Authors note: I'll start off with the fact that i'm terrible at authors notes XD. But let me know in the comments if you think I should continue on. I'm debating on making a third story, but i'm not really sure. Let me know if I should. Thanks. X3
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"Wake up!" War yelled in my ear as he shook my shoulders. My head snapped up and I shivered, literally feeling the power course through every single vein in my body individually.

"Goodness!" Was that really necessary?"

"Well, you wouldn't wake."

I rolled my eyes and stood up. I expected for there to be extreme pain in my ribs, but here wasn't any. Confused, I looked down at my broken bones, but that wasn't what was there. It looked as if nothing had happened to it. Only a large scar remained.

"How long have I been out?!" I asked, kind of surprised.

"Actually, not long at all. Maybe a few hours."

"Then how...?"

"The power Samael had granted you. It healed your ribs and your wrist." I quickly unwrapped the cloth on my right arm and found he was right. The skin completely healed over, leaving a small nub at the top. I laughed at the progress, and covered it back up. "You can leave it unwrapped now. It's-"

"No." I cut him off.

"I knew I would find your weakness when it came to your hand."

"Very funny."

I looked up at my surroundings. We stood on a ledge, feet from the edge that dropped off into oblivion. The room was made up of metal; the only thing lighting it up was the turquoise glow in every groove of the walls. There was a small, orange tile resting in front if us, so War moved up to put his foot on it. A path of the same black and turquoise appeared in front of us, making a walkway to the next door. We walked up to it, and War tried to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge. As he went on trying to push the door open, I rolled my eyes and set my hand on the handle.

"You know, it's a proven fact that somewhere on earth at all times, there is an idiot that's trying to push open a door-" I paused to pull on the handle. "That you're supposed to pull. Right now, you're that idiot. Ladies first," I gestured him to walk through with my wrist.

He did, but over his shoulder, he yelled, "You were just quoting Death. He says 'ladies first' constantly."

I laughed to myself and followed him through the door. A large hallway awaited us on the other side; it led to an angel chained in the middle of an arena, bright lights surrounding him.

"Azrael..." War acknowledged.

"Heaven help me..." He replied. "T-the Seventh Seal was not broken."

"What do you have to fear from me, Angel of Death?"

"If you do not intend to kill me... then perhaps you will help me...?"

"You've given me no reason to do either." War stepped forward, and I shyly followed.

"Listen to me. The gate must be shut. The Tower must be cut off from the Well! It is from the Well that the Destroyer draws his power."

"The Well of Souls?"

"Millions of souls, yes. Enslaved... twisted. A corrupt power to fuel the Destroyers armies!"

"You are steward of the Underworld. Watcher of the Well. Not a single soul flows back into this world without you knowing. Unless... Gatekeeper, you opened the way?"

"The Destroyer sent the mightiest of his Chosen against me. I fared no better than you, Horseman. Against Straga..."

"Straga?!" War snarled to himself, sounding angrier than I have ever heard him. "You will take me to him?"

"You have my word."

"Then tell us what we must do, Angel of Death."

"You must find a way to draw power to this chamber. But... tell me why this girl follows you on your quest."

The angel must have seen me standing behind War. Before he could reply, I said, "M-my name is Alice. And I would rather have you call me that instead of 'girl'."

"Very well. No matter to me."

"She is a... 'Friend' of the Horsemen."

Azrael nodded at War's sarcasm. "You both need to find a way to get electricity into this room."

We walked through another doorway that was opposing to the angel. On the other side, we were tested with a small puzzle. With the two of us conversing, it didn't take long to open the next path. We had to use the grappling hook to get across long caverns, the cross blade to open up doors, levers and switches to pull, opening doors; basically anything to test War and I, former madwoman, on an intellectual level.

We found another container, but it didn't contain a weapon. This one held (War informed me of what it was called later) a Void Walker. Scattered throughout the place were glass windows with complex designs engraved into them. War taught me to shoot the windows to make portals, and how to move through them. There were two of them, so War handed me one with a sarcastic comment to follow. The tool was similar to the grappling hook in size, but in the front, it had a glass bubble filled with liquid the same color as the portals. Sometimes orange, and sometimes blue.

