itself. She was gaunt, her full cheeks were pretty much sunken in. Her eyes looked cold and distant. She looked absolutely frail, in her Hello Kitty pajamas and a black blanket was wrapped tightly around her shoulders. But the most drastic change was her hair. It had gone from jet black to absolutely white. The change was startling, scary, even. It only made her look paler and less alive. For a second, I believed I was truly looking at her ghost before Emily moved out from behind her, adorned in new, more appropriate clothing, and prodded her.

"Triinity?" she said softly. "It's Derrick."

She looked up at me. I saw her beautiful eyes, an odd hazel that was golden one second and a dark color the next. I remember it was her eyes that I loved the most at first. But her eyes were confused and sad. She looked at me as if I were someone she didn't know but should. Her head cocked to the side and slowly the blanket fell to the ground. As it did, her realization of who I was came to her. But her response wasn't the one I was thinking it would be. Her eyes became cloudy before they sparkled and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh, God, don't cry," Raph whispered hoarsely.

"I'm sorry!" she screamed as she fell to her knees and leaned forward, sobbing. I stood there, shocked as I watched her cry over... I didn't know what. "I didn't mean to kill you!" So that's what it was about. She was crying over the fact that she tried to kill me. Well, she kind of did. It was complicated. Raph sighed and delved his hand into his chest. I did a double take as I watched his chest give away to his hand as he reached inside himself.

"I'm going to be sick," Alex muttered as he ran out of the room, a puking noise soon following.

"Always hated this part," Reaper muttered. I glanced at him to see him shuddering and his tongue sticking out in disgust. I looked back at Raph to see him holding a heart to me. And I don't mean the cute little hearts you draw. I mean an actual heart that goes in your body.

"NO." Everyone looked to see Triinity trying to get up as she reached for the heart in Raph's hands. "I want to give it to him! I held it for him! I kept him alive! It's mine!" I was absolutely confused at this point and the thought of me dreaming didn't run through my mind once. Reaper quickly walked over and helped Triinity over to Raph. She can't walk, I thought. My throat closed up at the thought. What did I fucking miss? I was starting to get a bit angry.

She took the heart from his hands and turned to me. "W-when I ripped your heart out... I mean, it stopped beating, but... Only for a second. Michael took me away and I took your heart inside me in defiance to what he made me do. I... I took your heart inside of me, Derrick." I frowned in confusion. I understood Angels could do that but I also knew Angels holding a Demon heart with their own was the most painful death imaginable. "I had to show you I still... I still cared..." Her voice had gone quiet as she held out the heart.

"For Christ sake," Raph muttered before he grabbed the heart and his hand went through my chest. I choked a bit at the feeling. I didn't like it the first time and most certainly like it the second time. But there was my heart, fluttering in my chest. Raph took his hand back and shuddered before he looked at everyone. "Get out." His voice was curt and demanding. No one said anything after that and left the room. But there was Alex in the hallway yelling:

"I'll teach you poker, Emily!" There was a cheery, "Okay!" before the sounds outside the room went quiet. It was just Triinity and me.

She looked at me, her eyes swimming with tears and she started to cry all over again. I was getting used to the feeling of my heart back inside me again. I had to admit, I was feeling much better with my own energy back. It took me a few minutes to regain my breath before I gripped Triinity.

"You're okay," I whispered, wrapping my arms around her and knotting my fingers into her pajamas. "You're okay." My voice cracked and this is about the first time I've cried in a very, very long time. Triinity froze and she moved away from me, her eyes wide.

"Y-you're not mad?"

I stared at her dead on, my face as serious as can be. "You don't remember me saying 'I love you?'"

She frowned and her eyebrows furrowed. "No."

I bit my lip. "I thought it, that's why. But that's not the point! I'm not angry at you! That's the point." I nodded and she looked up at me before she practically threw herself at the couch and curled up in it. She looked like a little kid with how frail and innocent she was at the moment. I just stood there, watching her. "So you took my heart inside you?"

"To save you, yes," she said simply. She was messing with a thread on her pajamas, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "If I let it... stop beating, I would have ended your existence; your soul would have been snuffed out. Another candle blown out in the night. I did it to save you, Derrick. But I didn't expect the consequences."

"What happened?" I whispered.

She glanced at me. "I got sick." Her words were hushed as she spread her pale fingers over the white seat. She almost blended in with it if it weren't for her pink Hello Kitty pajamas. "I had your Demon blood in with my Angel blood. I could feel your heart beating along with mine. And, actually, I can feel it now..." She shuddered and made to grab the blanket, but it was too far away. Her nose scrunched up in irritation because she couldn't reach it. I limped, almost falling once or twice and grabbed it before handing it to her and sitting on the couch. "When I took your heart in, Derrick, it seeped the warmth out of me. It craved warmth. I'm cold now..." She poked my arm. I blinked. I was totally expecting the blistering burn from before, but there was nothing but coldness. She was incredibly cold.

"Triinity," I said. She glanced at me. "You didn't burn me."

"What?"

"You didn't burn me when you touched me."

She looked bewildered for a moment before her eyes widened. She then touched me and a smile broke over her features. My body ached then. I felt like I succeeded in everything I needed to do that day. It was done, I did what I had to do. I let out a sigh before she continually poked my arm. "Wow," she gasped.

"My arm's going to fall off," I groaned.

She giggled a bit before she pounced on me. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her head in my chest. I stiffened in slight shock, but then I calmed down and wrapped my arms around her.

"You're so warm," she said quietly. I looked down at her to see her marveling at my chest. "I didn't... know you had so many tattoos."

I looked down. Yeah, over the years I did collect quite a collection of things. I had a pentagram over my heart and the words 'Everyone is forgiven' in Latin across my chest. I had flames on my left forearm. On my back, I had a very accurate depiction of Angel wings that were reduced to flesh and were melting away. But Triinity was intrigued by the tribal tattoo that started on my right bicep and went down to my mid-chest. It was of a raven, flying off and leaving an array of feathers that got smaller the farther down my chest it went. Her fingers brushed over the raven before she got off of me and hurriedly shuffled through photo frames.

She brought out a very elaborate metal frame and on it were two people. The first person I recognized immediately—Triinity. But her hair was a soft brown and cut short. She was so happy in the picture, as if nothing could ruin that moment. She stared at the picture in sadness and longing before her fingers brushed over the same exact raven in the corner of the picture. It was taking flight from a branch in the corner of the picture, leaving feathers in its wake. I had never seen the picture before, yet the two ravens were identical, each feather accurate. I frowned deeply and moved closer, looking at the picture better. There was a person next to Triinity.

