A/N: I missed her and her witty words. Truly, I do. I kept up writing because she said so. Anyway, after a rather tiring pursue of Daemon's plot bunny, (surprisingly stumbled into the Butler's plot bunny along the way - feel free to read my latest bunny, link on my profile page), I have wrung its neck and it's time to continue this story and see where our Daemons and Angeluses stand now in the power struggle. Mind the time jumps – I have a habit of doing that with this story. Typed with Evanescene's Lithium singing in the background, accompanied by Marilyn Manson's Tainted Love. Disclaimed. Chapter 12 will be up tomorrow, I need to get that out of the way. Ugh. *looks at the pile of notes I have to analyse*

Chapter 11: The Clock Is Ticking

Pandaemonium,
Capital City of Infernus,
The Week of December 24th.

"Your Majesty! We cannot get through the portal! We have exhausted every means! Without the High Priestess we cannot conjure a spell strong enough to retaliate Father Time's reversals! We need to find another tear in Father Time's spider web! He is creating a different spell now and every time we come close to reversing the incantations, it changes by itself and we're back in square one!" reported one of the lower priests from the High Priestess Chambers, his knees knocking together at the sight of the Infernus Beast.

"I'll tear your guts out, feed you to the serpents and throw your carcass into the river Acheron if you keep dawdling in front of me! What in hell's name are you doing here for? Get back there and find me an opening! The week is almost up! My children will be eighteen soon and I can feel it in my guts that those bastards are trying to lengthen the curse!" Lucifer roared angrily, sending the lower priests scattering back to the Chambers.

The week before Lucifer had managed to tear a large hole in Father Time's curse and bridged the path between his children, it had taken all his energy to mask his doings from the sharp noses in Heaven. Despite his arrogance, Father Time was a formidable foe. He suspected the barrier had been breached and had worked tirelessly with the prime angels to find the tear while working on a reversing spell to counter attack anymore attempts on the spider web. Heaven's Father, God, had helped him strengthen the webs and placed a curse in the incantations that will render any magick casted upon it useless.

Slamming a bestial fist onto the golden circular table of the throne room, the mighty beast stood on his hind legs and roared in a ferocious rage. Tremors could be felt through the grounds of Pandaemonium and the skies of Heaven, turning heads towards Infernus's Royal Castle. Lesser demons cowered in fear in his presence as the beast prowled the throne room; smashing everything he could put his hands on. He was unable to do anything until his powers recovered and by then it might be too late. He was locked out of his own children's minds.

All their hard work, breaking the pieces of the curse, will be for naught if his children could not remember the real reason for their ascend to Mother Earth. The Light of God must be destroyed!

The angels in Heaven, on the other hand, although assured by God, could not help feeling the backlash of the mighty Devil's anger, whipping fear into their pristine hearts. For once, there was doubt amongst the angel legion. This time, the Fallen Angel, Sataniel was angered beyond anything they had ever experienced before. This time, the Morning Star, Lucifer, the Light Bearer, had finally struck genuine fear in the hearts of even the strongest of the angels. They feared his retribution. They feared his revenge upon Heaven who turned its back on him. They feared, ultimately, his return to the skies to waste them into nothingness.

"Archangel Michael, Angel of War, Brother; Lucifer means real business now. I have not felt that singular raging force since the day he left Heaven and to even reach Heaven, imagine what he could do if he truly were here," Raphael began the meeting. "I fear for the safety of Heaven's children if Infernus broke opened and swallowed Mother Earth,"

"I know Raphael. I know he will come back for us. I know in my heart, he will tear us into pieces the same way we had done to him," Michael answered quietly and wearily, the years were now showing on his face, "I know this is the most inappropriate time to bring this up, but that boy has grown in powers even I do not possessed. I am strangely proud of him,"

"Michael, he was – is – our brother. I wished we could turn back time and return to that day he was exiled from Heaven and righted what went wrong," Gabriel whispered, her cerulean orbs glistening with unshed tears, "I missed him, Michael,"

"We all do, Gabriel. I, more than most of you," Michael admitted quietly, earning the silent shock of his siblings, "He was the youngest after all. I taught him the swordsmanship until he bested even me in war. I doted on him so much but he has chosen his ways and we must now decide what we should do,"

In secrecy, the Guardians of Heaven, God's children and Prime Ministers held a meeting. The prime angels needed a way out. They needed time to build their armies. They needed the Light of God to disappear until time came to strike Hell and obliterate Infernus for good. They had to. They had to risk the angers of the Sisters Fate for their survival. They knew that the Sisters were neutral creatures, supporting neither Heaven nor Hell. They also knew that by breaking the threads of Fate forcibly, interfering with the Humans would cause the Sisters to retaliate in defense. The prime angels took a hard look at one another and nodded once, sealing their agreement. They drew blood from their forefingers and trace the curse into their armors' emblems and into their wings, tainting the pristine white wings a slight sheen of red. They were willing to pay the small price to their souls – forever carrying the taint of the sinner in the name of protecting Heaven and its children.