Using the Voidwalker, it didn't take long to reach our power source. We walked into a square shaped room with all of the walls built with metal. There was some kind of electric device in the middle that began moving by itself out of the ground. I stood my ground and looked at it in surprise; I've never seen anything like it before besides one of Hatter's creations. War looked at me strangely, and then told me to follow. On each of the walls, there were three closed portals; each one higher than the other. War went to the right of the creature, and I went to the left. He opened a portal on the top, and I the bottom. The thing turned towards War, and I jumped through.

I found myself in the air, plummeting towards the creature. Its head was completely flat, so I landed on top of it. Fortunately, its brain was exposed, so I dug the Vorpal blade into the top, killing it instantly.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, jumping off of the corpse.

"A robot..." I gazed at him, completely lost. "It must be ahead of your time."

"You think?" I rolled my eyes.

Once I got my mind off of that, I realized there was a lightning blue steak of... something, running into a closed portal. War stared at it for a long while before I nudged him in the arm. That's when he started walking towards the closed portal and opened it. After a while of using the portals to get the electricity beams to Azrael's prison, we finally figured out to break one of the three chains that held him down with it.

"Horseman," Azrael started. "I never imagined that you would be my salvation. Hurry now, before Straga learns of your coming."

"When we found you, you said, 'The Seventh Seal was not broken'. I've heard those words before..."

"Abaddon said the same right before he died." I finally said. War nodded, and we walked away.

Azrael opened another door with his remaining power. Just like before, we had to solve a series of puzzles and kill another robot. Although this time, when we reached the creature, it took longer due to the fact that this one had a heavy box of metal on a long chain, so it tried to crush us. But after some time, it finally fell. War used Chaoseater to cut he chain free, pick it up, and slam it into its head. Souls became floating out of the dead robot, forming the lightning blue beam that we had to bring back to Azrael.

On the way back, I was lost in my thoughts when I found that we were trapped in a small room with cracked floors. I got a little nervous when demons began rising out of the ground; as they walked towards us, the floor started giving in and collapsing. We would have left, but an orange gate blocked our way. I began to push demons off the edge, and that seemed to work. Once all of them were out of our sight, the gate disappeared, and we ran up the staircase just as the last piece of flooring collapsed.

"The universe is sick, Horseman." Was the next thing I heard. I must have zoned out on the rest of the way back, because I don't remember much. "The Charred Council refuses to admit it, but those who look... we see. We had to do something..." Azrael had an ashamed look on his face. I walked over to him and set my hand on his shoulder, so I could vividly see what he had done.

"An open attack on the DarkKingdom would violate the treaty!" Azrael looked at another angel who looked to be Abaddon, who faced away from him. "What you're proposing is madness!"

"Azrael, evil darkens every corner of creation... and Heaven waits?! The Council ties our hands!"

"To question them is to question the Creator... do you believe you know better?"

Abaddon turned to face him. "Yes, old friend, I do. When the Seals are broken, Hell will send its Chosen to declare battle rights. Their leaders will be gathered in one place. And there... we will sever the head of the beast. The Hellguard stands ready!"

"Breaking the Seals will trigger the Endwar! The Kingdom of Man is not strong enough. Earth will be destroyed!"

"There will be no war, Azrael!" Abaddon got closer to Azrael's face with every word. "We will crush the Dark Ones before it's even begun!"

"The pact is a sacred covenant. Even in victory, we will face the wrath of the Council."

"They will arrive to find the seals intact. And it will be our word... Heaven's word, against that of the prince of lies. Now do you see?"

Azrael sighed, closing his eyes. "The Seals will be reformed. All will believe that Hell's legions invaded and were delivered to justice by our hand. For the glory of the light-" the angel gestured a hand out to Ulthane, who was only now walking up to them. "-will you do this?"