And he looked exactly like me.

"Jonathan," she cooed. She sounded like she was lost in her memories.

"Who is Jonathan?" I prompted.

She looked at me for a moment, as if trying to remember who I was before she set the photograph down. "My husband."

I frowned incredibly deeply, sitting up now. I fixated Triinity with my dead serious eyes. "Your husband?"

"I've lived as long as you have, Derrick. I've been married quite a few times. Jonathan... was one of them."

"He looks exactly like me." Minus the hair. Jonathan in that photo had jet black hair and he looked just as happy as Triinity. He was wearing a tuxedo and she was wearing a very elegant white gown. It must have been their wedding picture. She paused before the dived for the picture again and gasped.

"He does!"

"You never noticed it?"

"Why would I?" she said quickly.

I shook my head, my brain swimming now. What I really needed was a good night's sleep. "Triinity, who is this guy?"

"A mortal. I met him and fell in love with him. He was likewise. So we got married... But he was killed by my father... He's the reason I Fell. I met him when I was still an actual Angel. And I Fell for him." Tears filled her eyes again and I started to grind my teeth.

My eyes were stinging and they were watering themselves. It was trying my best to stay awake at this point, but my body knew it wasn't being beaten, so it should rest before I get beaten again. "Isn't it creepy?"

"Sure it is," she yawned. She leaned against me, closing her eyes. "But you're nothing like Jonathan. He was charming, sweet, and genuinely loveable. You can still be a dick sometimes."

I let out a snort. "Who needs—" I was cut off by a faint snoring sound. I looked down to see Triinity had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I let out a sigh and lay down, gently moving her with me. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my head in her neck before I closed my eyes.

And my body started to get the rest it so desperately needed.

"Derrick!" I scrunched up my face. In no way at all was I prepared to wake up after such little sleep and such a rude awakening. I defiantly curled tighter around Triinity. "Derrick!" I had to give the voice one thing: it was persistent. I opened my eyes to see Raph looking at me with exhaustion. "I'm going to carry her to her room. She needs to sleep really well. She hasn't for some time."

"No," I said groggily. "I'll sleep with her."

Raph let out an impatient snort. "Let her go, Derrick, I'm taking her to her bed."

I shook my head, kissing her head softly. But Raph pried my tired arms from Triinity and he picked her up before leaving the room. I was quite disappointed. Raph was exhausted, yet he was stronger than I was. Not to mention, I didn't fight as hard for Triinity as I should have. I thought about getting up and following them and curling up with Triinity in her bed, but my body wouldn't move. Sleep was beckoning back into its warm embrace again and I could only welcome it.

"Derrick?!" The sound of a shrill voice sliced through my dead sleep like a knife through butter. I sat up quickly and looked around. "Derrick?!" The voice was incredibly worried, as if they had lost something precious to them and was frantically searching for it. I stood up and started to jog to the source of the sound. I then realized that my body had healed itself in its rejuvenation sleep.

I opened the door and there was Triinity, right at the foot of her bed, her hair in every angle as she tried to find me. Her head turned and she saw me, her eyes widening. She stood up, her body rigid and her lips parted before she launched herself at me. "It was real!" she shouted as she hugged me tightly. My mouth quirked in a smile in slight amusement. She must have thought of it as a dream.

"It was real," I affirmed and hugged her tightly, grinning. "Raph just put you in your room in the middle of the night. I couldn't get up and walk in there and Raph refused to carry me."

She smiled. I was amazed at how much healthier she looked already. The color in her cheeks were returning, her eyes were shimmering like they used to. I couldn't help but stroke her cheek a little, still overwhelmed by the fact I can touch her without pain being induced. She just smiled before she got up.

"Oh... my... God! Who did this?" she demanded, pointing outside her room. I craned my neck from where I was lying on the floor and looked to see all the clothes and pictures on the floor and couches.

"I haven't a clue," I muttered.

She grimaced and walked out of the room. "No one is supposed to see this!" Her voice was wavering as she quickly started to pick things up. I got up and walked behind her, grabbing a stray photograph on the floor. I looked at it to see a man who had the same features as me. I paused, my eyebrows furrowing as I remembered Jonathan. Then I bent down and grabbed another picture, seeing a different man, but still looked a bit like me.

"Triinity?"

She looked up at me and I glanced at her before I grabbed another picture, which only affirmed my beliefs. "Why do these people look like me?"

She frowned. "What are you talking about?" I held out the three pictures and her eyes widened a bit. I looked around the room before all the pictures arose from their various places and floated at eye-level around the room. Triinity looked at them all, her face was the portrayal of horror. In the center of the room floated the picture with her and Jonathan. She ran over and grabbed it quickly, her eyes wide in fear. "N-no..." She glanced between me and the picture. "This isn't..."

"The hell is going on?" I was still holding the other three pictures before I released them and walked over to her. The three pictures then joined the other hundreds floating in the room. "Who are these people?"

"Various... boyfriends and husbands," she whispered softly. "Some friends, too." She looked at me before she sat down slowly, taking the picture of her and Jonathan with her. "I-I never realized they looked like you, Derrick. I never saw them all together like this..." She looked around again. "There's Todd, William, Garrett, Balthazar, Harry, Richard, Gregory..." And she went naming all the names of these people. I looked at every picture, a pit forming in my stomach, which grew with every new picture. Eventually, when we were done, my whole body was absorbed in the pit which made me feel a little sick.

"Is this a coincidence?"

"It can't be," she whispered. "It has to be fate, or something. They all are a part of you. Whether it's a laugh, a voice, a feature, or downright... you." I grabbed a picture out of the air as anger started to rise in me. All these men, going under the looks and voices of me and got Triinity. I couldn't help but feel angry, and—yes—a little jealous. Maybe a lot jealous.

"Don't worry about it, Derrick. It can't be something much bigger than it is."

"Is that why you acted the way you did in Hawaii?" I suddenly demanded. She looked at me, puzzled for a few moments before the memory came to her. "When you and I met for the first time?" It was many many many centuries ago, when I made the chain of islands because of my defiance and she came to stop me. All I remember was her looking at me strangely, asking if we had met before.

"I had a flashback of all of them," she said. I snorted and ran a hand through my hair in frustration.