Children of Darkness,
17th Year of Births,
Two Weeks Before the Eve of Christmas
Day After The Reunion

Bloodshot amber eyes blinked open and found themselves in an unfamiliar room. The throbbing behind those eyes was enough to shut them again tightly. Curiosity got the better of them and they opened again to survey the surroundings. Taking a deep breath before sitting up, Masamune placed a hand on the floor to stable himself. He came into contact with something soft and feathery and looked down again in a slight daze. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of a beautiful girl lying next to him. Her face was covered in dried blood but other than that, she seemed fine. A black robe with peculiar golden symbols covered her from her shoulder downwards. The robe looked strangely familiar.

Tentatively, Masamune pushed the strands of hair away from her face and realized that he knew her. Somewhere deep inside him, he knew her. The thought of a lover came across his mind but that meandering thought was immediately squashed like an insect under a fly swatter. A dark ominous feeling accompanied it. It also didn't help that a chill crawled up his spine at that very thought. The thought of a sister, however, sent a feeling of warmth and recognition. He might not have all his memories from his previous life but his soul recognized what his mind couldn't. He knew this was the very same girl who appeared in his fragmented dreams. A sudden overwhelming desire to protect her overcame him and he scooted over to her, pulling himself closer to where her head laid.

The girl stirred under the warmth of Masamune's hands and her eyes opened lazily. She didn't move upon seeing the boy sitting across her looking down on her. She smiled uncertainly and closed her eyes for a brief second before she removed Masamune's hand off her forehead. Gingerly, she sat up and rubbed her throbbing temples. She had never used that much power in one go before, she thought dimly. She didn't seemed too surprise with Masamune's presence as though she had expected it. The stench of pungent blood hung heavy in the air and she inhaled deeply, effectively dispelling the headache she was sporting from having lain on the hard floor overnight.

"Ignis vigilaveris," She muttered quietly and a cold blue fire ignited from the tips of her right fingers. Lifting her hand, she flicked her wrist at the direction of the little girl's drained corpse and chanted "Mundabo sanguinem, mortuorum comburere".

At once the blue fire, luminous in its glow, cleanse the blood off her as she stood gingerly on her legs and burned any remaining evidence that the corpse was ever in her room to begin with. Masamune stood up as well and for the very first time, noticed a black raven with ruby red eyes eyeing him from its perch on the windowsill. As though remembering something long forgotten Masamune held his hand out towards the raven and whispered, "Venite,". The raven hopped for a second or two, finding its flight balance and left its perch by the windowsill. It flew towards Masamune's outstretched arm and as sharp talons made contact with pale porcelain wrist, immediately the raven morphed into the softest, most velvety material imaginable and cladded the demon prince in a robe similar to the girl who stood patiently behind him, watching his every move.

"Nii-chan, coffee?" The girl's voice interrupted his awestruck thoughts and Masamune spun around to face her.

She was already dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black tee with a v-neck – somehow he guessed that she could do so with the power of her mind – and a black raven was perched on her shoulder, eyeing him patiently to absorb all that was happening. A rumble bubbled from his chest and escaped his throat, and Masamune gave a hearty laugh. The girl smiled and leaned against the opened doorway at his reaction. She crossed her arms and the slight shrug caused the raven to shift as well, like it was a part of her, mirroring her moves. Recovering from the laughter, Masamune made his way towards her, smiling and stretching out his right hand. He pulled the girl into his embrace, her raven flying off to perch on her hat stand to give them both space.

"Raiu," he whispered as he held the girl closed to his heart, "Little sister,"

"Ah. Masamune, I can't breathe," Raiu returned the squeeze and stepped out of the embrace, still holding his hand, "Big brother,"

"Papa would be relieved. I still don't have my memories intact but Papa said it would come eventually," Masamune continued, following his sister towards the kitchen.

"Yes, I gather from Papa's words that we would eventually come into power when we turned eighteen which is…" Raiu followed soon after, ticking off her fingers.

"Two weeks from now, December 24th," they both answered in unison.

"Wait… Formantur," Masamune stopped in the middle of the hallway, his hand still linked to his sister's and held out his free hand – already he could feel the surge of electrical power coursing through him just underneath the surface of his skin – and immediately the robe he had on morphed into the shape of his raven, "Mortem," he called.

"Passio," Raiu followed suit, holding out her hand towards her raven.

Immediately both ravens flew to perch on their shoulders and both siblings looked at each and smiled in acknowledgement. Their familiars, Mortem and Passio, had been given life to protect the sacred ceremonial robes of Infernos. In two more weeks, their memories will be whole again and they will be able to return to Infernos to claim their original bodies and rightful place on the thrones of Hell.