"Oh, Azrael..." He sighed. "You old fool..."

The Old One held out a sword; power coursed through the complex designs in the multi colored bronze. Azrael grabbed it and held it over a small, knee high table with a large, thick piece of metal resting atop it. The angel whispered something to himself before ramming the tip into the Seal, breaking it with a loud thud.

"We broke all but one." Azrael told us as I took my hand off of his shoulder. War must have come up to me and set his hand on my arm, so he saw the memory too. "Abaddon ordered the final Seal not to be harmed. He protected it himself."

"Are you certain?" I could see anger begin to color War's face. The Watcher formed from his gauntlet. He walked up to the imprisoned angel, but I stayed next to War's escort.

"Without question, we dared not involve the horsemen. We never dreamed we would have to until it was too late..."

"Yet I am to pay the price for your betrayal?!"

"Treason!" The Watcher explained, coming up and eyeing the angel, leaving me behind. "War, you will root out all involved, and make them pay! Starting with this one!"

"No." War blankly stated.

"Fool! You deny the will of the Council?!"

"You heard the angel's confession. My service to the Council is ended!" I could hear the small amount of hesitation in his voice.

"War?!" I finally yelled, taking a few steps up to them. I couldn't believe what he was saying.

The Watcher enveloped him in the blue flame, making him collapse. "We made you... we own you! You're not done until you find the Destroyer and shut him down! 'Balance'... remember? Now get up. Azrael lives until he stops being useful. After that, you will do your duty."

Azrael opened the final path, and the Watcher returned to War's gauntlet, still muttering something under his breath.

"War! What the hell?" He didn't answer me. He walked ahead, completely ignoring me, and pushed the door open. "You're a Horseman. You can't stop working for the Council, it's-"

"Stop. Following me." War growled as he spun around, looking me in the eye, only inches from my face. He pushed me back until my back was against the hallway wall. "Maybe I think Samael is right about you. I think you were too cowardly to die with your kin, and you tricked me into believing that you are who you are."

I got so angry with him that I said something I regretted seconds later. "Like you weren't cowardly enough?!" Saying that, I bit my lip. I wanted to apologize, but I was furious with him. "You're such an idiot! I have proved that I am who I claim to be. You're just such an inconsiderate, stubborn jackass, so you don't want to believe me! 'Maybe' that's what I think of you. We all have our assumptions. At least mine are accurate."

I had no idea of what he was going to do. He gave me his stare, but I didn't move. He, being the impatient man he is, finally broke his gaze. He started walking, but back towards the door. He opened it, and looked back to me.

"Stay here." I stood my ground. "Go."

I didn't reply, but I walked through the door. I knew he was angry, and I was too, but I didn't want to piss him off any more. He slammed the door, and I sat against it. I put my face into my hand and let out a long sigh.

Unfortunately, only now I was realizing that my dress was torn open, exposing most of my side. I stood up, and thought about what I would do. After a few moments, I spun around and found myself in completely different clothing. The dress was bronze that plated down. It was tightly tied where my stomach is with a metal bow in the back. The brown sleeves came down and tightly wrapped around my wrists, completely covering my right arm.

I sat back down against a wooden pillar a few feet away from the door. The Cheshire cat came up and sat in front of me. He didn't say anything; he only looked at me with his stupid grin.

"What?" I questioned, getting sick of him staring at me.

He smiled slightly wider, but still didn't answer. Out of curiosity, I was about to ask more, but he evaporated before I got the chance. I stood up to make sure he didn't reappear. When I turned around to check behind me, he was sitting on top of the wooden post, making me jump back.

"Damn you!" I yelled, letting out a sigh at the same time.

"You have to prove to War that you're not a nuisance." I was both glad and annoyed that he was talking again.

"And since when am I a nuisance...? Well, firstly, how would you know?"

"I just spoke with him."

"And he said that."

"Correct. Then he told me to 'piss off', so I thought I might as well talk to you.

