Alfred stood silently in the blackness. The suffocating emptiness was smothering him. The darkness was almost tangible. He tried to take a calming breath, but the air seemed so much heavier here than it had only moments before, just outside. He hated this kind of interdimensional travel, but unfortunately it was the fastest, most effective way of traveling between Hell and Earth…

He shifted on his feet, trying his best not to start fidgeting or moving. He desperately wanted to talk to someone, but he knew no one was going to reply, even if they could hear him here. And, of course, Alfred was the only demon alive who seemed unable to stand being shut up in the dark for this long. He sighed slightly, shutting his eyes and crossing his arms tightly.

A faint light appeared, soft and glowing, several feet away. Had Alfred been paying any attention, he would have realized that was his cue to step forward. But, seeing as the demon was lost in his own thoughts (a problem that seemed to occur often), suddenly—

WHAM

With a yelp, he tumbled forward, onto the pavement with a loud thud. He froze, holding in his breath. He slowly raised his head, his eyes wide. Demons, in general, were stealthy and calm. They traveled through the shadows and could appear without a sound, without a human ever even knowing they were there before their life was cut short.

Alfred, on the other hand, was no such demon.

After a solid minute of lying sprawled in the dirt, scanning for any prying eyes, he slowly muttered, "Shit," and hopped to his feet, sullenly dusting his pants off. Good thing his friend had the foresight to have him appear in a more deserted area of the city. Only his first day on the job and he'd already almost been caught. He sighed, and glanced up.

And then he gasped.

He was standing in a small, deserted park. He was standing on a small path, with grass and flowers on either side of him, along with a small brook. There were some trees nearby, tall and swaying gently in the wind. Further past the trees he could make out the rest of the sprawling cityscape he was going to be making his home. The only disappointment was the absence of the stars that he'd heard so much about, but the immense black sky seemed to have its own eerie glow, almost erasing that dissatisfaction entirely.

"Whoa," he muttered, looking around in awe. "This is so epic!"

A loud ringing interrupted his thoughts. He yelped and spun around, whipping out his long, black dagger. But there was no one there, and the ringing continued, the only noise, save for the rustle of leaves and the distant sound of traffic. He glanced around quickly, before remembering the small device his friend had given him to put in the pocket of his new clothes. Slowly, he pulled out the oblong device and pressed it against his ear. "Um, hello?"

The phone rang two more times before he remembered to hit the green button.

"Hello?"

"Alfred-kun, what are you doing?" A familiar voice said softly from the other line.

Alfred immediately perked up. "Kiku! Dude, you'll never believe what this place looks like! It is so freaking cool! I mean, sure they tell you all about it, but I mean it's so much cooler than they make it out to be, I haven't seen any stars or anything yet, but there's a shit-ton of trees and—"

"Alfred-kun," the quiet demon on the other line interrupted, "what are you doing? You only just started and you've already almost broken cover twice…"

Alfred blinked, frowning. "What are you talking about? I only fell once! Relax, man, I've got everything under control—"

"You are holding a glowing dagger."

Alfred paused. Then he cussed, slipping the weapon back into his coat. "No I'm not," he replied quickly.

Kiku sighed slightly, and Alfred almost laughed. Kiku was a strange demon to say the least. He was far quieter than any other demon Alfred had ever met, and much more polite. He also spoke with a strange accent (he'd been working to hide it, but at times his L's and R's still got mixed up). It's said that demons will hold onto some sort of remnant of a past life when they become a demon. Not that Alfred believed that crap, but trying to imagine Kiku as a person always gave him a laugh.

"Anyway, dude, relax," Alfred continued. "I have got everything under control here." He walked into the grass, still staring around at the scenery in wonder. "I just gotta pretend to be a person and hunt down this angel guy, right? Cause as much damage as possible while I'm at it? Hell, I'm already looking pretty human right now." He glanced at his reflection in a small puddle, formed near the small trickling creek.

His hair was a dark blond color, still messy from his trip (and possibly hitting the ground face first). It stuck up in places, especially at the front. He had on jeans, a black T-shirt, and this really cool brown jacket he'd picked out. He also had a pair of glasses over his strange blue eyes, apparently to help him get used to seeing things in sunlight instead of the perpetual blackness of the underworld. He grinned at his reflection, almost not recognizing himself. "Man, I look so badass."

"Alfred-kun, you need to concentrate," Kiku was practically begging on the other line. "You still haven't memorized your new identity, and you shouldn't just stand around in the middle of nowhere looking at your reflection."

"Dude, calm down, it's fine" Alfred insisted. "Can't I just look around a bit more? Please man?"

"No, you need to go," Kiku insisted. "You're human body doesn't look all that old, you could get in trouble for standing around out here in the middle of the night. You haven't had much practice being a human either. You'll have plenty of time to look around tomorrow."

