When Sarah finally came to, it was to the sound of rushing water and a gentle breeze. With a small groan she realized that in the time that she'd been awake, her condition had hardly improved. She didn't know any more about anything than she had before, and it almost seemed like her body hurt more than when she'd first woken up in who knows where. Though, there was something to be said about where she found herself this time. Last time, there hadn't been soft green grass, and a beautiful lake stretching out in front of her.

She sat up, pushing a handful of bouncy brown curls out of her eyes and crawling forward on her hands and knees towards the cool, refreshing water. She splashed some on her face gently, and with a start realized that she was absolutely parched. As she quenched her thirst, she began to wonder just how she'd gotten from being a hellbird's ragdoll to being here in this strange, idyllic landscape, where crumbling remnants of broken buildings rose up from glimmering, watery depths. Something must have happened, though she wasn't entirely sure what.

She paused her drinking, and as the ripples in the water settled, she caught a glimpse of her own reflection for the very first time.

Her skin was a smooth, tawny color with a healthy pink undertone that shone out beneath her freckled cheeks like the summer sunset that illuminated the lake she'd just drunk from. Her eyes blinked back a deep blue color, purple now that the flames of the evening sky shone brightly overhead. She reached for her own hair in awe, tugging on one of the large, chocolate curls that bounced back and forth across her brow. A string of leather held back what it could, but even in a fluffy ponytail, it seemed like whoever dressed Sarah had lost that battle. And, most noticeably, around her neck hung a beautiful blue pendant, with a vial that glowed and swirled, almost as though it were alive.

She was small in human terms, but sturdy, with a proportionately large bust that complimented her small shoulders and back. Her body was dressed in what looked like the torn up remnants of a brown dress, though now it looked more like a haphazardly assembled lump of rags after having been torn to shreds by the claws of the birds that had tried to carry her off. The shoes that had once been on her feet were gone now, and Sarah determined herself to be in a rather sorry state… though being alive, she had somehow managed. Or had she?

She righted herself, ignoring the dull ache in her body as she sat back onto the grass. The water lapped gently at the sand at its shore and Sarah let out a small, weary sigh.

How long before another one of those monsters tries to eat me? she wondered, pulling her knees to her chest glumly and fiddling with the vial on her neck. And what's this? How come I never noticed this before?

Suddenly, she heard rustling above her and she gasped, looking up as a bit of rock crumbled down from the cove wall above her. It rained down onto the grass to her left and she covered her mouth again to hide her frightened breathing, pressing her back against the wall as she inched her way towards a clandestine corner to her right. She sat there silently, shutting her eyes and praying that whoever – or whatever – it was that had followed her here would either go away, or be struck down by some mighty force like those birds had been.

It seemed like an eternity before Sarah dared to breathe again, although when she exhaled she was greeted by curious mumbling.

"… I told you we should have been watching her, now she's crawled off to some corner and we have no idea where she is," a raspy, masculine voice complained somewhere above her.

"No," said another, this voice more virile, somehow smoother compared to the first. "She's here somewhere. She's just hiding. It's what they do."

"Humans," the first one scoffed. "The Judicator was right. They're always so frightened. And for good reason. War… if she's really human, then every creature in the four kingdoms will want to get their hands on her."

"We must protect her," War agreed.

"Well then let's get to finding her before something else does."

Sarah was torn. She didn't know what to do. Should she surrender herself to these two … dare she say people? She could understand them, so perhaps that was the correct term. Then again, if she stayed hidden there was a near certain chance that they would find her eventually, so showing herself now would save both parties a lot of frustration and time. Besides, it would soon get dark, and Sarah had her doubts as to whether she would be able to sustain herself on her own for the night. So, before War and his mysterious partner could leave their perch on the ravine above her, Sarah took a deep breath and slowly stepped out into the setting sun.

"…H-here I am," she stammered quietly, the silhouette of two hulking masses looking rather intimidating from where she was standing. There was a tense silence between them as they exchanged glances, and suddenly they began to walk towards her, jumping down with a great clang of armor and weapons as they landed right in front of her. Yelping in fright, Sarah stumbled backwards and fell onto the sand.