I held back a laugh, but it soon went away. I started walking away from the door. The cat walked next to me, but I didn't acknowledge him. I got to the exit of Azrael's prison, and I pushed the door open.

"What are you doing?" I expected for the cat to say that, but it was Azrael. I quickly spun around, letting the door shut.

"I'm leaving. Why?"

"The Horseman is the only way that you can get back to Death."

I stayed completely emotionless. "How do you know of that?"

"Lucky guess." That was the first time I had heard the angel use sarcasm. "But if I were you, I would stay until War returns."

"He doesn't want anything to do with me. I don't know how to prove to that stubborn man that I can keep from hurting myself, let alone prove that I can be resourceful."

He didn't reply. Demons began rising out of portals that the angel made. I looked at him with a questioned face as they began circling me. I extended the chain and started to swing it. I only needed my wrist to wield the weapon, so I grabbed Mercy with my other hand and shot at the demons coming up behind me. I turned back to Azrael once the last one disintegrated.

"What was that for?"

"You'll need practice if you're going to prove yourself to War." The angel slightly smirked as a demon immensely larger than the others rose out of the metal. It was pale blue with darker shades of warts scattered across its body. Both of its fists were enveloped in flames, but it didn't harm the beast whatsoever. It looked at me with its teeth showing in anger as it trapped me in a corner.

I remembered that War battled the same creature a while back. I didn't have a sword like Chaoseater, and Harvester was on Delirium's saddle, so I needed to think of a different solution. It tried to crush me under the weight of its fiery fist, but before it could, I slid underneath it and stood up. It didn't know where I went, and as it looked around frantically for me, I rammed the Vorpal blade into its spine, and used all of my force to slice it down, cutting the bone in half. It let out a viscous snarl and spun around. My ears started to ring, and my head felt like a gun was being fired at my skull.

'Damn it..." I muttered under my breath.

The pale blue demon began to morph into a large, rotting card. Of course, due to my hallucinations, it looked like the Executioner, covered in even more blood then the last time I saw it living. I knew it was a hallucination, but it reminded me of when Death accidentally cut my face. How mad he was at himself for doing so. But, it also reminded me of when we killed it, and he discarded his mask for a long while. At the thought, I smiled. But it soon disappeared once I realized that I was zoning out in the middle of a fight.

My head snapped back up, and I watched the distance between my face and the Executioner's fist lessens. I grabbed the blade on the chain and extended it. Its fist hit the chain, and the force slit the back of my knuckles. I felt the heat radiating off of my fist, and I saw the tips of my hair being singed. I shook my head, both trying to put out the flame on my hair. The creature tried to break the chain, but before it gave, I slid its fist off of it. The Executioner's fist hit its own foot, burning it to a crisp. I listened to the screams of the demon and the sizzle of burning skin as I put Mercy up to its head and pulled the trigger.

That's when my hallucinations began to wear off. I watched the bullet go into the demon's head. It kept moving after the lead penetrated its brain, so I grabbed the Vorpal blade again and slit its neck. The creature began to decompose. Only then was I realizing that War had already returned. He was redirecting the last beam. It blew the chain off of Azrael, and War walked up to me without saying a word.

"Straga waits." The archangel said as the Watcher joined us.

"Looks like you've finally outlived your usefulness, Azrael."
It said.

Azrael enveloped himself in some kind of golden smoke, and the metal surrounding him sunk into a spiral staircase. "And how do you propose to leave the Tower once Straga is dealt with?" Azrael retorted. War stared at the angel, and I stared at War in anger. "Straga and the Tower are one. Even if you manage to defeat him, you'll be trapped without me."

The Watcher snarled. "Pray the Horseman doesn't make it out alive."

Azrael only stared as it disappeared in Wars gauntlet. The Horseman started walking, and I followed shyly. I didn't know if he wanted me to follow, or get lost. He stopped and gave me a sideways glance before completely turning around.

"Alright, I'll give you another chance." He growled, poking me in the ribs with his metal incased finger. "Don't-"

"-Piss you off." I finished for him. "Got it."