"Is that all I am to you?" I said, my nose wrinkling, my eyebrows furrowing in my anger. "All of these memories, all of these men? I'm not Derrick, but Roy, Carey, and Brandon?" I pointed at various pictures as I spoke.

"No!" she said defiantly. "You're Derrick. Trust me, I didn't even realize this until now."

"I trust you," I said, gritting my teeth. "But what I don't trust is that subconscious of yours. You tend to just... do things because it feels right. Is that why you actually became friends with me? Because I was like them?"

She shook her head while I spoke. "No, no, no, Derrick. You have it all wrong."

"Then tell me!" My voice was a bit louder than I wanted it to be. I understood Triinity and I just got back together after all that crap had been thrown on us and now more was being shoveled down our throats. My stomach was churning at an alarming rate, making me want to vomit.

She paused for a few moments. I sincerely hoped she was bringing her thoughts together and not making up some story. I didn't know why it all touched me so much, but I always thought of Triinity as mine. I've always been territorial like that. And having all these men, all who are a part of me in some way, have been with her makes me feel a bit... used. Like I was the gateway to all of these men and that's why I was here and why she wanted to be with me. It seemed like a silly idea, but my brain wouldn't let it go.

"I might have had an inkling," she confessed before she stood up, putting down the Jonathan picture. "Because you look exactly like Jonathan. But when you... Derrick, you are different from all of them. Because you're not mortal like them. When you sensed what I was, that's how the connection them was cut off. Because immediately, instantly, you were different. When they all learned"—she gestured to the pictures—"what I was, they all had repercussions. Some left me, some asked me favors. Hell, some of them killed themselves because they couldn't believe it. I actually had to kill a few of them because they wanted to tell others. But you knew right out."

I stared at her for a while. I tried to tell myself that it was true, but the reasoning she gave me seemed weak. But what else could I do? I had to believe her. I had no plans of leaving her today, tomorrow, or anytime in the future. I knew, however, I was going to bring this subject back up very soon. "Fine," I said lamely.

She took in a shaky breath and walked over to me before she hugged me. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I said, not looking at her. The pictures then put themselves into a trunk I guessed was for the pictures that was flung open in a haste. I stepped back from her and rubbed my face. "I think I'll go take a shower."

She watched me, her eyes quivering before she gasped. "Clothes! I think I have clothes that would fit you."

I watched as she flew past me and I sighed. I followed her as she went through the house expertly. It seemed like an old house, so it wasn't all too simple. I easily got lost through the various hallways before she stopped in front of a door. She opened it and immediately delved into a drawer. "Here." She threw me a white shirt. I grabbed it before looking around. It was most definitely a masculine room. I walked in a felt a sense of rage as I walked inside. I didn't know what it was, but I had the strong urge to burn the room down. But I had a feeling Triinity wouldn't exactly like that...

"Okay, all he has is khakis and black shorts." I frowned and my eyes narrowed in irritation.

"Really?"

"Really. I'll give you black shorts."

I growled. "I'll stick with my pants, thanks."

She shook her head. "Derrick, not a chance. I'll text Raph, or something and ask him if he has a spare pair of jeans."

"I wouldn't fit in them."

"Are you calling Raph fat?"

I turned around and saw Triinity gawking at me. "No," I said. "No! I'm just saying his jeans are going to fall off of me."

She broke out into a cackling laughter. "Someone is in trou-ble!"

"Don't you dare tell him!"

I ran up to her and grabbed her hands. "Don't tell him," I whispered. She merely smirked at me. "Don't tell him!" She shook her head, giggling. "Fine, ask him to get me pants."

She took her hands back before walking to the door and giggling. "The bathroom is down the hall and to the right. I'll be in the kitchen making... food."

I nodded and watched her leave. Once she was out of both ear and eye shot, I rummaged through all the drawers to find something. But all there was were gray walls, a black bed, and drawers full of clothes. I let out a frustrated grunt and sat down on the bed. That's when it hit me. The first memory. It was of Jonathan running up to Triinity, asking her to stop playfully, but she responded exactly like she just did. "Someone is in trou-ble!" The image then faded.

I sat there, staring at the gray wall before I stormed into the hallway and into the bathroom. On my way, I found a vase and I threw it at a wall. I wasn't exactly in the brightest of moods today. I walked into the bathroom to find a large array of perfumes. Which is strange because I never remember Triinity ever wearing perfume. Maybe I just never took the time to notice. I ran my fingers over the large portion of glass bottles before one in particular summoned feelings. I grabbed it and felt elation, excitement, nervousness, and, as the basis, eternal love. I had no reason to not believe it wasn't the perfume Triinity used on her wedding day with Jonathan. I looked at the perfume in disgust, hating this imposter before I hastily set the perfume bottle down. Last thing I needed was for that to get broken—Triinity would be very upset about that, I just knew.

I closed the door and turned on the fan and the shower. Steam immediately rose out of the shower and I shivered in anticipation. Even through the anger and jealousy, I was excited to finally get a boiling hot shower. Hey, even if I'm a demon, it's nice to be clean.

I took off my clothes and stepped in the shower.

Only to scream in pain.

For whatever reason, my nose didn't pick up the distinct smell of holy water. Now it hit me like a Mack truck. I sucked in a breath and tried to get out of the spray that burned and blistered my skin. I let out a heart-stopping cough and tried to regain my breathing. I wasn't used to my heart beating in my chest again. I never noticed it not hammering in Hell, but now it was impossible to ignore. I saw the knobs and looked up at the spout. I could see there was two spouts. The top one was the one running. I had to figure out how to turn it off and turn the other one on, which I was sure was plain water. I scratched my arm, which had the worst of blisters that was itchy to no end. I sucked in a breath before I made for the knobs. I frantically pushed things, turned knobs, and fumbled with the mechanics as the holy water burned away at me.

I let out a little shout before the water shut off all together. My hair was dripping with the nasty stuff before I shivered and found the button that was labeled 'REGULAR WATER'. Gee, why hadn't I seen that? I turned that on and turned it as hot as it would go.

I let out a sigh of relief as the hot water ran over my body, stinging, but not the sweltering heat of holy water. I washed off the holy shit off of me. I raked my fingers through my hair, cleaning that out as well before my muscles locked up and I shut my eyes. The events that had passed this last month started to hit me and I had to take a few minutes to just take it back in. But it became too much. I found myself leaning against the wall, my arms wrapped around my head and my forehead touching the cool tile of the shower. I couldn't help the tears that ran down my face, even though I frantically wiped them away. My emotions were on a high right now. I was feeling hatred, happiness, excitement, extreme jealousy, and love. The love was sweltering and trying to burst out. But the last time I checked, Triinity never said "I love you, too." She never said anything about the kiss. She never gave an indication that she knew how I felt, even though I told her.