The two forms that greeted her were unlike anything she'd seen so far (which, considering what she'd seen so far, she wasn't sure how to feel about). They were neither angel nor demon nor man, but a warrior-like mixture of all three that sent Sarah's heart pounding in her chest.

One had skin the color of a corpse, and wore a mask that resembled a skull. Around his neck he wore a ragged cloak that shielded from view two massive scythes with skulls decorating the handles. His hands and feet were wrapped in torn leather, and through the mask Sarah could see two glowing purple eyes scrutinizing her closely. A large scar was healing on his chest, and somehow Sarah suddenly felt responsible for his wound (though she couldn't possibly know why).

The second seemed larger than the first, with lurid red eyes and long, white hair that flapped loosely in the evening breeze. With a start, Sarah realized that she had the same mark on her forehead as he did, the one that she didn't understand. His red hooded cloak cast his face into shadows and Sarah shied away at the sight of the giant sword at his side. He was more armored than his companion, looking more like a soldier. Taking a wild guess, Sarah decided that this one must have been War.

"Hm…" the second one grumbled, stepping towards her. Sarah's heart pounded within her as rapid breaths sent her chest heaving, and she gripped her fingers into the wet sand behind her as she turned her head away in fright. The creature stepped back, letting out a small chuckle.

"I guess they really are afraid of Death," he replied, returning to his brother's side and gesturing towards Sarah. "Well, go ahead then, War. You always were the more charming one… see if you can convince the human that we're friendly."

War huffed indifferently, leaving his sword by his brother's side and walking towards Sarah. He crouched down in front of her, and after a moment's pause, began to reach for her. Sarah froze, her head still turned away from him in terror as his gloved fingers grasped onto the curl that was on her face, slowly pushing it out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. Sarah let out a small breath of relief (after all, she'd been half expecting him to snap her neck, or poke out an eyeball, or otherwise maim her), and nervously glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you… here to kill me…?" she whispered as the water from the lake began to run over her fingertips. War withdrew his hand, observing her with an expressionless face for what seemed an eternity.

"… no," he replied after a moment of excruciating silence. "My brother and I are here to protect you." He stood, turning away with a shuffle of his heavy armor. "If we were here to kill you, then we would have done it by now."

Well that's certainly a relief, Sarah thought, carefully standing and brushing off her naked legs. "Brothers?" she asked, her natural curiosity getting the better of her. "But you two seem nothing alike!"

"We ride as brothers," Death answered with a dismissive flick of his wrist. "We are of the Four."

"The Four…" Sarah repeated slowly, wracking her brains for the reason why that sounded so familiar. "The… the Four Horsemen, yes?"

"Well it seems you haven't lost everything," Death replied sarcastically. "Yes, the Four Horsemen."

Sarah frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "Why do you mock me?" she asked, her blue eyes narrowing irritably. "First you frighten me and now you treat me as though I am stupid? I may not remember much, but I know enough to say that you certainly need to work on your manners."

"Oh, do we really have to put up with her, War?" Death complained. "I liked her better when she was sleeping. Besides, how can you be so sure that she's a human with that mark on her brow? I say we send her back to the Council, where she belongs."

"Council? What Council?" Sarah asked again, feeling confused now that more had been added to her roster of things to learn.

"The Charred Council," War replied with a notable edge. "That scar you wear on your forehead is its mark. I have no doubt that you are human… but if you are Council-born then I have no reason to trust you."

"I know not of any council," Sarah replied with all the honesty she could muster, "or of any mark, or its meaning… I know only that I was sentenced to this world for some crime I cannot remember committing. Why else would I be subjected to this hostility? For someone's crude enjoyment?"

"We shall see," Death replied, glancing at the sun, which was beginning to sink into the horizon. "But we must go now." He looked at Sarah again. "Can you fight?"

Sarah, a bit confused as to his question, simply held up her hands and shook her head. Death rolled his eyes and let out a groan.

"Wonderful. She's weak as a flower, and hasn't even got any thorns. Certainly we have better things to do than this?"