He narrowed his eyes, and when he told me to move, I didn't hesitate. He opened a door at the bottom of the stairs, but didn't hold it open, so it slammed shut in my face. It was extremely heavy; I used all if my force to get open.

On the other side, War was walking across a short bridge. I caught up to him, but walked a ways behind as the bridge collapsed behind us. We were trapped in an arena that was the outer ring of a half- circle, two closed portals on each side. In the middle was an empty hole, but it didn't stay that way for long. Large pieces of armor- each at least three times larger than War and I put together- began rising out of the ground, and it didn't take long for me to realize that it was the Chosen, Straga.

"Hmm... You are stronger than Straga remembers." The demon said to War, speaking in third person. "Bit here you face Straga with no hope of victory or escape. Straga is the mightiest of the Destroyer's chosen!" He held up his massive hammer only to slam it against the arena floor seconds later, making the entire Tower shake violently.

"And the last." War retorted, drawing Chaoseater as he did so. "Your master chose poorly."

"Straga will enjoy killing you again! Especially this vermin-" He chuckled, referring to me. "-Who has caused many deaths of the Destroyer's armies. Straga is eager to cripple you both!"

"Don't get too cocky, demon." I yelled, making sure Straga could hear. I thought it might be a little risky to say anything, but this Chosen was really agitating me. "We're both underestimated often."

War leaned over and spoke to me for the first time without snapping at me as the demon got ready to fight. "Get as far back behind me as you can. On my signal, come."

I didn't protest. I did as he said, and War got to one of his knees and cupped his hands together. He then looked at me, slightly nodding, and I came running. With the Vorpal blade in hand, I stepped into his hands and he threw me into the air. A wave of panic came over me when I went over the Chosen's head, but it soon went away when I hit something solid with a thud. I didn't know why it was there, but a platform of armor was on the Chosen's back. I looked around, and almost fell off the armor in surprise when I saw a bright orange eye staring back at me on the demons neck.

Using the Voidwalker, War distracted the Chosen. I mentally made a sarcastic comment towards War, because he didn't really give me many options up here. I finally just rammed the Vorpal blade into the eye, shooting it with Mercy a few times with Mercy as a bonus. I guess that Straga figured out where I was, because he reached back and tried to grab me. I shot his hand multiple times in self defense, but that only made him angrier. Straga threw me down, intending to kill me, but War opened a portal underneath me.

I found myself on the other side of the arena. I don't know what War did, but Straga was bent over in pain, his chin almost touching the arena floor. With Chaoseater, he ripped open the side of the Chosen's face. I could hear the low rumble of anger coming from Straga's throat as he picked up War effortlessly and tried to slam him against the ground like he tried to do to me. That's when I shot two portals; one underneath War, and the other in Straga's mouth. The Chosen was caught off guard by that, and soon began to panic when he Horseman started to rip his skull apart from the inside. Random lethal gashes appeared on Straga's face, and soon his entire head just came apart.

Before Straga sank into the abyss, War jumped from his skull soaked in blood. I would have said something, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

"Well?" War asked, stretching his hands out.

I took a chance by mimicking, "'this looks familiar.'"

He slightly grinned, and Azrael approached us. "As I said," The archangel began. "Straga and the Tower are one. Now, let's see how useful I can be."

The hole in which Straga collapsed in seconds before became a larger portal by Azrael's hand. Hundreds of souls floated out of it, and I was sure we would have to jump.

"Into the Well! Hurry!" Azrael ordered, and we threw ourselves in.

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"He came to me after his death." I heard Azrael say. My head snapped up, and he was conversing with War. "Abaddon. Alive. And I wanted so much to believe... I was such a fool..."

"Azrael, you saw Abaddon after he fell?"

"Saw him?" He chuckled. "I brought him here. To Eden."

I looked around at the beautiful scenery around me. The sky was golden with clouds hovering through it. There was a waterfall to my left that looked as if it stretched on forever. There were trees scattered everywhere that were packed with various kinds of fruits. I found myself sitting on a large stage that hovered in the air that was made of only solid gold. The Watcher formed, and answered for War, "What treachery is this, Azrael? Eden doesn't exist! Not anymore..."