I shook my head, digging my nails into my head before I shut off the water. Maybe I'd use soap later. Right now, I was fed up with everything. I really just wanted to get out of the house and just take a walk on my own. I stepped out, dried myself off, and put on the shirt before I stopped. I saw myself in the mirror and couldn't help but grimace. My hair was sleeked back, my chest was blistered, and I looked exhausted, but something else caught my eye. I walked up to get closer to the mirror, wiping a bit of the condensation off when I saw it. My iris wasn't its normal brown color. Instead it was blood red. I frowned and stared at it for a few moments before I put my hand to my eye. Then the perfume bottle caught my eye. I frowned and glanced back at the mirror only to jump back in surprise.

I could see the faint image of my skull underneath my skin. Horns flickered above my head. They were long, and curling downward before they gently touched my temples. I rose a hand and they were solid, and when I pulled on them, they wouldn't come off. I frowned deeply at the ebony black horns, the skull image, and my eyes. Right now, I really did look like a Demon, an evil being brought into this world for destruction. In that moment, I thought about going back to Hell and helping my father. Because who would ever accept someone who looked like that in their midst? Triinity never saw me like this, she didn't know. I turned away from the mirror, put on my shirt and the black shorts that I hoped were temporary. I opened the door and before I left, I looked at my reflection to see I was back to normal. I let out a growl and shut the door before I headed for the kitchen.

Description
I was lying in a pool of my own blood when my father, who had another crowbar (it seemed to be his favorite weapon),was "teaching" me the difference between a forehand and a backhand hit. He thought he was suave, teaching me how to torture and, at the same time, torturing me. I had to say, I wasn't learning much from this, trying to deflect the blows as much as I could. He had taken a liking to hitting my ankle, which rendered it completely unusable. I don't know how long I had been in Hell because the sense of time is lost here. It could have been three years, but I didn't know. It could have even been a day. Whatever it was, I knew I had to get out and escape again. But my body was refusing to move. For whatever reason, the more I died and resurrected, the longer it took me to heal. It used to be if I were to get hit, I'd heal immediately. Now my foot remained twisted in a weird angle and nothing was happening. It might have been my heart.

Without my heart, it was harder for me to use the energy I could before. I noticed I was much more tired than I should be. Even if it was forever ago, I remember my first time in Hell. I remember, even after the tortures, I'd feel like a spring chicken. Now I felt ten fathoms below shit. But what I didn't understand is how I was still living. The one way to kill a demon is to stop his heart. And Triinity did... Or so I thought...

"Can you hear me?" I flinched as my dad jabbed me in the stomach with the end of the crowbar. I coughed up a bit of blood and took in a ragged breath. "You look like shit, by the way."

I shuddered and closed my eyes shut. An image of Triinity flashed in my mind—it was crystal clear, and absolutely gorgeous. She was staring at me with a giant smile and I couldn't help but grin back. My father hit me harder than before in the side and I sucked in a breath, the image disappearing. "What are you smiling at?" he growled.

"That you hit like a pansy," I grunted.

That only made him hit harder.

"Derrick." I froze. It was a voice inside my head, but not my own that sounded. I looked up at my dad, who was beating away at me and didn't look like he heard a thing. Not to mention, he doesn't know my surface name. "Derrick!" The voice was urgent. Oh, God damn. I'm going crazy, aren't I? I'm imagining foreign voices...

"Is this thing on? DERRICK. Answer me!" I didn't know how to answer the crazy voice. So I just thought of a reply. Who is this? "EMILY! Who else?" My body went rigid as my vision went black for a few moments. "Look, Leon and I are going to try and get you out! I'm going to come in and distract your dad and I want you to hit him with something, knock him out, and we'll get out!" I didn't see how this crazy voice could help me. But then the vision went back to normal and I saw Leon standing in the far corner. My dad didn't realize he was there, but I did. He put a finger to his lips and I could see the smile behind his finger.

Then Emily walked into the room. She waltzed in like it was no big deal. She was wearing an incredibly low v-neck shirt and a really short skirt. I had never seen Emily with so much skin showing and, to be brutally honest, she looked smoking hot.. She grinned at my dad and there was something different about her. Hell brought out a lot of things about a person. If they were good in their life, for any point, they had this faint white aura. Bad people had a black aura. Emily had... A red aura. I didn't know what it stood for, but she had this blaring black and red glowing symbol on her right shoulder. It must have been the seal the Voodoo guys put on her when they turned her into a zombie.

My dad stopped beating me and glanced over at Emily before he froze. Then he stood up, straightened his suit and twirled the crowbar as if he were the coolest thing since sliced bread. He eyed Emily with eyes that made him look like a predator seeking out his prey. He leaned against a wall, twirling the crowbar. "Hello," he said.

My dad must have been really stupid, or really off that day. Normally, my dad would banish anyone out of the room when he was in the middle of torturing someone. But it was Emily's charm. Being a zombie, she could persuade anyone and gain the attention of anyone when she wanted. And now was that time. She let out a giggle and started to twirl her raven hair, grinning at my dad. I got to my knees and slowly to my feet before Leon had to catch me. Good thing the kid was fast.

"Listen to me," he breathed in my ear. "We need to get out of here. Triinity can't last much longer."

My body froze and I turned to look at Leon with a shocked face. Last much longer? I grabbed Leon's shirt and pulled him to me, glaring at him. "What is wrong with her?" I growled at him.

Leon frowned and smacked my hands away. I immensely wish I had my strength back. I really wanted to hurt him from keeping information from me. "We need to go!" He let out a growl and pointed at my dad.

"Tell me about Triinity!" I snarled.

At this point, my dad tossed the crowbar and it landed a few feet away from him. "No!" Leon snapped. "Let's go!"

"God damnit!" I grabbed the crowbar and threw it out of my frustration. In Hell, it's a lot harder to control my demonic self. So I threw that crowbar with as much hatred and demonic power as I could. And it flew.

Right into my dad's head.

He froze for a moment, rose a hand to his head, and looked to see his own blood. "Bloody hell..." he muttered before he fell forward. Emily squealed and jumped out of the way before she pulled her shirt up and her skirt down and glanced at us.

