A/N: I'm sorry for such a long update! I've been majorly procrastinating on this chapter. It's all my ideas, mostly. Awkward... I'm sorry if the content is a bit mature... Oh goodness, CRINGE ATTACK! It wasn't my decision, I swear!

So now, Veil793, I dedicate this chapter to you. Jerk. XD

...

Panicking was the only thing I could manage to do. He spun around quickly, mask in hand. I didn't know why it was off, but I sure as hell wasn't going to question it. I locked eyes with him, though mine were filled with fear while his were unreadable, which terrified me on a whole new level.

"I'm sorry…" He finally choked out the words after what felt like an eternity of a never ending stare-down. "I truly am… I love you… and I apologize for my sins."

Really, what am I supposed to say in a situation like this?! My head was screaming, Yes! I-I miss you! Please… then at that, no words would come out of my mouth. He must have thought I rejected him by not answering, because at that moment he slowly turned to walk away.

SAY SOMETHING, YOU FOOL! "N-No! W-w-wait a minute!" He stopped and turned back around, and when our eyes met again, my tone became softer, "If you're sincere…"

He took a few steps forward and gestured a hand out, though we were still far apart. "Of course I am… I would never kid of something such as this."

I felt the tears of joy begin to well again. I smiled and said one simple sentence, "Then get over here, you bastard…"

Now he had his own smile. He walked up to me, so now we were both underneath the darkness of the awning. I jumped up and hugged him as tightly as I could, wrapping my legs around his waist. I put my hand to his cheek, propping myself up so I could press my lips to his with far more passion than either of us were used to. He chuckled for a brief moment, but soon returned to the kiss, pulling me so close that my stomach was against his abs. A tear was about to fall from my eyes, but Death cupped my face in his hands, flicking it away.

"Death," I giggled, trying to pull away. He took a deep breath and bit my bottom lip. "Death!"

Finally, he epically sighed and broke the kiss, though kept his lips close to mine. "You're coming with me. Don't even bother to protest," He let out an evil chuckle, shaking his head.

"Oh, Th-okay," I didn't know what to say. "Let me go get my things." He cocked his head to the side slightly in confusion, making me laugh. "This is, what used to be, London. I took shelter in my old apartment from after you left." He grinned somewhat evilly as I kept laughing, letting him go and running towards the building. "I-I'll be right back!"

I bolted up the stairs as fast as I could. I couldn't think straight, I was so damn happy. I walked through the door and saw the fire still flickering. It made my heart jump, but nothing more. I wasn't going to accidentally stick my hand in the fire, so I left it be. It should just burn out, anyways. I came up here to gather my things, but then I realized that I didn't have anything to gather. I didn't know what made me think I did.

"Idiot..." I chuckled to myself. I was about to turn around, but then I felt Death's strong arms wrap around the lower part of my waist and his lips press against my neck, right underneath my jaw line.

"Agh, what the hell-?" I tried to move away, but he, of course, wouldn't budge. "Death?"

His answer was trailing the kisses down my neck, using his teeth more than his lips. My mind wasn't functioning; basically the only thing I could think at the time was random syllables that made no sense and result in myself chuckling, both at him and myself. I awkwardly tilted my head down; unsure of what to do as he moved to my shoulder blade, pushing back the fabric that was once over it was he did. I breathed in, about to say something, but he spun me around so quickly that I was dazed for a moment. When I refocused, he had already returned to my neck. I felt my back press against one of the far walls as his lips reached my side right underneath my ribs.

"Maybe…" He hissed the word through his teeth, almost to the point where it wasn't audible. I winced slightly as he bit hard enough to draw blood. "We should stay a while."

xxxxxxxx

Everything was a blur after that. I couldn't think, and I'm glad I wasn't, because I would ruin it by doing so. I remember waking for brief moments for brief conversations, but only one stood out amongst the rest. All I could see was his bright orange eyes radiating in the darkness. I was shivering madly, for the temperature had dropped dramatically. I tucked my legs up, curling into a ball as he held me to him. I buried my face in his hair in an attempt to keep my face warm. It helped a little, but not enough. I kept my eyes open and refused to fall asleep.