Alfred pouted slightly, but sighed in a resigned sort of way. "Alright, whatever dude, show me to my new home…"

…

The phone rang in the small, cramped apartment.

There was a moment of silence. One split second where Arthur Kirkland didn't move, silently praying that he was still asleep. That the phone ringing was just part of some kind of fevered dream. That he could close his eyes and he could fall back asleep.

And the phone rang again. With an annoyed groan, he looked up blearily at the small clock on his bedside table.

1:21 A.M.

…

"Oh bloody hell," he mumbled furiously, rubbing at his eyes. His blond hair stuck up in every direction as he forced himself up, his green eyes still only half lidded as he fumbled for the pair of slippers lying haphazardly on the floor. He groaned slightly as he clambered to his feet, and then trudged toward the next room, stretching his arms out.

And his wings too, of course. Hell, having them folded up practically every day made them really stiff. Him being an angel and all.

He glared at the phone lying on the couch as he shuffled into the room. He could see the rectangular screen glowing as it continued to ring, but couldn't quite make out the Caller I.D. in the dark of the room. Scowling, he sat down and reached over to grab the phone.

Private Caller

He frowned. Then glanced at the clock again. 1:22. He felt his stomach begin to sink. It couldn't possibly be… No, no, it's probably just…probably just one of my friends… he told himself. He paused for a second, remembering he didn't have any friends. Or maybe it's…um…it could be… He raked his brain, trying to think of someone who could be calling him, anyone.

Anyone other than…him…

He let his hand hover over the talk button, taking a deep breath before pressing down. He then slowly raised the phone to his ear. "…hello? Who is this?" He demanded, praying desperately that he didn't already know the answer—

"Bonjour~~!"

…damn it…

Arthur let his head fall back, groaning slightly. "You stupid frog," he growled, shutting his eyes tightly. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Almost 1:30 in the morning, right?" Francis answered without hesitation. "I'm sorry, were you about to go to bed?"

Arthur clenched his fists tightly, wishing he could wrap his fingers around the other's throat. "You know bloody well that I was trying to sleep."

Francis chuckled. "Really? But the sun hasn't even risen yet, mon ami. How can you be so boring! Oh, wait, no need to answer."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Shut up you git, you know that I'm busy tomorrow," he muttered. "And stop speaking in French, it's obnoxious…"

"What, are you going to hang out with some friends tomorrow?"

Arthur could almost see the smirk on his insufferable, bearded face. It took all of his willpower not to hang up right then. "Sod off," he snapped back finally. "What the hell do you want?"

"Whaaat, I can't just say hello to my favorite Angel at one in the morning?" He asked. Arthur clenched his jaw. Then he heard Francis sigh slightly on the other line. "Alright, there's a demon in the area. I just thought that I would give you a heads up."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, not speaking for a moment. "That is what you called to tell me in the middle of the night? There's a demon nearby?" He would've laughed if he had the energy for it. "For God's sake, Francis, I'm not a little kid. Do you know how many of those monstrous bastards I've killed since they dropped me here? Did you really need to tell me this in the middle of the night?"

"Well, no, I honestly just wanted to wake you up to annoy you."

"Excuse me?"

"But that's not the point," Francis interrupted before Arthur could go off on him. Arthur huffed as Francis continued. "I'm just saying, keep an eye out. This demon is supposedly powerful." He paused for a moment. Arthur frowned, unsure what to say back. But before he could, he heard a yawn. "But I should probably let you get back to your beauty rest, right? After all, you certainly need it~!"

Arthur sat up. "A-And just what the hell is that supposed to—?"

"Au revoir~!" click

Arthur sat there, fuming, for a good several minutes before throwing the phone down. "You know what, you are a terrible angel!" He yelled at the phone, knowing that no one could hear him and certainly not caring. He leaned back against the couch cushions, rubbing at his eyes again. "Stupid arse…"

He sat there for a little longer, trying to decide if it was worth it to get up and go back to his bed. Eventually, he clambered to his feet, still scowling pointedly, and started back toward his own room.

Another demon, huh? He thought to himself sleepily as he sat back down on his bed. How many does that make now? Twelve? Thirteen? He smirked as he flopped back onto his bed. He had absolutely nothing to worry about…

So I only just came up with this idea, but all of my friends (all two of them *cough cough*) said I should just go for it. I have a better idea where this one is going than my other two fics I'm working on, so I feel like I'll get this one moving faster.

This fic is not based off of anything. When I say that, I mean: 1.) I do not know anything about all that "Sweet Devil America" stuff. 2) I don't even understand what that's supposed to be. 3.) I have not seen Supernatural (Rachel) and probably won't for a while (Rachel) so stop asking me and bringing it up when you read this (RACHEL).

Anyway, I live for feedback, so tell me what you think of the fic so far. If it's worth continuing or if you like the idea or whatever, feel free to comment, because I love comments.