"Let's get out of here!" she said quickly.

I looked at my dad with a crowbar in his head. Then Emily did exactly what I was just thinking of doing. She sent a nice kick right to his gut. I winced myself at the force she did it with. I turned around to see Leon already had a portal open and he was beckoning us. I limped my way to them before the ground around us started to shake. Emily was at my side by now. I turned to see my dad was awake and as pissed as ever. His eyes were red and he grabbed the crowbar from his head. "You're making a mistake," he growled.

I frowned at my dad before Leon gripped me and pulled me in the portal. Before he could, though, I shouted, "Burn in hell!" in a light voice. I could hear my dad was shouting for demon reinforcements. Being Satan, he was damned and couldn't walk the surface or heaven. So he had disciples do his bidding for him.

Emily came in after me and then Leon was in the portal. But soon, the demons were upon us. I tried to fight my way from them, but the farther we went from Hell, the more drained I felt. I could feel sleep calling my name. And I was about to gladly accept before Leon grabbed me and shook me violently. I jolted awake in time to see Emily go full zombie. Her eyes turned crimson red and her teeth elongated into dangerous needles. She grabbed one of the demons and tore its head clean off before she bit the other one and tore his head off. I stared at Emily in fear. Okay, she just... She just... I can't even describe it! All I know was the fact that I was scared shitless. Done and said. It wasn't long before she returned to her normal, smiling, innocent self.

We came out of the portal and the first thing that hit me was the blinding light. It's always dark below the surface, or at least dim. The sudden change of lighting made me wince.

"You look like hell," Leon muttered. He turned to me and grabbed me so I would collapse. My eyes stung and my foot was most likely swelling. I was in desperate need of a shirt, new pants, and a nice, long shower. But I most certainly was not going to get that anytime soon. I glanced at Emily who was running off into the fauna.

"Mmmph." I rubbed my face, trying to get used to the light.

Leon shook his head. "Where is she?" he growled, looking obviously irritated. "We have to be on our way."

Emily then showed up and she peevishly pulled up her shirt and pulled down her skirt. "They're here." It was the rest of Triinity's band. Alex and Reaper. They came up to me and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Man! How we've missed you!" Alex said. He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "Because Triinity's a wreck."

I frowned deeply and was about to grab Alex when Reaper stopped me. "Don't think about it, Mephis." He glanced at Leon. "Nice work, Bro."

"He's your brother?" Alex gasped.

Reaper frowned at Alex. "Are you stupid?"

"Only slightly. But my mother always thought it was because I was special."

Reaper rolled his eyes and glanced at Leon. "Carry him?"

"Reaper..." Leon said with a warning tone.

"He can barely stand up," Reaper reasoned. He looked at me with serious eyes and I simply smiled at him. I was feeling severely loopy off of no sleep and no food.

"Whatever." Leon narrowed his eyes at me and picked me up. "Let's go." They made their way through the forest. Emily shuffled behind us, Alex cracking up inappropriate jokes about her outfit and how much skin she was showing. Emily, for the most part, ignored him as she fiddled with the clothing.

I was carried to a door. Reaper knocked on it lightly before Raphael opened it. Raph looked like shit. I always remembered him being clean shaven, always being picture perfect. But now, his hair was grown out, there was stubble on his face and neck, his clothes were mismatched, and his shirt was even off a button. The sight was absolutely bizarre and I wondered just how much I missed.

"How... How long?" I asked, looking around. When we came outside, the sun was just going down. The sunset was what glared in my eyes. And now the sun was almost swallowed by the horizon, casting the sky in hues of purples and blues. The brighter stars were now peeking out.

"Four weeks," Leon said quietly.

"Come in," Raph said gently. "But be quiet, Triinity is sleeping. Even the slightest noises give her a headache."

My head was reeling over the four weeks I've been gone that I almost didn't notice the words Triinity and headache. "Triinity doesn't get headaches," I whispered.

"She does now," Raph said sadly.

I looked at him. He seemed desperate at this point. Like everything was unraveling in his fingers and nothing was going right anymore. He looked as if he was a man who was trying everything he could to save someone he loved. But I was the one to save her and I knew it killed him. It killed me, too. For the fact I couldn't have saved her sooner.

Emily pushed past us and ran into the house. Reaper and Alex filed in before Leon and me. He set me down on the floor in front of a couch. The room was filthy; it was covered in clothes and picture frames everywhere. I looked all around, mesmerized a bit by the mess. Last time I checked, Triinity would kill anyone who messed up her place like that.

Then I realized I had never been in Triinity's house before. I let my fingers brush over the fabric that embroidered the couch. There was a table in front of the white couch. There was a giant TV, which was on, but was on mute. The glow of the TV and the glow of the dieing sun outside cast an eery glow on everything in the room. Then, I looked up and there was Triinity.

She looked like death itself. She was gaunt, her full cheeks were pretty much sunken in. Her eyes looked cold and distant. She looked absolutely frail, in her Hello Kitty pajamas and a black blanket was wrapped tightly around her shoulders. But the most drastic change was her hair. It had gone from jet black to absolutely white. The change was startling, scary, even. It only made her look paler and less alive. For a second, I believed I was truly looking at her ghost before Emily moved out from behind her, adorned in new, more appropriate clothing, and prodded her.

"Triinity?" she said softly. "It's Derrick."

She looked up at me. I saw her beautiful eyes, an odd hazel that was golden one second and a dark color the next. I remember it was her eyes that I loved the most at first. But her eyes were confused and sad. She looked at me as if I were someone she didn't know but should. Her head cocked to the side and slowly the blanket fell to the ground. As it did, her realization of who I was came to her. But her response wasn't the one I was thinking it would be. Her eyes became cloudy before they sparkled and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh, God, don't cry," Raph whispered hoarsely.

"I'm sorry!" she screamed as she fell to her knees and leaned forward, sobbing. I stood there, shocked as I watched her cry over... I didn't know what. "I didn't mean to kill you!" So that's what it was about. She was crying over the fact that she tried to kill me. Well, she kind of did. It was complicated. Raph sighed and delved his hand into his chest. I did a double take as I watched his chest give away to his hand as he reached inside himself.

"I'm going to be sick," Alex muttered as he ran out of the room, a puking noise soon following.

"Always hated this part," Reaper muttered. I glanced at him to see him shuddering and his tongue sticking out in disgust. I looked back at Raph to see him holding a heart to me. And I don't mean the cute little hearts you draw. I mean an actual heart that goes in your body.