"You ignorant sprite! I bore witness as the First Ones were cast out and the Garden fell to ruin! I could not let Heaven's first gift and greatest weapon, simply rot, or worse, fall to darkness! I hid it away."

"The Tree of Knowledge..." War said as I got to my feet. "Then... Abaddon has been to the tree?!"

"You must draw upon its gifts now. If some way exists to stop the Destroyer, the Tree will show it to you. I never dared use it myself. Perhaps if I had, things would've been...different."

"And Abaddon? What of his gift?"

"That was not for me to know. Each who comes before the tree receives a different gift. Some receive nothing. Others are driven mad by visions, or simply destroyed. No, I cannot say for certain. Come."

He directed War towards him, and when I didn't move, he motioned me to follow as well. We walked to where the path ended and stopped.

"There's no way across." War acknowledged.

"There is... for those who are worthy."

"Or those who can fly..." Sarcasm was thick in his voice.

"Horseman, you have fought against the darkness for so long that it has marked you. Creatures of the Light will sense it, as I have. In this place, you are worse than a demon. Imagine how the girl... Alice-" He corrected himself. "-would fare here. War, you must conquer the shadow. Then, you may pass."

"As for her?" War asked, pointing to me.

"You," Azrael came to me and crouched to my level. "I know what happened to your family. You have lived in the darkness, racked with guilt. You, out of every human that used to walk the earth, are one of the very few that is worthy enough. Both of you must face the shadows. Alice," He gestured out a hand, telling me to walk into the middle of the arena.

Uneasy, I began walking. Once I took a step into the middle, I regretted it afterwards. I saw an image of myself step on the same time as me. Although, this version was completely blacked out with crimson red steam coming from her eyes, nose, and mouth. Her mouth didn't move, but I listened to the Queen's cruel words.

"I rule Wonderland alone. Your interference will not be tolerated. This realm is for grown ups; raw, well ordered, ruthless, careening on the jagged edge of reality. Self pitying day-dreamers are not wanted here. They cannot survive here..."

Unlike my eight and nineteen year old self, who would weep at those words, I didn't show any sign of emotion. No signs of hurt on the outside, nor in. I felt powerful. Like I could take on anything. I smirked, and for the first time out loud, replied.

"That is not who I am." My grip on the Vorpal blade tightened. "And I will never be that! You were the one who corrupted Wonderland. Not me. You were the one who almost destroyed the ThirdKingdom! You made me your pet! You took advantage of my family's deaths... and used it against me! I killed you once. And I'm more than willing to do it again!"

That's when I strike. I ripped her arm open, and nicked the side of her cheek and neck. And that's when my hallucinations kicked in. It was once me, but then it began to grow in height and skin color. I was positive that I had a small heart attack as the iris' turned bright orange, skin turned pale blue, muscles tripled in size, mask off. I knew I was hallucinating. I knew it. That figure, on the inside, was my shadow. And I had to kill it.

But due to my cruel mind, it appeared to be Death.

I was sure it wasn't him... but be looked so real... could he really be there? Standing in front of me?

My question was soon answered when 'Death' sliced my arm open with what appeared to be Harvester. No, it definitely wasn't him. One part of me said to kill him, but the other part, the part that really looked deep down into those orange eyes... I couldn't do it.

"It's just a dream... it's just a dream..." I chanted aloud. I finally tore my gaze from his eyes and found the courage to grab the gun and point it at him. The shadow chuckled, but raised the scythe up. Before he could do anything, I softly whispered, "I'm sorry..." and put several bullets into his chest.

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He lost blood faster than I expected. He got to his knees and put pressure onto his wounds. I watched him suffer, and then just rammed the Vorpal blade into his heart. My fingers trembled at the sight of his blood on my hands. I sunk down and sat on my knees next to him. I looked at his face, which was twisted into a look of pain and hatred. I couldn't take looking into his eyes a second longer, so I shut them. I pulled his black hair away from his eyes, and rested my head on his shoulder. It began to sink into the darkness, and I tried frantically to keep it up, but I knew it was no use. But the blood on my hands made me want to die too.

