Title: Devil's Chosen
By: Pho/Ordos45 (Whichever you know me by)
Rating: K+ on this new system
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own Joan of Arcadia. Some person and/or corporation does, I'm sure.
"Do you like my Chosen," the old man asked as he crept along the sidewalk by Joan.
"Excuse me," she asked confused. Chosen? Maybe the old man had Alzheimer's, it was a terrible thing, but it happened. She had long since given up asking God why there was suffering in the world, you never got a straight answer, but with God, when did you ever?
"Ryan," said the old man, yellowed teeth flashing through his cracked lips; he coughed slightly, "Ryan Hunter."
Cold dread settled into Joan's stomach upon hearing the name come from the old man. He had called Ryan his Chosen, which meant…
"It's been a few months since the cemetery," Joan forced up out of her throat, despite the fear she felt.
"It has," said the old man with a little grin, "A busy few months. I told you when we last met to watch your ego Joan. My appearance to you is rarer than that of God's, and can become even more so easily."
"Why," asked Joan. That one word, a simple word, held the key to everything.
"Why Ryan Hunter," asked the Devil, "Why did God and I set the two of you upon a path that leads to one another? Are those your questions child?"
"You know they are," she replied defiantly. The Ryan Hunter problems had her at odds with her father, the Police, her brothers, and even Adam. It was as if everything she'd been working to build up, was gone, or going.
"You're being tested," said the Devil simply, "and so is Ryan."
"What happens if I pass," asked Joan, knowing she didn't want to know the answer to that, or to failure.
The old man, the Devil, smiled. He shook his head softly and began to walk away. Then, in an eye blink he was gone, a single black feather on the ground upon which he had stood.
Author's Notes: Earlier in a fic I had Joan and the Devil meet in a Cemetery. That was before the series apparently decided to include him or his "Chosen one". I figured a short sequel was in order to reconcile the events.