"NO." Everyone looked to see Triinity trying to get up as she reached for the heart in Raph's hands. "I want to give it to him! I held it for him! I kept him alive! It's mine!" I was absolutely confused at this point and the thought of me dreaming didn't run through my mind once. Reaper quickly walked over and helped Triinity over to Raph. She can't walk, I thought. My throat closed up at the thought. What did I fucking miss? I was starting to get a bit angry.

She took the heart from his hands and turned to me. "W-when I ripped your heart out... I mean, it stopped beating, but... Only for a second. Michael took me away and I took your heart inside me in defiance to what he made me do. I... I took your heart inside of me, Derrick." I frowned in confusion. I understood Angels could do that but I also knew Angels holding a Demon heart with their own was the most painful death imaginable. "I had to show you I still... I still cared..." Her voice had gone quiet as she held out the heart.

"For Christ sake," Raph muttered before he grabbed the heart and his hand went through my chest. I choked a bit at the feeling. I didn't like it the first time and most certainly like it the second time. But there was my heart, fluttering in my chest. Raph took his hand back and shuddered before he looked at everyone. "Get out." His voice was curt and demanding. No one said anything after that and left the room. But there was Alex in the hallway yelling:

"I'll teach you poker, Emily!" There was a cheery, "Okay!" before the sounds outside the room went quiet. It was just Triinity and me.

She looked at me, her eyes swimming with tears and she started to cry all over again. I was getting used to the feeling of my heart back inside me again. I had to admit, I was feeling much better with my own energy back. It took me a few minutes to regain my breath before I gripped Triinity.

"You're okay," I whispered, wrapping my arms around her and knotting my fingers into her pajamas. "You're okay." My voice cracked and this is about the first time I've cried in a very, very long time. Triinity froze and she moved away from me, her eyes wide.

"Y-you're not mad?"

I stared at her dead on, my face as serious as can be. "You don't remember me saying 'I love you?'"

She frowned and her eyebrows furrowed. "No."

I bit my lip. "I thought it, that's why. But that's not the point! I'm not angry at you! That's the point." I nodded and she looked up at me before she practically threw herself at the couch and curled up in it. She looked like a little kid with how frail and innocent she was at the moment. I just stood there, watching her. "So you took my heart inside you?"

"To save you, yes," she said simply. She was messing with a thread on her pajamas, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "If I let it... stop beating, I would have ended your existence; your soul would have been snuffed out. Another candle blown out in the night. I did it to save you, Derrick. But I didn't expect the consequences."

"What happened?" I whispered.

She glanced at me. "I got sick." Her words were hushed as she spread her pale fingers over the white seat. She almost blended in with it if it weren't for her pink Hello Kitty pajamas. "I had your Demon blood in with my Angel blood. I could feel your heart beating along with mine. And, actually, I can feel it now..." She shuddered and made to grab the blanket, but it was too far away. Her nose scrunched up in irritation because she couldn't reach it. I limped, almost falling once or twice and grabbed it before handing it to her and sitting on the couch. "When I took your heart in, Derrick, it seeped the warmth out of me. It craved warmth. I'm cold now..." She poked my arm. I blinked. I was totally expecting the blistering burn from before, but there was nothing but coldness. She was incredibly cold.

"Triinity," I said. She glanced at me. "You didn't burn me."

"What?"

"You didn't burn me when you touched me."

She looked bewildered for a moment before her eyes widened. She then touched me and a smile broke over her features. My body ached then. I felt like I succeeded in everything I needed to do that day. It was done, I did what I had to do. I let out a sigh before she continually poked my arm. "Wow," she gasped.

"My arm's going to fall off," I groaned.

She giggled a bit before she pounced on me. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her head in my chest. I stiffened in slight shock, but then I calmed down and wrapped my arms around her.

"You're so warm," she said quietly. I looked down at her to see her marveling at my chest. "I didn't... know you had so many tattoos."

I looked down. Yeah, over the years I did collect quite a collection of things. I had a pentagram over my heart and the words 'Everyone is forgiven' in Latin across my chest. I had flames on my left forearm. On my back, I had a very accurate depiction of Angel wings that were reduced to flesh and were melting away. But Triinity was intrigued by the tribal tattoo that started on my right bicep and went down to my mid-chest. It was of a raven, flying off and leaving an array of feathers that got smaller the farther down my chest it went. Her fingers brushed over the raven before she got off of me and hurriedly shuffled through photo frames.

She brought out a very elaborate metal frame and on it were two people. The first person I recognized immediately—Triinity. But her hair was a soft brown and cut short. She was so happy in the picture, as if nothing could ruin that moment. She stared at the picture in sadness and longing before her fingers brushed over the same exact raven in the corner of the picture. It was taking flight from a branch in the corner of the picture, leaving feathers in its wake. I had never seen the picture before, yet the two ravens were identical, each feather accurate. I frowned deeply and moved closer, looking at the picture better. There was a person next to Triinity.

And he looked exactly like me.

"Jonathan," she cooed. She sounded like she was lost in her memories.

"Who is Jonathan?" I prompted.

She looked at me for a moment, as if trying to remember who I was before she set the photograph down. "My husband."

I frowned incredibly deeply, sitting up now. I fixated Triinity with my dead serious eyes. "Your husband?"

"I've lived as long as you have, Derrick. I've been married quite a few times. Jonathan... was one of them."

"He looks exactly like me." Minus the hair. Jonathan in that photo had jet black hair and he looked just as happy as Triinity. He was wearing a tuxedo and she was wearing a very elegant white gown. It must have been their wedding picture. She paused before the dived for the picture again and gasped.

"He does!"

"You never noticed it?"

"Why would I?" she said quickly.

I shook my head, my brain swimming now. What I really needed was a good night's sleep. "Triinity, who is this guy?"

"A mortal. I met him and fell in love with him. He was likewise. So we got married... But he was killed by my father... He's the reason I Fell. I met him when I was still an actual Angel. And I Fell for him." Tears filled her eyes again and I started to grind my teeth.

My eyes were stinging and they were watering themselves. It was trying my best to stay awake at this point, but my body knew it wasn't being beaten, so it should rest before I get beaten again. "Isn't it creepy?"

"Sure it is," she yawned. She leaned against me, closing her eyes. "But you're nothing like Jonathan. He was charming, sweet, and genuinely loveable. You can still be a dick sometimes."