The two walked up to me, and War sat on his knees and looked at me, who still gazed at the spot where the shadow once was. War shook my shoulder; I didn't want to look at him, but I knew that if I didn't it would start an argument. I finally looked back, and he asked me
what happened.

"I-it was..." I didn't want to tell him. "-Nothing."

His eyebrow raised, but I could tell he didn't want to argue. Azrael helped me to my feet and directed me towards the edge. He taught me how to use the shadow, and how to get across. I wasn't paying much attention, just enough to get me out of that wretched arena. It was similar as to how I worked my fantasies; at the thought, it would turn on and off. With it on, the world turned darker, and flames rose out of every crevice in the ground. The gap between the arena and the next pathway turned into a bright red bridge. I didn't know how, but I was too stressed and tired to ask. I walked across to the other side, and the bridge disappeared behind me.

As I sat down against another tree, I tucked my knees up and bit into a piece of fruit. War was fighting his shadow, and I was listening to my hallucinations torment me. Death's voice rang in my ears.

"Can I trust you now?" His voice asked, making me tense. "Maybe that was a test to see what you would do. Maybe it won't be the same between us now..."

That's when I lost it. I set the fruit down and buried my face in my knees. I knew I was fantasizing the whole thing, so that didn't bother me. But, I had a realization. What if it wouldn't be the same? It has been seven years for me, and I didn't have the slightest idea as to how long it was for him. It could've been days, or years... and I didn't know of he was actually mad at me. It made my stomach churn so much that I felt like I was going to vomit. I was suffering at the thought. For the second time, I wanted to die.

I lifted my head up in another thought. Azrael told War that whoever comes to the tree receives a different gift. He also said that some would be driven mad by visions, but I was already at that stage... I figured it wouldn't hurt to see as to what I would receive.

I stood up and looked toward the arena. War was still fighting, and Azrael had his eyes locked on him. I turned a corner when they were distracted, and started walking towards the Tree of Knowledge. It was up a small flight of stairs that I could barely see because of the bleach white smoke coming from it. I walked up to the tree and set my hand on the rough bark.

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"Well, it's been long enough since we've seen you." Death's head snapped up at the sound of his brother's voice. Both Fury and Strife were walking up to him. Death was leaning against an old house that was almost completely hidden by ashes and fog.

"You didn't come before the Council to speak about War." Fury added.

"I know." Death blankly added.

"Where have you been?"

"Training."

"Whoa, whoa." Strife sarcastically added, putting his hands out. "You didn't have to explain your entire schedule in such excruciating detail."

Death shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You're hilarious, brother.

Fury crossed her arms. "You've been quite distant since that assignment with the mad woman. What happened?"

The Reaper shot her sister a deadly look that told her to back off. She got his message, and didn't ask further. Strife, on the other hand, wouldn't shut up.

"Well, why don't you answer her question?"

"Brother, if you don't want you arm ripped off, I suggest you stop questioning me."

Strife rolled his bright yellow eyes. "It's only a simple answer I want. Nothing more."

Death walked up to his younger brother and got his masked face a few inches from his. "Do you honestly want to do this today?"

He grabbed his only gun from its holster. "Gladly."

Fury knew that Strife was only threatening him. But when he fired five times, her eyes widened. Of course, Death was smart enough to move, so the bullets went into one of the walls on his house.

"Strife!"

"What the-?" He looked at his gun, surprised. He didn't even have his finger on the trigger. Death stared at his brother, an eyebrow raised behind his mask. "Well I'll be damned. That's not right."

Death let out a small chuckle. "You couldn't kill me if you tried, brother."

Strife narrowed his eyes, mumbled something unintelligible, and followed Fury away from Death's home. "Good to see you again, brother." Fury called back, and the two disappeared into the fog.