"Just go to sleep." I wouldn't be able to hear him if it wasn't for his chest vibrating in my ears.

"No," The word came out as an annoying whine. He chuckled loudly as I shook my head.

"Why?"

"Because I've missed you…"

Death kissed the top of my forehead, then my cheek, then my lips. I put my hand up to his cheek as he rolled over, now lying over top of me. I took a deep breath through my nose as I broke the kiss, letting my head rest on the pillow. I wanted to ask him why he left, but I didn't know how. He could feel guilty for it if I did. I felt tears coming, but I choked them back. I took a deep breath as he pressed his lips back against mine, not giving me any time to protest. I closed my eyes slowly and let myself fall deeper into the kiss. He pulled his lips off of mine and switched to my neck as he wrapped his arms around me. He was crushing me under his weight, so I whimpered slightly. That made him flip over so I was on top of him. I fell limp in his arms, since the sleep deprivation was now getting to me. I couldn't fall asleep. I try as hard as I can, but it's no use…

x-

I woke up groggily, rolling onto my side and noticing Death wasn't there. I sat up and called his name. No answer. My heartbeat sped up. Oh god, please tell me that he was sincere… did he just use me for…? No. He wouldn't… I thought.

Finally, I stood up after wrapping the blanket around me. I walked out of the room and looked at the still flickering flames in the fire place. I never would have guessed that it would still be blazing. Finally, to my left I saw Death. He was facing away from me, his head tilted down and his armor back on. He was holding something, but I couldn't tell what it was. I walked up to him and set my burned hand on his shoulder blade.

"What are you doing?" I asked, still half asleep. Then I realized what he had in his hands; one of my journals, the one from the first year. Damn it. He flipped the page, which confirmed the fact that he was reading through it. He wouldn't peel his gaze from the pages. "Death."

A loud chuckle emerged from his throat, catching me off guard and making me jump. He folded a corner of the page he was on and shut the book. When he turned to face me, he was all smiles as he moved closer. "I didn't know you had written it all down."

I giggled. "Word for word, every one of my thoughts." He didn't seem very amused. My smile was knocked off immediately. "What's wrong?"

His eyes were now filled with sorrow. "You never stopped thinking of me…"

"…What-"

"You didn't know."

I was utterly confused. "What didn't I know?"

"You didn't know what that memory should have meant… You must have been under so much stress when you did see it… I shouldn't have done that to you."

"No, Death, stop."

"I couldn't have been more judgmental."

"Stop it. Now."

He just sighed and stepped closer to me. I wrapped one arm around his torso and kept the other holding the blanket up over my shoulders. "Please… what can I do…?"

"Just promise me you won't leave again." I choked out. His heartbeat sped up when I said that, but nothing more. I didn't bother to wonder why. He let me go and changed the subject.

"I've heard you were involved with the Hellguard." My heart jumped. Memories of trying to starve myself flooded back. I shivered at the thought. "…what did you do, love?"

"Um…" was the only thing I could think of. Now his concerned eyes were locked on me, forcing me to tell him. "Death… I couldn't take being without you." His left eyebrow. "A-and with… with the cat, I just lost the will to live."

"The cat?"

The reality of it all struck me like a bullet.. "…Oh, Death!" I began sobbing into his chest. I could tell he was confused, but I didn't know how to explain. I set my hand on his arm, letting him suck onto the memory of the Cheshire cat dying. When he snapped back, he returned the hug as tightly as he could without crushing me. I could hear a growl in his throat, probably because he was angry with himself.

"I don't know what to say." He muttered.

"No, no. It's alright." I sniffed, wiping my eyes and doing my best to compose myself.

"Love, I will not let this go on." He walked me over and made me sit down in front of the fire. He sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Does the fire make you uncomfortable?"

"…no,"

"Good."

That last word he said seemed to echo on forever. We sat, gazing into the flames, long enough for me to start getting tired. I wanted to stay awake, to stay with him, so I tried to make conversation. "How did you know I was with the Hellguard…?"

