She saw wisps of things.

Things other people only dream about...or nightmare about? He wasn't quite sure how to phrase it, but there had to be something special about her. Seeing things like he knew she had would mess anyone up. Either she was a great actress, or she really was not phased by the night terrors. She just went about her business. She remained kind to everyone, as usual. She went out of her way to help strangers, as usual. The other thing he didn't understand about her is why such a light, kind…(reluctantly, he admitted she was beautiful), person was blessed with the dark gift. He had waited for years, a foot soldier of the darkness himself, and yet he had not received any power even close to what she possessed. Possessing innocent souls to do horrible things stopped taking a toll on him after about a millennium, after he stopped believing in humanity. He had believed there was anything the bastards would do for power over what they despise….but after he had spent a month watching her, he wasn't so sure if he could corrupt her. Yet another thing he didn't want to admit to himself is that he felt guilt over this job. He didn't want to make her any different. He didn't want to change her from the person she was. So innocent, pure… But he knew he would have to do it anyway. He tried to suppress the feelings that made him weak, human again. He remembered the deal that damned his soul forever.

He was poor, he had nothing to his name. The angels had left him, rendering him defenseless against the demons that had destroyed his family. He wasn't aware of where he was, he only knew that it was dark, and that he'd welcome absolutely anyone that might show him even a little kindness or recognition. An older man stumbled up the path; he looked injured. Immediately the boy of teenage years ran to help him; it did not occur to the boy that there had been no path before.

"Are you alright? I don't have ice or anything to help your limp, but I could just keep you company 'til the angels come back."

The older man managed a smirk as a horrifying sight unfolded; the man's leg that had been twisted completely around straightened itself out; his wounds started closing themselves; his smirked widened as he saw the expression of mixed confusion and horror on the boy that wanted to help him.

"What are you, mister? I ain't seen angels that could do that, an' I know I can't do that. You can't be human."

"I couldn't tell you unless you made a deal with me."

The boy appeared to think about it before giving an answer.

"I would need to know what kind of a deal this is before I say anythin' else."

The old man's smirk was so wide, the boy could see most of his teeth. It wasn't natural, and it was absolutely terrifying.

"Aren't you a smart one? Most people just take the deal 'fore they know what happens. Well, I got you a prospect you ain't gonna want to turn down." The man sneered in perfect imitation of the Boy's accent.

"I don't think I wanna know anymore. I'm sorry, sir. I might jus' wait for the angels to come back for me….far away from you."

The man edged closer as the Boy finished speaking.

"Well, Beck, before you slip away from me, I'm afraid I MUST make a proposition."

The boy's eyes widened at the sound of his name. Before this man, the only people that knew him by name were his family and the girl he loved.

"I have never seen you before. Why do you know my name, sir?"

The man, now less than an arm's length from Beck had a sinister smile spread across his face, causing fear in the boy not much different from the terror he felt from the smirk.

"I promise, you'll know…but only if you'll listen to my deal, boy."

Beck again appeared to be in thought before replying.

"Only if you promise that you'll let me go if I don't want any part of it."

The man looked as if he was going to laugh, but he replied nevertheless:

"That's a reasonable offer to anyone who would give you a bad deal, but what if I told you that I could give you the power to bring your parents back from the dead?"

"There ain't anybody that can bring the dead back. People can only pass from the living world to the world of the dead. Or they get stuck in between. That's what the angels told me. Not even the devil himself can-"

A feeling of dreadful realization came upon him as he spoke. He needed to get out of this, no matter what the cost.

"I'm afraid I don't want that power, sir. You're gonna have to let me leave now."

He started away, but the man stepped in front of him at a supernatural speed.

"Where are you goin', boy?"

Beck summoned all of his courage to get out a reply to the man.

"I'm leaving, mister. I don't want any part of this deal."

The man slipped into another one of his terrifying smirks and his eyes glowed red in the anticipation of having another soul to destroy momentarily.

"I can see your hopes. I can see everything you ever wanted. You do want your parents back. You can only leave if you didn't like anything about the deal."

"I don't like the deal. I love my parents. But they're dead, sir. If they were brought back, unless there was a natural way for that to happen, I'm sure they wouldn't be the same. I don't want them corrupted by you. I don't want your deal. I'm leaving."