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I snapped back into reality and stepped away from the tree. I remembered looking at the side of his home, and I realized something.

The five bullets that Strife fired were in the exact same pattern that I shot Death's shadow in.

I started to back up, my hand over my mouth. That must have been Death's present time, and when Strife fired those shots, that's what I did.

"Oh damn. Damn, damn, damn..." I whispered to myself. I stopped backing up when I accidentally ran into War. I gasped and spun around.

"What are you doing?" War asked.

"Oh. Uh, I was curious as to what the Tree was."

He nodded. "Did you receive anything?"

"Nope." I lied casually. He stepped through the smoke, and once he was fully enveloped in the smoke, I let out a long sigh and walked away from the tree. Once I was far enough to avoid the smoke, I sat down on the last stair.

"Oh, the tree and its gifts. Amazing isn't it?" The Cheshire cat sat right in front of me.

I stared at him blankly. "What was that supposed to prove?"

"That your hallucinations almost killed him. The Tree showed you the present."

I let out a groan in annoyance and buried my face into my knees. "Crap."

"That shadow was you. It wasn't Death. But, the same shots almost killed the Reaper himself. Your madness just could be returning. If you would have stayed with him, this wouldn't have happened, now would it?"

"Yes, I know." I snapped. "I didn't listen to your stupid advice, and now I'm suffering. Will you stop making me feel like a raging lunatic?"

"And will you pay attention to your surroundings?" That was the last thing he said before evaporating.

When I looked up, War was standing in front of me with an eyebrow raised. I stood up and followed him towards Azrael. The Watcher was standing next to him; I didn't know why and honestly didn't care. I was curious as to what he had in his hand. It looked like the handle of the same sword that I saw in Azrael's memory.

"Well?" The Watcher asked War as we walked up to them.

"Abaddon is the Destroyer."

"The archangel?!"

"He was betrayed. He is only a pawn in some bigger game."

"You must bring him peace." Azrael said, deep in thought.

"Peace?!" The Watcher exclaimed again. "Abaddon is the Destroyer! I'm pretty sure peace is off the table."

The angel sighed, then turned his attention to War. "Did you find any clues among the visions? A way to stop him?"

"There was a sword. One which broke the Seals."

"The Armageddon blade. But, after the Seals were broken, Abaddon ordered the blade destroyed on the very anvil of its creation. Horseman... I fear the blade is lost to us now."

"It can be made again."

"What else did you see?" The Watcher persistently asked.

"Abaddon guards the Seventh Seal. He plots with others to storm the White Gates. Uriel will lead the Hellguard against him... and fail."

"What else did you see?" It asked again.

"I saw nothing else."

"I will open a gate to return us." Azrael said as he opened a Serpent Hole. "Once it is closed, the Garden and its secrets will be lost forever. When you are ready, I will begin."

Azrael walked into it, then War, and after much hesitation, I finally followed. This time, everything was crystal clear. The sky was a dull orange and we were standing on a pitch black platform in the middle of nowhere. As War began walking, a path formed in front of him, so I followed close behind.

We soon returned to Earth; from where I stood, I could see the arena in which I lost my hand from where we stood.

"Seek Ulthane." Azrael suggested. "He will help you. He must help you... Abaddon will have scattered the swords remains. Hidden them where none in the light could find them."

"The Shadow Realm." War acknowledged.

"Yes. You both can use the power you have earned to enter the Realm. Assemble the broken blade. Then, return it to the Black Hammer. When this is done, return to me. Perhaps I can serve you one last time before... the end."

We started walking away from the the angel, but War stopped and turned around. "Azrael, at any time you could have left us to our fate, lost among the ashes of Eden... why do you help us now? When this is over, the Council will see that justice is done. I will kill Abaddon. And all who schemed with him."

"We all must answer for our sins, Horseman. When the hour of my judgment comes, I will embrace it. What ever the light decides... Go. Waste no more time on me. And tell Ulthane... he is the last hope of an old fool."