Tomorrow is Halloween, and I have a foot of snow sitting outside my window. There is something very wrong with this picture. Just saying.

Anyways, HI! Awesome to see you here on chapter 10! You are to be commended! Especially my awesome reviewers, they completely make my day and/or week. And to my anonymous reviewers, I really wish I could reply to you. I really, really apperciate it. So thank you. And Bobadoo... My awesome beta and sounding board. I'm just going to leave it at "PUDDING!"

Enjoy! : D

I paused for a moment. Now that I actually looked at the crowd, the idea of a little self-editing suddenly seemed really appealing. The amount of people here had double from yesterday. Did I really want to tell them everything? I could remember every single cut, every single caress of his blade. I still carried more than a few scars from that night, mentally and physically. Hell, I still had the odd nightmare about it. I glanced at a somewhat compassionate-looking Becky, and she gave me an encouraging nod. I wet my lips before continuing.

"It's kinda hard standing up here and telling you our story. I mean, it's not like I'm a ghost or anything. I'm a living, breathing, somewhat sane person. You already know that I can't die… permanently, or get seriously hurt. And that almost takes the fun out of the storytelling. You already know, or have probably guessed that a certain fallen angel met the sharp and pointy end of one of those Blades that can actually hurt angels. You know that me and Hershey come out the other end okay. I'm explaining this to you because I'm not going to walk through everything that happened that night with me and Tyler. Or Naamah, I suppose. That was what he was called back when he was still an angel. Tyler was just the name of the poor bastard that said yes to being an angel's condom. What I am going to tell you is that he had his fun. He used whatever knives he found in the drawers, some he magiced up for himself, and a very special one that I think used to be his Blade. That damned Blade was the worst. Normal Angel Blades are usually silver or have a blue tint to them. They're craved with Enochian symbols. They're one of the most awesome weapons someone can hold. The power and the purity that comes off them… Tyler's Blade wasn't like that. It wasn't like that at all. Something must have happened to it when he Fell, because it wasn't anything like what it should have been. It was rusted through in some parts. The blade itself was nicked and damaged. The symbols were blood red and the evil that came off it…" I shudder involuntarily. "It burned like acid when it touched me. It was searing hot, and so cold…" My hands gripped the sides of the podium, my knuckles turning white. Okay, definitely time to move on. "The whole ordeal lasted until sunrise. I only know that because I remember seeing the sunrise behind Hershey's face. It made him look like he had a halo." I smiled weakly for a moment. "One of the best paintings I ever did was from that memory." I was silent for another long moment, a hand idly tracing the 'S' shaped scar on the back of my other hand. "So I think that in total, I was there for about five hours. For my own remaining sanity, as well as for the sake of time, I'm going to skip over them. It was actually rather repetitive. Cut. Slice. Dice. Mock Hershey. Mock me. Heal me somewhat. Repeat. Hershey was silent the entire time. Well, either that or I just couldn't hear him over my screaming, but I'm pretty sure he was silent. Naamah wasn't smart enough to check in on him though. And I'm so very glad to say that his stupidity was his undoing."

2007

I flinched as Tyler trailed a finger down my arm, half-healing all the pain he had inflicted in the last hour. I watched as the skin puckered slightly, leaving pink, angry looking scars. Tyler hummed quietly as he walked back out of my line of sight. I was too drained to do anything more than try to curl myself into a tight ball. I hurt.

"I really love how corrupt some people are," Tyler commented after a moment. "The clerk at the front desk, Frank? He's just a human. I pay him a thousand dollars a month, and he doesn't question why people just seem to disappear whenever they go into my room. If there was ever someone to get their 'just deserts', I would recommend him."

"Great," I muttered, pain flaring up in my throat. I must had rubbed it raw screaming. He just continued talking as if I never said anything.

"You're not corrupt though, are ya Nicolette? Sure, your dad was, and he's probably in Hell right now, but you aren't! I can see fluffy white clouds in your future. And my brothers and sisters of course. The other angels, all up there in Heaven. Waiting for a Father that was never coming and fighting among themselves. It's a scary place up there, Heaven. If I kill you now, you'll stay dead. No one would be willing to risk going there to drag your soul back to this crap world. I'm doing you a favor. I know that you don't see it right now, but really, I am."

"Then just do it already," I said softly. Tyler crouched down in front of me and gently cupped my chin in one hand, forcing me to look at him.

"I told you that your Hershey Man was going to end up killing you."

"You're the one killing me."

"True," he admitted. "But this really is his fault. He's the one who brought you down here after all. He's the one who let you meet little, old me."

"Will you just shut up already? Seriously! I felt like stabbing myself with a spoon after the first five minutes!" Safe to say, that's when I actually began to hope that I would live through this nightmare. A small, relieved smile made its way onto my face as Tyler whirled around to see Loki lounging on the bed. A partially unwrapped Hershey's bar was in his hand, but he was just staring at it like it was the strangest thing in the universe. I don't think I had ever been happier to see the Pagan in my life.

"How-"

"Shouldn't have locked me in the bathroom," Loki interrupted, his gaze snapping up to lock onto the fallen angel. "Sure, it took me a bit, but it was way too easy for me to loosen a screw and get just enough of a steady drip, drop, drip. You didn't even hear it over the sound of your own self-important spiel, did you? Now why doesn't that surprise me?"