"Yes, like butcher more birds for your amusement…" Sarah mumbled, drawing an annoyed stare from the older Horseman. He grumbled something under his breath, but Sarah ignored it. If she was going to be surrounded by condescending, mistrustful mercenaries, then she might as well drown herself in the lake now. She reached for the pendant on her neck and looked at it intensely, watching the blue mists swirling around inside it as though it were… alive somehow. It almost seemed to speak to her… mesmerizing her… enchanting her into a world of her own thoughts…

"We must protect her until we find out who she is," War replied suddenly, jerking her out of her daydream. "She is the last human, Council-born or not, warrior or otherwise. You can't honestly expect her to survive on her own, and if she doesn't turn out to be who we need her to be, then we can always turn her back to the demons."

He stopped, and Death nodded.

"Very well," he replied, gesturing towards Sarah. "Follow us. I know a place where you will be safe. "

"As do I," replied War. "We should take her to Eden."

Eden, again! Sarah thought with a thoughtful frown. Do they know of the battle that rages there? If I tell them, will it deter them from taking me there? Uriel and Azrael are surely still there, battling those hell birds. But if these two are as formidable as they seem, perhaps saying nothing may save that paradise…?

Sarah remained silent, disguising her recognition with a shiver and trailing after them quickly once they'd turned away.

Minutes turned to hours as they trudged on endlessly. Quietly, Sarah followed behind the horsemen, unsure of herself after their meager analysis of her abilities. Was she so unspectacular, then? After all, she'd survived almost being torn to pieces by birds of prey that had likely contributed to the eradication of her people, and that with nothing more than a bit of soreness in her bones. True, she hadn't the ability to kill the birds, but at least she wasn't as fragile as Death had made her seem.

As the moon began to rise overhead, Sarah wondered how long it would take before they reached Eden again. Last time, the angel Azrael had simply opened a portal and allowed them in. but it didn't seem like her companions possessed this ability. She'd been tempted on numerous occasions to ask where they were taking her, since that option wasn't available, and if there would be flying involved, since she doubted she could do much of either.

They continued on in silence, passing through caverns and dripping remnants of what Man had built in the time when they had existed. It was eerie, realizing that her people were gone. The Horsemen may have been unique, but at least there were four. She was alone in this world. Empty husks of large, metal boxes on rubber wheels littered the streets where they walked, and at every noise she was pushed into a corner, hidden away from dangers that were usually nothing more than a stray demon bat or a carnivorous flower, easily handled by a few crafty detours. There were so many dangers in this world… was this really where her people had once thrived?

It was well into the night when the group arrived at a system of tunnels that overlooked an ashen wasteland. Sarah stopped at the entrance, watching as War and Death continued on ahead without her. After a moment, however, they caught on that their shadow was no longer following them, but had fallen to her knees tiredly at the foot of the ascent that they were about to make.

"What are you doing? Get up," Death said with an irritated scowl. "We must keep moving until we reach Eden."

"And what will that do?" Sarah protested – the first thing she'd said to them since earlier that evening. "Eden is infested with demons, more so than any place on earth that I have yet seen. Here I see nothing but silence, while a massive battle rages on above us." She fell back wearily, shutting her eyes as she leaned her head against a rotting wooden post. "Besides… I'm tired."

War and Death exchanged a curious glance. Sarah wasn't sure if it was because she'd mentioned the battle in Eden, or if it was because they weren't used to being in the company of someone who tired more easily than they did, but either way, she was determined not to go a single step more until she'd been given an opportunity to rest, if that meant stubbornly insisting that they carried her.

"If Eden is not safe… then nowhere is," War said with a frown.

"Azrael and Uriel battle Zutal's children as we speak," Sarah replied with a small smile. "Maybe the battle is not lost yet."

"Uriel?" the Horsemen both said in unison before looking at each other. Death was the first to reply.

"You've encountered the Angels?" he asked, looking at her. Sarah nodded.

"Yes," she replied. "They were the first to find me. They brought me to Eden, and now you say I must find my way there again. Maybe it's fate that's given you the same idea, but I believe that between the four of you, Eden will be safe again." She stopped, looking out across the ash desert. "But to you I am weak. I am but a trophy. Azrael looked at me as though I were a precious wonder… while you see me as nothing but a burden."

"You are the only human," War corrected. "How can you think of yourself so lowly?"

"Well you both don't seem to hold my ability in high regard," she replied with a slight edge in her voice, "and I know of myself only that which I have been told… and shown. Compared to you, I have no strength or power, and my body cannot take a beating like yours can. I am not nimble, I am not agile, and I am not fast. All I know to do is hide, like a coward."