The man slowly melted away to reveal what was more or less a monster. He still had the same evil red eyes, but his skin was darker than the shadows that had stolen the boy's parents away. It seemed to be ever-changing, shifting shapes. The black mass shifted around until it was in color again. He had turned himself into the boy's mother.

"Take the deal Beck! If you ever loved me, you will do it."

The boy felt his will falter a bit as he saw the desperation in her face. But he had to remind himself what was behind that façade. That was not his mother; he would not make the deal.

"You're not my mother."

His mother morphed back into the black mass, which soon started growing taller and heavier-looking. Beck tried to look away as the mass turned into his father, his little sister, and his favorite Uncle.

Each time he remained strong enough to deny them with the same response.

"You're not my father."

"You're not Maggie."

"You're not my Uncle."

The black mass finally shifted back into the form of the old man.

"You are one tough nut to crack, Mr. Oliver."

The man had a gleam in his eyes, a gleam that the boy learned to despise in the time he had spent with the old man so far. It meant he'd invented a new way to make him slip.

"However, I think I have one last person you may want to save."

The boy swallowed the lump that appeared in his throat as he pondered what the man had thought of. He had immediately tried to block out of his mind the memories of people that had not yet been slain, but he knew he slipped for a moment when he first saw what the man really was. He instantly thought of her. He quickly thought of something else, but he now knew that the man had detected his misstep.

Beck prepared himself for this person. He knew that she would be harder to deny than the others, but he was met with confusion when he realized that the man wasn't shifting. There was something off. Suddenly, she appeared in the arms of the man, who was once again the dark, terrifying creature with the ominous red eyes. In her chocolate brown eyes there was terror and uncertainty.

She was still in the dress of the angels, cloaked in a white gown that trailed on the ground behind her.

"Beck?"

She said softly as she came out of her haze and noticed his presence.

"Don't worry, I will get you out of this. I promise."

He spoke reassuringly though he could not be certain that he was telling the truth. He made a promise to himself that the reassurance would not be made a lie. He would save her. Even if it meant possibly dying, or something worse, whatever that may be.

"Okay," He sighed reluctantly, "what do you want from me in exchange for her safety?"

Her eyes widened and fear seemed to fill her.

"No! Beck, you do NOT have to do this for me."

The Boy was about to respond to her, but the man cut him off before he could do anything.

"If you want her to remain alive, you must come with me."

Though the girl looked on tearfully, the boy reluctantly agreed.

The girl disappeared into white light and the last thing the boy saw was the terrifying mouth of the man, sucking the light out of him.

Or at least that was how he remembered it. The memory, to an outsider would seem complete….but Beck felt like there was something big missing. Something that had to do with the girl he watched now. She reminded him of the girl from the memory in a way; she had something he couldn't put a finger on. In the back of his mind he wondered- could it be? He heard from a demon he knew that other people saved by the angels were reincarnated again. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. That only happens, if you aren't ready for heaven yet…or if you haven't fulfilled your purpose. A small part of him wished that this was true for the girl he once loved. He again cleared the thought out of his head.

The boy focused back on the task at hand. He had to start working on this girl. He had to change her completely. He finally realized why this girl bothered him so much when he had corrupted hundreds and never batted an eyelash. All of the others he had to change to demons were already evil. He would have to change everything he admired in this girl to ruin and hatred. He felt that dizzy, sick feeling he used to get when he knew he was about to do something wrong. It was a strange sensation, as he hadn't felt anything but numb in centuries. Maybe he could do something to help this girl- NO. He shook his head back and forth as if trying to shake out the idea. That was not what his purpose was. Deciding he had done enough research on the girl for the day, he descended back to the fiery pit that was his home.

That night he tossed and turned on the ground he slept on, unable to get the girl out of his head. Why did he have to do this? Why didn't he just go against Him? He knew why. That being had his soul and Beck kept holding on to the naïve hope that he would get it back. He didn't want to be empty. But he knew it was a lost cause. After hours of thought, he decided he wouldn't let her change him so quickly. Who was she to do that after he had been an evil, disgusting thing for such a long time? Thoughts of the girl of his memories popped up once again. In all the years he had done this, he had never once been so conflicted over a victim. Frustrated, he combed his fingers through his hair and sighed. He settled on this- yes, he would do his job. But he was not going to enjoy it.