"What can I say? You just know me that well," Tyler said. Something about his tone made my skin crawl. It just wasn't right. He sounded almost like he was… pleased. It definitely wasn't the reaction one would think he would have. I mean, Loki was a very scary, powerful being when he wanted to be. What the hell was Tyler planning? Loki looked at him flatly before sighing.

"Cola?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think? Total annihilation, or just send his feathery ass back down to Hell. I'm sure the demons are itching to get a piece of angel ass, don't you, Tyler?" The god glanced over at me and smirked. "It's your call, Kiddo."

"I don't care. I just want him to be far, far away. I want to go home," I thought, subconsciously turning it into a prayer. "Please. I just wanna go back home and be normal again."

"Yeah. That's a given," Loki told me. I nodded.

"Thanks," I said softly, flinching when Tyler chuckled.

"So what's my verdict?" he asked, and he really shouldn't have sounded that smug. "Hell or death? Personally, I think you're going to try to kill me. Because you know that I'm going to climb my way back out eventually. Sure, it may be a few hundred years, but it also might be only ten." Even though he had his back to me, I just know that he was smiling. "And when I do, I'll be sure to pay Nicolette a visit."

"You talk way too much," I muttered.

"Yep," Loki agreed, "He's one verbose guy. And he's actually right for once. Cola, I would close your eyes for this one. Don't really feel like remaking eyeballs tonight." Okay, I'm not going to think about or question that last part. I was already huddled near a wall, so I scrambled as far away from Tyler and as close to Loki as I could until I felt the frayed wallpaper brush my fingertips. But like most things Hershey tells me to do, I didn't listen right away, eyeballs or not. I was glad that I did. That Blade. It had somehow made its way behind the god, and loomed up behind him silently. Hershey didn't seem to notice as he stretched and snapped the chocolate bar away.

"Behind you!" I yelled just as it darted forwards. My eyes flew shut as I waited to hear the sounds of the Hershey Man being impaled. It never came. What I heard instead was a cry of anguish that was unmistakably Tyler's. The pitch rose sharply until I had to cover my ears to a desperate hope to block out the ear-piercing sound. A light, so brilliantly bright even behind my eyelids enveloped the room. The light burned, just like that Blade. I screamed along with Tyler, and possibly after his cry ended. I couldn't hear anything over the ringing in my ears. Blue and orange starbursts glowed in the darkness. They were all I saw regardless of if my eyes were open or not. Two fingers gently touched my temple, and the starbursts and ringing in my ears disappeared.

"Nicolette?" Loki asked quietly. I slowly opened my eyes to see the sunrise behind Loki's concerned face. It almost looked like he had a halo. Like he was an angel or something. Not like Tyler though. One of those rare good ones that Hershey had told me about. How many days ago was that? Two? Three? It seemed like a lifetime.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Tyler tried to stab me in the back. You screamed, I ducked and stabbed that pompous ass through the heart. Thanks for the warning, by the way. I'm pretty sure you just saved my life."

"Oh."

"Yep." It was silent for the next few minutes, but it wasn't awkward. More of a 'Holy crap, that just happened, and I'm alive because of you, and holy crap that just happened!' kind of silence. I glanced down at my arm, frowning slightly at the fresh scars there. That'll be fun to try to explain away. "I can get rid of those," Loki offered, "If you want. Probably don't want anything to remember this by anyway." I quickly shook my head.

"No! No. It'll be fine. Just…"

"How do you feel about going back to your normal college life?" the god asked. I gave him a tired smile.

"No more being wanted by the FBI?"

"No more being wanted by the FBI," he promised. "Now close your eyes again and I'll just be a really bad dream."

"Bye Hershey," I whispered, closing my eyes.

"Bye Cola."

My stomach lurched suddenly, and I somehow tumbled onto the floor, hitting a coffee table with my elbow. I winced slightly as pain flared up, and slowly opened up my eyes again. What the hell was I doing on the floor? Perhaps more importantly, what the hell was I doing sleeping on the couch? I had a bed for a reason! I glanced around my familiar surroundings. Our apartment. Of course. Why did it feel like I wasn't in the right place? I felt a headache beginning to brew behind my sinuses as I sat up to glance at the clock. Four in the morning on the day after Valentine's Day. Great. Too early to really start my day but too late to go back to bed. And Stella was out being social with friends. I sighed, and quickly got an Advil in a vain hope to squash this headache while it was still only a minor annoyance. I poked my head into Stella's bedroom, sighing when she wasn't there. Hopefully she at least sent me a text telling me where she was spending the night. There was paper sitting on top of the printer when I made my way back to the main room. Curious, I grabbed it. Wait… this was my paper! How the hell did I finish it? I didn't even remember writing half of it. The only thing I really remembered was the fading recollection of one seriously weird dream. I was ninety percent sure that I was the Hershey Man was in there. Huh. Hadn't dreamt about him for a while now. And what was this about a fallen angel? Shrugging, I put my paper on the kitchen table and got the coffee machine up and running. I glanced briefly at the Hershey's bar sitting on the counter, and assumed it was Stella's. I certainly didn't buy it.

"And before you despair or get all worried, no. That wasn't the last time I saw Hershey. I was at Mystery Spot, wasn't I? And yes, I'm aware it seems like there's a few plot holes. What about all my new scars? What about the fact that I got transported about a week into my past? What about the fact that I was supposed to be wanted by the FBI, and that Sam and Dean kidnapped me? What about Tyler? Luckily, I don't see the bastard alive ever again. But relax. I'm nowhere near done telling our story. I still have two and a half years of material to get through."

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