I let out a snort. "Who needs—" I was cut off by a faint snoring sound. I looked down to see Triinity had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I let out a sigh and lay down, gently moving her with me. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my head in her neck before I closed my eyes.

And my body started to get the rest it so desperately needed.

"Derrick!" I scrunched up my face. In no way at all was I prepared to wake up after such little sleep and such a rude awakening. I defiantly curled tighter around Triinity. "Derrick!" I had to give the voice one thing: it was persistent. I opened my eyes to see Raph looking at me with exhaustion. "I'm going to carry her to her room. She needs to sleep really well. She hasn't for some time."

"No," I said groggily. "I'll sleep with her."

Raph let out an impatient snort. "Let her go, Derrick, I'm taking her to her bed."

I shook my head, kissing her head softly. But Raph pried my tired arms from Triinity and he picked her up before leaving the room. I was quite disappointed. Raph was exhausted, yet he was stronger than I was. Not to mention, I didn't fight as hard for Triinity as I should have. I thought about getting up and following them and curling up with Triinity in her bed, but my body wouldn't move. Sleep was beckoning back into its warm embrace again and I could only welcome it.

"Derrick?!" The sound of a shrill voice sliced through my dead sleep like a knife through butter. I sat up quickly and looked around. "Derrick?!" The voice was incredibly worried, as if they had lost something precious to them and was frantically searching for it. I stood up and started to jog to the source of the sound. I then realized that my body had healed itself in its rejuvenation sleep.

I opened the door and there was Triinity, right at the foot of her bed, her hair in every angle as she tried to find me. Her head turned and she saw me, her eyes widening. She stood up, her body rigid and her lips parted before she launched herself at me. "It was real!" she shouted as she hugged me tightly. My mouth quirked in a smile in slight amusement. She must have thought of it as a dream.

"It was real," I affirmed and hugged her tightly, grinning. "Raph just put you in your room in the middle of the night. I couldn't get up and walk in there and Raph refused to carry me."

She smiled. I was amazed at how much healthier she looked already. The color in her cheeks were returning, her eyes were shimmering like they used to. I couldn't help but stroke her cheek a little, still overwhelmed by the fact I can touch her without pain being induced. She just smiled before she got up.

"Oh... my... God! Who did this?" she demanded, pointing outside her room. I craned my neck from where I was lying on the floor and looked to see all the clothes and pictures on the floor and couches.

"I haven't a clue," I muttered.

She grimaced and walked out of the room. "No one is supposed to see this!" Her voice was wavering as she quickly started to pick things up. I got up and walked behind her, grabbing a stray photograph on the floor. I looked at it to see a man who had the same features as me. I paused, my eyebrows furrowing as I remembered Jonathan. Then I bent down and grabbed another picture, seeing a different man, but still looked a bit like me.

"Triinity?"

She looked up at me and I glanced at her before I grabbed another picture, which only affirmed my beliefs. "Why do these people look like me?"

She frowned. "What are you talking about?" I held out the three pictures and her eyes widened a bit. I looked around the room before all the pictures arose from their various places and floated at eye-level around the room. Triinity looked at them all, her face was the portrayal of horror. In the center of the room floated the picture with her and Jonathan. She ran over and grabbed it quickly, her eyes wide in fear. "N-no..." She glanced between me and the picture. "This isn't..."

"The hell is going on?" I was still holding the other three pictures before I released them and walked over to her. The three pictures then joined the other hundreds floating in the room. "Who are these people?"

"Various... boyfriends and husbands," she whispered softly. "Some friends, too." She looked at me before she sat down slowly, taking the picture of her and Jonathan with her. "I-I never realized they looked like you, Derrick. I never saw them all together like this..." She looked around again. "There's Todd, William, Garrett, Balthazar, Harry, Richard, Gregory..." And she went naming all the names of these people. I looked at every picture, a pit forming in my stomach, which grew with every new picture. Eventually, when we were done, my whole body was absorbed in the pit which made me feel a little sick.

"Is this a coincidence?"

"It can't be," she whispered. "It has to be fate, or something. They all are a part of you. Whether it's a laugh, a voice, a feature, or downright... you." I grabbed a picture out of the air as anger started to rise in me. All these men, going under the looks and voices of me and got Triinity. I couldn't help but feel angry, and—yes—a little jealous. Maybe a lot jealous.

"Don't worry about it, Derrick. It can't be something much bigger than it is."

"Is that why you acted the way you did in Hawaii?" I suddenly demanded. She looked at me, puzzled for a few moments before the memory came to her. "When you and I met for the first time?" It was many many many centuries ago, when I made the chain of islands because of my defiance and she came to stop me. All I remember was her looking at me strangely, asking if we had met before.

"I had a flashback of all of them," she said. I snorted and ran a hand through my hair in frustration.

"Is that all I am to you?" I said, my nose wrinkling, my eyebrows furrowing in my anger. "All of these memories, all of these men? I'm not Derrick, but Roy, Carey, and Brandon?" I pointed at various pictures as I spoke.

"No!" she said defiantly. "You're Derrick. Trust me, I didn't even realize this until now."

"I trust you," I said, gritting my teeth. "But what I don't trust is that subconscious of yours. You tend to just... do things because it feels right. Is that why you actually became friends with me? Because I was like them?"

She shook her head while I spoke. "No, no, no, Derrick. You have it all wrong."

"Then tell me!" My voice was a bit louder than I wanted it to be. I understood Triinity and I just got back together after all that crap had been thrown on us and now more was being shoveled down our throats. My stomach was churning at an alarming rate, making me want to vomit.

She paused for a few moments. I sincerely hoped she was bringing her thoughts together and not making up some story. I didn't know why it all touched me so much, but I always thought of Triinity as mine. I've always been territorial like that. And having all these men, all who are a part of me in some way, have been with her makes me feel a bit... used. Like I was the gateway to all of these men and that's why I was here and why she wanted to be with me. It seemed like a silly idea, but my brain wouldn't let it go.

"I might have had an inkling," she confessed before she stood up, putting down the Jonathan picture. "Because you look exactly like Jonathan. But when you... Derrick, you are different from all of them. Because you're not mortal like them. When you sensed what I was, that's how the connection them was cut off. Because immediately, instantly, you were different. When they all learned"—she gestured to the pictures—"what I was, they all had repercussions. Some left me, some asked me favors. Hell, some of them killed themselves because they couldn't believe it. I actually had to kill a few of them because they wanted to tell others. But you knew right out."