"Enough of this self-pitying nonsense," Death snapped. "If the Angels are fighting the hell birds in Eden, then we have all the more reason to get there as quickly as possible."

"No," Sarah said quietly, hiding her face in her hands. "I can go no farther until my body has rested."

"Death," said War, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Perhaps we should let the human rest. She will be safe deeper within the corridors. We won't be by the portal until daybreak as it is, and I'd rather not lose her to the ashworms."

"Alright, but what are we going to do about her little 'condition'?" he asked sarcastically, and Sarah frowned at him over her shoulder.

"We're Horsemen," War replied. "We will let her ride on a horse."

"Oh, you fear her getting eaten by the ashworms but you have no problem putting her on the back of Ruin?" Death answered with a chuckle. "That Watcher must really have addled your brains."

"No," was War's reply. "She will ride Despair."

"W-what?" Death sputtered. "My horse?"

"He was always the more even-tempered one," War answered calmly.

"… well I can't argue with that," Death answered after a moment. He waved his hand and suddenly the ground beneath them shook. Sarah gasped, shuffling backwards as a glowing green creation emerged from the ground with a fierce neigh. It was Despair, Death's faithful companion.

"Alright then," Death replied, waving towards the horse. "Get on."

Sarah hesitated, but after a moment inched towards the creature and put a gentle hand on its flank. It snorted irritably and she shrank back, not sure if this was a good idea.

"Well don't take all day," Death sniffed, gripping her around the waist and lifting her up. Sarah yelped as she was plopped down onto Despair's back.

Odd. She felt strange, yet comfortable on this animal's back. Safe, almost. Like this raging beast could be trusted past its turbulent exterior. She felt steady as they walked, filled with a strangely empowering malaise that this beast channeled through her. It was clear that Despair had followed Death wherever he rode – a smooth, gentle, yet fearsome creature of unimaginable power and emotional capacity, capable of both destroying and rebuilding. Death and Despair, War and Ruin… she was beginning to sense a pattern here.

They continued for a little while longer until they reached what seemed to be some sort of housing area. Cracked vases and destroyed bunks littered the sidelines, like a battle had been fought there with little mercy. War tensed up immediately when they entered, and Sarah took no time guessing that he had been the cause of this battle… or at the very least, a participant.

"We will stay here," Death announced, ignoring his brother's unease as they came to a stop. "There is a place for the human to sleep, and we can watch her without much effort."

Sarah dismounted Despair with a slight huff. "Sarah," she replied, brushing herself off and trying to ignore her throbbing legs. "My name is Sarah."

Death didn't appear to take any notice of her statement as he continued to survey the surroundings, nimbly leaping across walls and ledges to check for enemies. War came up behind her and Sarah jumped slightly as he replied, "Sarah… please follow me."

He led her to one of the slightly less destroyed bunks and placed her there just as Death jumped down from above them.

"Looks safe," he replied, shaking out his messy black hair. "For now."

Sarah suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired, and let out a loud yawn as she stretched her arms overhead. She swallowed a few times, coughing at her dry throat. She slid her feet off of the bed and began to walk past them.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Death asked.

"To search for some water," she replied. "I'm still a bit new to being human, but this is a need that I cannot ignore."

"But it will take hours to find anything in these tunnels!"

"I know where to find water," War replied suddenly. "I will go to get some for her."

"What are we, errand boys?" Death grumbled, but Sarah replied with a warm smile.

"Thank you," she answered sincerely, and Death rolled his eyes.

War shuffled off, leaving the two alone in the silence until Sarah decided to speak up again.

"Why do you despise me so?" she asked Death, crossing her arms angrily. "I've done nothing to wrong you."

Death grunted. "It's that thing around your neck," he replied, shaking his head. "Something about it has got me all… bothered."

"Oh," Sarah replied dumbly, holding it up in her hand and observing it once more. She didn't sense anything malicious about it; in fact to her it seemed almost comforting, if not just aesthetically pleasing. "So why must you take it out on me? I did not elect to put it around my neck."

"Ugh, never mind," Death answered. "Just be quiet."

"Why must you wear that mask?"

"I said quiet. Until War returns with that blasted water."