"Uriel informed me when I arrived here. She said that one day you had disappeared, and they all think that you're dead." He explained. "I had no idea you were alive. I was send here to retrieve the Rod of Arafel, and then I sensed your presence."

"And you came to-"

"Apologize."

I looked down at my hand, rubbing my fingers over the burned skin. Without any warning, he pulled me closer and put his lips to the side of my neck again. "It's alright now, Death, you're here, and-"

He moved to my lips. "Yes, I am here. So stop talking and kiss me."

I let my muscles relax slightly and pulled my matted hair to the side, slipping deeper into the kiss. Before either of us could get too carried away, Death pulled away and whispered, slightly out of breath, "You must be exhausted." This time, I couldn't protest. I felt like I was already falling asleep. "Rest." I slid down and rested my head on his thigh. He stroked my hair until I did finally let myself sleep for the remainder of the night.

Xxxxxxxx

When I woke up in the morning, Death was still next to me. He was asleep, and both of his arms were locked around my waist protectively. If I tried to move, he would just growl and pull me closer, making me giggle each time. Now, no matter what, he wouldn't let me go, and I loved him for it. Instead of trying to break myself loose, I just let him rest. He could have been exhausted too, but there was no way to tell, since he was Death.

I shifted to tuck my legs up, pushing the blanket back over my shoulders. I smiled and ran my five fingers over each part of the upper half of his body, over each one of his individual muscles, over the lines of his tattoos, every scar that marred his skin, every square inch until I had thought I memorized it. As I studied the features of his face for what seemed to be the millionth time, his eyes finally opened. I smiled warmly, and he did the same, cupping one half of my face in his hand.

"Good morning to you," He chuckled, leaning forward to lightly kiss me. I returned it happily. "We must be going." He finally said after a few moments. I nodded and stood up, walking back to my room. I got dressed and grabbed Death's mask, which was sitting on the nightstand in front of me. I walked back out to meet him, and with slight hesitation handed it to him. He grinned and set it over his face. He looked so much different with it on, since I've come to known the man that hid behind it. He, for sure, was much better than the closed- off Executioner I met all those years ago.

He pulled me close to him after I took a final glance at the small apartment, and we walked out, not even bothering to close the door. I tensed as we returned to the shattered Earth, that was now resembling the Vale of Doom.

"…are you alright…?" Death's words were merely a breath, and I could barely catch them.

"I'm fine, why do you-"

"Mentally."

"…that I can't confirm." His fingers tightened around the nub of my wrist. We went a long while without saying anything, merely enjoying each other's company. Hours and hours went by, fighting, killing, and walking. I did my best to procrastinate on what I wanted to ask him, what I needed to ask him.

"Why did you leave?" I choked out the words in a pathetic attempt to hide tears. He turned to face me. His jaw dropped as he took in a breath, as if to say something, but before he could, I heard a familiar high-pitched voice.

"Alice…?"

"…Oh no."

Death's head snapped around to face the angel approaching us. He had his golden scythe in his hand, ready to use it if needed. He must have thought Death was threatening me. "Horseman!" He yelled. "Leave her be."

The look in Death's eyes was so confused that it was almost comical. He took a step forward, blocking my sight from Ash. "And who are you to order me?"

"I have heard that you have hurt her!"

"I did notsay that." I snapped.

Death pulled Harvester, and before Ash could even blink, the arm that held the golden scythe was on the ground. "Agh!" He yelled, gripping his gushing shoulder.

"Death!" I tried to intervene, but they wouldn't listen to me. I slammed the heel of my palm into my forehead in annoyance. "Damn you two…"

Death was about to kill Ash, but the angel grabbed the scythe from his dead fingers and blocked the attack. He got to his feet, and the two began to fight. I didn't want to get in between it, because if Death accidentally hurt me, I would never hear the end of it. I just stayed out of it. I cringed as Harvester pierced Ash's heart, but nothing more. Death walked up to me with confusion in his eyes.

"He's the one who saved me."

"When?"

"After the Council sent me here."

"What?"

Oops. "…Oh, did I lack to mention… well…"

"…You went to the Council."