I stared at her for a while. I tried to tell myself that it was true, but the reasoning she gave me seemed weak. But what else could I do? I had to believe her. I had no plans of leaving her today, tomorrow, or anytime in the future. I knew, however, I was going to bring this subject back up very soon. "Fine," I said lamely.

She took in a shaky breath and walked over to me before she hugged me. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I said, not looking at her. The pictures then put themselves into a trunk I guessed was for the pictures that was flung open in a haste. I stepped back from her and rubbed my face. "I think I'll go take a shower."

She watched me, her eyes quivering before she gasped. "Clothes! I think I have clothes that would fit you."

I watched as she flew past me and I sighed. I followed her as she went through the house expertly. It seemed like an old house, so it wasn't all too simple. I easily got lost through the various hallways before she stopped in front of a door. She opened it and immediately delved into a drawer. "Here." She threw me a white shirt. I grabbed it before looking around. It was most definitely a masculine room. I walked in a felt a sense of rage as I walked inside. I didn't know what it was, but I had the strong urge to burn the room down. But I had a feeling Triinity wouldn't exactly like that...

"Okay, all he has is khakis and black shorts." I frowned and my eyes narrowed in irritation.

"Really?"

"Really. I'll give you black shorts."

I growled. "I'll stick with my pants, thanks."

She shook her head. "Derrick, not a chance. I'll text Raph, or something and ask him if he has a spare pair of jeans."

"I wouldn't fit in them."

"Are you calling Raph fat?"

I turned around and saw Triinity gawking at me. "No," I said. "No! I'm just saying his jeans are going to fall off of me."

She broke out into a cackling laughter. "Someone is in trou-ble!"

"Don't you dare tell him!"

I ran up to her and grabbed her hands. "Don't tell him," I whispered. She merely smirked at me. "Don't tell him!" She shook her head, giggling. "Fine, ask him to get me pants."

She took her hands back before walking to the door and giggling. "The bathroom is down the hall and to the right. I'll be in the kitchen making... food."

I nodded and watched her leave. Once she was out of both ear and eye shot, I rummaged through all the drawers to find something. But all there was were gray walls, a black bed, and drawers full of clothes. I let out a frustrated grunt and sat down on the bed. That's when it hit me. The first memory. It was of Jonathan running up to Triinity, asking her to stop playfully, but she responded exactly like she just did. "Someone is in trou-ble!" The image then faded.

I sat there, staring at the gray wall before I stormed into the hallway and into the bathroom. On my way, I found a vase and I threw it at a wall. I wasn't exactly in the brightest of moods today. I walked into the bathroom to find a large array of perfumes. Which is strange because I never remember Triinity ever wearing perfume. Maybe I just never took the time to notice. I ran my fingers over the large portion of glass bottles before one in particular summoned feelings. I grabbed it and felt elation, excitement, nervousness, and, as the basis, eternal love. I had no reason to not believe it wasn't the perfume Triinity used on her wedding day with Jonathan. I looked at the perfume in disgust, hating this imposter before I hastily set the perfume bottle down. Last thing I needed was for that to get broken—Triinity would be very upset about that, I just knew.

I closed the door and turned on the fan and the shower. Steam immediately rose out of the shower and I shivered in anticipation. Even through the anger and jealousy, I was excited to finally get a boiling hot shower. Hey, even if I'm a demon, it's nice to be clean.

I took off my clothes and stepped in the shower.

Only to scream in pain.

For whatever reason, my nose didn't pick up the distinct smell of holy water. Now it hit me like a Mack truck. I sucked in a breath and tried to get out of the spray that burned and blistered my skin. I let out a heart-stopping cough and tried to regain my breathing. I wasn't used to my heart beating in my chest again. I never noticed it not hammering in Hell, but now it was impossible to ignore. I saw the knobs and looked up at the spout. I could see there was two spouts. The top one was the one running. I had to figure out how to turn it off and turn the other one on, which I was sure was plain water. I scratched my arm, which had the worst of blisters that was itchy to no end. I sucked in a breath before I made for the knobs. I frantically pushed things, turned knobs, and fumbled with the mechanics as the holy water burned away at me.

I let out a little shout before the water shut off all together. My hair was dripping with the nasty stuff before I shivered and found the button that was labeled 'REGULAR WATER'. Gee, why hadn't I seen that? I turned that on and turned it as hot as it would go.

I let out a sigh of relief as the hot water ran over my body, stinging, but not the sweltering heat of holy water. I washed off the holy shit off of me. I raked my fingers through my hair, cleaning that out as well before my muscles locked up and I shut my eyes. The events that had passed this last month started to hit me and I had to take a few minutes to just take it back in. But it became too much. I found myself leaning against the wall, my arms wrapped around my head and my forehead touching the cool tile of the shower. I couldn't help the tears that ran down my face, even though I frantically wiped them away. My emotions were on a high right now. I was feeling hatred, happiness, excitement, extreme jealousy, and love. The love was sweltering and trying to burst out. But the last time I checked, Triinity never said "I love you, too." She never said anything about the kiss. She never gave an indication that she knew how I felt, even though I told her.

I shook my head, digging my nails into my head before I shut off the water. Maybe I'd use soap later. Right now, I was fed up with everything. I really just wanted to get out of the house and just take a walk on my own. I stepped out, dried myself off, and put on the shirt before I stopped. I saw myself in the mirror and couldn't help but grimace. My hair was sleeked back, my chest was blistered, and I looked exhausted, but something else caught my eye. I walked up to get closer to the mirror, wiping a bit of the condensation off when I saw it. My iris wasn't its normal brown color. Instead it was blood red. I frowned and stared at it for a few moments before I put my hand to my eye. Then the perfume bottle caught my eye. I frowned and glanced back at the mirror only to jump back in surprise.

I could see the faint image of my skull underneath my skin. Horns flickered above my head. They were long, and curling downward before they gently touched my temples. I rose a hand and they were solid, and when I pulled on them, they wouldn't come off. I frowned deeply at the ebony black horns, the skull image, and my eyes. Right now, I really did look like a Demon, an evil being brought into this world for destruction. In that moment, I thought about going back to Hell and helping my father. Because who would ever accept someone who looked like that in their midst? Triinity never saw me like this, she didn't know. I turned away from the mirror, put on my shirt and the black shorts that I hoped were temporary. I opened the door and before I left, I looked at my reflection to see I was back to normal. I let out a growl and shut the door before I headed for the kitchen.