"A…Angela?"

The angel looked over at the sound of her name, willing Pluto to stop in his tracks so she could get a better look. The source of the voice was a boy standing a few metres away from her. He had strawberry-blonde hair adorned with five red clips. There was a smudge of soot across the bridge of his nose, and a terrified, yet betrayed expression on his face. He looked familiar to Angela somehow, but… how?

A rough, male voice called from somewhere behind the boy in the distance. "Get back, Finny! Get back!"

Finny. The name stirred a memory in Angela's mind. Lord Barrymore… the Earl of Phantomhive… and his three, bumbling servants.

"You're that gardener." Angela said, sliding off of Pluto's back and stepping toward Finny. The boy stood his ground, although she could see him trembling feet away.

"Y-Yes. That's me." Finny nodded. "Angela… what are you doing here? Are… Are you making Plu-Plu do this?"

A twisted smile spread across her face. "Plu-Plu, you say?" She laughed. They've certainly gotten attached to the beast, she thought, amused. "Yes, I am the one making Pluto set the fires."

"But why?" His voice broke, and Angela was delighted to see that he was close to tears. "You're hurting people! P-People are dying… and the mansion is burning down…"

"Finny!" came another shout from behind him. This time it was a female voice. "Finny, please come back here!"

Angela ignored this and leaned down so that her face was level with the distraught gardener's. "Well, Finny, this city is full of unclean people. Rotten people."

"Wh-What?" His turquoise eyes widened. "Un… Unclean? The people in this town are nice!"

"That's what you think." Angela replied coolly. "You're just as unclean as the rest of them."

Finny's eyes filled with tears. "B-But… I th-thought… we were friends…"

"You must be joking, boy." Angela laughed loudly. It was a high, cold sound that reverberated throughout the burning courtyard. "As if I would want anything to do with a filthy unclean like you." As if her harsh words were not enough, the angel gave him a hard shove that sent him sprawling into the grass. Angela turned away from Finny and began climbing back onto Pluto. However, a small, shaking voice from behind her made her stop once more.

"I… I won't let you do this…"

She found herself smiling coldly. Oh, how humans perplexed her. She didn't understand their motives or how they could so easily create bonds with other people, or places, even. They were too self-involved and obsessed with greed for her liking. Yes, Angela hated humans. That didn't mean she didn't enjoy having a little fun with them sometimes, though.

Angela whipped around just as he charged at her. She dove easily out of his way, and hurled a barrage of razor-sharp feathers at him. Finny ducked away from most of them, but one caught him on the cheek, opening a wide gash there. He pressed a hand to his cheek, blood seeping out from between his grubby fingers.

"Now, Pluto." she said. The demon hound's collar glowed bright white, and he emitted a loud, menacing growl.

"No… Plu-Plu, please…" whimpered Finny, stepping slowly backward. "Plu-Plu, please don't-"

Too late. Pluto leaped into the air and was upon him in a second. The angel felt a rush of sick pleasure as Finny gave a scream of terror. As soon as his scream rang out, there were shouts of, "Finny, no!" from far behind him, and footsteps began rapidly approaching. However, Angela's pleasure was soon cut short when, to her surprise, Finny grabbed Pluto and threw him off of him. The demon hound landed a few metres away, growling. Immediately, Finny scrambled to his feet and ran at Angela again. His hands were just about to close around her neck when she lashed out with her foot, sending him crashing to the ground again. Winded, the gardener gave a few weak coughs. He didn't try to get up again.

Moments later, the two other servants appeared beside him. The maid, Mey-Rin, gasped at the sight of Finny on the ground and knelt down by his side. Bard, the cook, stepped toward Angela. "What the hell are you playing at!?" he yelled. "He's just a damn kid! What kind of monster are you!?"

"A monster?" Angela repeated incredulously. "You would call me a monster, when you work under that devil?"

"Devil? What devil?" Bard gritted his teeth. "Stop playing games."

"Games? Oh, no. I am, of course, speaking about Sebastian Michaelis." she clarified, crossing her arms.

"Mister Sebastian is amazing!" Finny, who was sitting up now, cried, his turquoise eyes full of fiery anger despite the tears rolling down his pallid cheeks. "He's not a devil! He saved us, and gave us a real home! And you… Bard was right, you are a monster. Y…You're the devil!"

Angela stepped forward and gave him another kick. Bard lashed out at her, but she slapped him in the face before he could touch her. "You think I am a devil?" She laughed cruelly. "You truly are unclean."

Pluto hurtled out of the trees seconds later, roaring. Bard's cigarette flew out of his mouth. The cook took a few steps back, eyes widening. "Oh, hell." he muttered. He turned to Mey-Rin, who was pulling Finny to his feet. The gardener looked battered and was still wheezing slightly, but all in all he did not look badly injured at all. He and Mey-Rin both looked up when Pluto reappeared.

"Move, you two!" yelled Bard.

But Pluto did not strike again. Instead, Angela jumped freely onto his back, landing softly with her legs crossed. "You three would be wise to stay out of my path from now on." she announced.

"You ain't gonna kill us, then?" asked Bard.

"I'd rather not dirty my hands." she replied simply.

With that, she willed Pluto to run, leaving the three servants all alone in the smoking remains of the Phantomhive Manor. Angela found herself smiling as she thought back on when she had first met the servants. It had been obvious to her that Finny, the gardener, had thought the world of her. His face had lit up every time he saw her. He had thought of her as an angel- which, of course, she was. But not the kind he had thought. No, she really was an angel, a real one, which meant that her only goal in life was to purify. There was no hope for the humans, especially not three dirty, low-life servants living in a rich boy's mansion.

Well, there was no mansion for the rich boy now. But soon enough, there would be no rich boy, either.

"Come, Pluto." Angela whispered, leaning down so that her lips brushed against Pluto's thick, silver fur. "We have work to do."

end