It had been a few weeks ago when Ritsu had confessed to Saga Senpai and instead of rejecting him, he had asked Ritsu out and they ended up having a lot of fun discussing the books they had bought. The next day, however, Saga Senpai seemed to have had a Hyde and Jekyll personality switch overnight. When Ritsu approached him at the library, he had bitten his little admirer's head off and Ritsu, having swallowed the bitterness of Saga Senpai's lashings, had excused himself. The emerald-eyed teen was hurt, he wouldn't deny it, but he also couldn't help but wonder if something had happened to him at home for him to lash out at Ritsu like that. Ritsu had hoped the older teen was okay.

It had been raining that same day and Ritsu had wondered if his beloved Senpai had brought an umbrella with him. He shouldn't walk home in the rain, he might get sick. The teen remembered reaching home and took a spare umbrella with him. He remembered running back to the school and saw Senpai just in time, as he was about to leave. The teen was right; he didn't have an umbrella with him. Ritsu offered him the spare umbrella he was carrying and after an awkward silence, Saga Senpai asked, his voice filled with curiosity, if his young kohai was offended by his words earlier on.

"Senpai, if you needed someone to talk to, I'll listen. I can't solve your problems but if it will help you lessen the burden you are carrying, I'd gladly do it,". That was one hell of a confession.

The memory came unbidden to the center of his thoughts. That simple admittance had stirred something else in Masamune's heart and he found himself thinking of his little kohai that night. Winter was at its height and it was blistering cold right now. How he wished he had Ritsu in his arms, under the blankets, doing naughty things to him... He heard footsteps from behind him and Masamune turned away from gazing at the moonlit night, snapping the thoughts of his tentative love closed. A beautiful ravenette walked into the living room, dressed in a short night kimono that accentuated the length of her slim, porcelain legs, a black towel wrapped around her hair and two steaming cups of coffee in her hands. Walking over, Raiu handed Masamune a cup – of which he grunted his thanks – and stood across him by the windowsill.

"Nii-chan, why don't you confess to the girl already? It's obvious to me that you're in love with someone,"

Masamune smiled. Even though he had only met his true sister, it felt as though they could complete each other's thoughts, understand each other's stance and read between the lines without having to say a word. He felt almost complete. He wondered to himself what was missing from that equation. Ah, Papa, he thought. Somehow, after bending dimensions to their wills, their minds had been quiet. Raiu attributed it to the draining of powers. She recalled reaching a white, hot pain the moment Masamune emerged from the parallel portal, her breaking point, she described it. She told him how their Father had poured his energy into her, allowing her to sustain the portal's powers until Masamune had reached her successfully. Masamune nodded, more for himself. They will be complete. Soon.

"It's not a girl," Masamune answered his sister's original queries, drawing a befuddled expression that seemed very much out of place with his sister's usually nonchalant face before it smoothen out again.

"Ah… So you're into boys? Who would've known. We're similar on that page then," Raiu conceded, "I like girls myself,"

"A toast then! I wonder what Papa would think of us now?" Masamune laughed, followed by his sister's twinkling laughter and cups clinked in a toast.

"But really, Nii-chan, you should just confess and follow your heart. Who knows, he might be your soulmate," Raiu teased.

"I'm still wondering if demons have the ability to fall in love, imouto-chan. This pull though, is just so strong. What if it's not love? What if it's just lust?" Masamune replied, a sad smile on his face.

"Then enjoy the lust as long as it lasts," Raiu raised her mug matter-of-factly to her brother again and pushed herself off the windowsill, heading towards her bedroom in the now quiet apartment.

"Is that so…" Masamune wondered out loud.

He returned to gazing at the moonlit sky, void of stars, just the one singular, nearly full moon. He contemplated and mulled over his thoughts for a couple more hours, until his coffee had run dry. Lust? Was it really lust? He thought of Ritsu's thoughtfulness and his infectious happiness. He thought of the mindless stutters and the sudden confessions of love followed by the denial that he had ever said anything. He thought of the adorable blush that spread on his face every time Masamune caught him watching. Somewhere along the lines, he had begun to look forward to their time in the library together with this little bookworm. He smiled at the silver moon. Ah. What is this feeling? The quietness of his mind allowed him to really sift through the few times Ritsu had shown him another side of life that was completely different from the one he had led at home. He wished his Father was here. He would know what to do and set him on the straight path. His thoughts were now stubbornly fixed on an emerald-eyed teen who had inadvertently stolen his black heart, melting the icicle chains around it. He smiled, just thinking about him.

As the angels joined hands to form the Holy Circle, chanting an incantation as ancient as Time itself, they breached the thresholds that belonged to the Oracles. With fury that only the Sisters Fate possessed, they casted their own punishments into the world. A punishment that was unforeseen by neither Heaven nor Hell and will change the course of destinies for all the daemons and angeluses trapped in their human forms. A punishment that would be the destruction of both Heaven and Hell when it came to pass.

Yes, tomorrow. Tomorrow I will tell him.

I will tell him, I have fallen in love with him as well.

Masamune whispered a goodnight to his Kohai, wherever Ritsu may be and laid down on the sofa. His eyes slowly drifted to a quiet, dreamless sleep.