My heart dropped again, since he had the same tone of voice he had before leaving. "Wait, let me explain this time." He chuckled at that, but I knew he would listen to my reasoning. "It was after you left… I didn't know where to go, I couldn't go back, so I decided to visit the Council to see if I could help War… and I could couldn't. I'm sorry; I wish I could have done something, anything-"

He cut me off by wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I tried to hug him back, but his hold on me was so tight that I couldn't manage. He set his chin on my shoulder and hugged me until we heard Uriel's voice.

"Horseman."

He let
me go reluctantly and faced her. "Do you have any idea of where the remaining rod pieces are?" Death asked.

"Pass through the city, and you will find the next piece beneath the Earth, in an old, abandoned tunnel."

"And where will we find the final fragment?"

"I do not know. But the rod has a will of its own. Find the second piece, and if may tell me where the last resides."

Death gives her a shallow nod and begins to walk. I felt Uriel's eyes boring into me as I walked behind the Horseman, but I did my very best to ignore it. I kept my head down, staring at the tops of my boots as I walked behind him. I looked up when I hear him curse under his breath and yell my name, "Alice, stand back!"

I was confused only for a second before realizing that something was running towards us. I didn't recognize it, but it was largely obese and engulfed in flames. I took a step back, but nothing more. The second Death's scythe made even the slightest contact with the creature's skin, it stopped and ducked down. Then I was even more confused. "Why-"

A large explosion knocked me off of my feet, as well as Death. He landed on the complete opposite side of the room, though. I groaned in pain, and didn't bother trying to stand. What in the hell just exploded?!

"Alice!" Death screamed as loud as he possibly could. I just reached up and put the heel of my palm to my head, for my ears were ringing loudly. "I told you to stand back!"

I opened my eyes and saw Death hovering over me. He helped me sit up, and I set my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me. "What the hell was that…?" I asked slowly.

"A FleshBurster," He replied. "Why didn't you listen, love?"

I didn't have an answer, because I didn't know. I ended up saying, "Now we're even."

He knew that I was talking about the time in Queensland. He chuckled and helped me to my feet. He kept me next to him as I pulled myself together. We walked through various tunnels underground; I wasn't sure where I was going, but it didn't matter, because Death did. I just followed him, and helped him kill any creatures that came our way. Soon we approached a large tunnel, a few miles to the very back. Death started towards it. I didn't question why, because he knew. Immediately I ran to catch up to him. Yet again, we found ourselves walking in complete silence yet again. I was mad that he didn't answer my question, why he left, why he was so upset with me… but I wasn't going to pester him about it, since we had something much more important to deal with.

Upon reaching the back of the tunnel, I finally saw what it was we were heading towards. It was all corruption; a big blob of the substance plastered against the wall, bright blue and green shining under the radiant light of the red crystals emerging from the ground as they did when War and I were here. Death picked up a nearby Redemption cannon and shot at it, breaking the thin middle part away from the rest. It began to glow with a golden hue; I had to strain my eyes to see the faint light of a staff. Death stepped forward and grabbed it.

I stood next to him with my hand on his forearm. "Is that the-"

"Rod of Arafel," He finished for me. "This is only a fragment. We will need to retrieve one more piece, and then we will return to LostLight.

I cocked my head to the side slightly; unsure of what he was talking about. "Where?"

He chuckled, closing the slim space between us. "You will find out soon enough."

I smiled and looked down, picking at a piece of metal on the blade that was falling off. He forced my chin up, making me look at him. My gut churned in happiness, just because I could look into those eyes without seeing hate in them. I gripped my stomach and cringed a bit as I looked at him. He looked down in concern.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

I just laughed and pulled him a bit closer. "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

He chuckled evilly, and in an instant, I was in his arms. I held back loud laughter and kept it as quiet giggles as he carried me. The made him snicker loudly and throw me over his shoulder playfully. I couldn't contain myself, and I was crying from laughing so hard. He stopped for a moment to pull me back to his level. He saw the tears streaming down my face, and his playful nature immediately vanished. Guilt replaced the happiness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered.

That made me laugh harder. "You clearly don't laugh very often!"

"Well, that is until I met you."