Death.

The whole earth reeked of death. It was a combination of plagues and blood and sorrow.

Hotaru hated the smell. She hated the sight. There was no sign of green or life anywhere. All trace of beauty had been sucked from the world just like the other angels had been sucked to god-knows-where. She saw the air and looked towards the ground - both were infected with particles similar to dust and sand. It was befitting, seeing as how most of the world became a desert.

People were locked in their homes when there weren't any ways or battles being fought. Hospitals were at maximum capacity with children and young adults - holy sites were also experiencing the same phenomena. She smiled bitterly - funny how humans, when desperate, turn to a high power when in desperate situations. Funny how they now choose to believe.

She sighed, feeling weak and cold. The temperatures were dropping low, and at a quick rate. She felt her body going numb and uncomfortable with all going on. She desperately wished to be free from this suit she wore, free to do what she wished and not feel the pain of using too much magic. Very slowly, she unleashed her feathery white wings, sighing deeply as this was as close to freedom as she could feel. She stretched them high, feeling relief as they began to get flexible with time. Then she wrapped them around her body as their warmth would help her body.

She sat on the edge of a high, but almost crumbling building. She glanced over the horizon once more, feeling pain in her heart as she felt everything going wrong with the world. She was Sandalphon, angel of silence and rebirth. Her other half, angel of annihilation and destruction. As long as she existed, life would exist. For every human dying, another was born from the essence of Hotaru's existence. As long as she was alive, after all this, the world would be reborn into its former glory. In order to fully recover from this collapse, the world would have to be born anew. S

She felt so tired and exhausted, feeling like as life was diminishing, she, too was diminishing.

Without her other half to support her, she felt exposed, weaker, and much alone. She desperately wished this kind of fate to be gone, but she knew that it was to protect Sammy. Sammy wanted this so Hotaru would never be used and tortured like Bunny was. She smiled inwardly, remembering his love and affection towards her, and let that spread through her whole body, giving her the energy she needed.

With Trista's passing, the whole group started to function a bit more in remembrance of her sacrifice. After a few days of mourning the loss of their mates, the girls started to take a stand and lead the rest of the angels into battle mode. They trained harder and learned how to become a group and support one another. Though the foundation was shaky, Bunny seemed to hold it together. Being the general, she operated the rest of what was left of the angels as an army. She made them into the soldiers they were once, and it seemed nothing could stop them.

Hotaru could see it in Bunny's eyes how truly broken she was. Yet Hotaru saw how she covered that up, needing to be a leader and not trying to mourn. But she seemed to be doing that alot, and Hotaru been through enough lifetimes to understand sooner or later, Bunny would break.

She felt a presence joining her on the roof. "Hey Hotaru," Bunny spoke in a tremulous voice, and sat beside her friend with her feet dangling like that of a child.

"Hey Bunny," she smiled, flashing her bright amethyst eyes to reassure her friend. She noticed how Bunny looked at her wings, and winced inwardly.

"Here," Bunny offered warm, soft bread, and ate some herself. "So, why did you ask to meet me here?"

"Just thought a break would do us good, don't you think so?" Hotaru bit into the warm, flaky roll, savoring its delicious taste. It seemed food like this was scarce to humans, so she made sure to savor it well.

Bunny sighed, feeling her gold hair. "We cannot rest until Iblis is caught. He has to be stopped. He is one step ahead of us, and we need to find a way to counter that." she set her food aside, not feeling hungry.

"How do you plan to end everything? Iblis is strong, he has so much hate in his heart - his mind is twisted and he cannot be stopped. When we capture him, what do we do to him?"

Bunny stayed silent. She saw the hate of Iblis towards humans and his reaction against them. She felt his hate with every twist of the knife he inflicted upon her, she felt it when he ripped away her wings for information - he was indeed twisted with so much cruelty. But when she really thought about it, she also felt sadness, pain, and loneliness from him. Everyone saw a cold hearted djinn who wanted to destroy humans, but Bunny saw a djinn so filled with pain, sorrow and loneliness inflicted upon him and jealousy to take out on the humans who had His love.

Bunny saw a lonely djinn that just felt so much pain from rejection from an entity he loved. She knew because she experienced the same as she went through with her foster parents. She wanted acceptance and love from them, but all she got was rejection and pain. But even though she had found a family to go to, Iblis had no one. He was alone. Angels and djinn rejected him, blaming him for causing their downfall. In his loneliness his mind became twisted and corrupted - rejected by his friends, he faced the pain alone. He had no love. He had no one.

'Torture time!' his shrill voice echoed in her head, and flashes of that moment made her stop for a moment.

"I will kill him with the sword, and then things will be alright. If he lives, his hatred will destroy Earth." She whispered. "Its better if I die."

"Why? Trista has urged us to not blatantly kill him with our hatred - it won't truly stop him. His hatred will still affect the earth until we are all called back. We need to find a way into him..."

Bunny didn't reply. She just stared in the distance blankly, covering her emotions and trying to be strong.

Hotaru paused. "Bunny, I know you want to be strong and lead us to victory and save the world. But you can't go on like this. You are covering your emotions too much - soon it will become too much for you to handle and you will burst." Hotaru looked to her friend with worry. "Your emotions will cause your magic to rampage inside your body...you will destroy yourself..."

"I can't," Bunny's voice shook.

"Why not?" Hotaru looked desperately at her friend. "You can't go on like this. Not one person can be this strong. You must let your emotions come free and let yourself break down."

Bunny felt hot tears drowning her face, and her whole body began to shake uneasily. "I was always ordered to be strong and hide my emotions," she recalled her experience at her home before coming here. Her foster parents always scolded her for crying whenever she got hurt. Happiness, too, was an emotion to be hidden. IF she showed emotions that could possibly disturb her them, she was shut off from the world.

"I was never allowed to show weakness, or I was shut off." Bunny broke into uncontrollable sobs, and she hid her face, wiping away her puffy face so she could get better. "They shut me off, and I became alone and cold until I did something to make them proud. I hated it so much... it was like I screamed voicelessly, desperate for someone to see me. And as I screamed for the last time, I found you guys," she smiled through the tears. "But then Iblis... he made me feel like that once more, and its hard to get rid of... All of you helped, but Darien..."

Hotaru hugged her friend tightly, starting to cry as well. They shared in each other's pain. "Iblis destroyed your link between you and him... He destroyed the threads that connected the both of you since our creation." Hotaru put her hands on Bunny's head, and looked through her head.

"I miss him so much, I don't know if he is dead or being tortured," Bunny hiccuped, feeling so much pain. "I feel lost and I feel like I can't do anything at all." she began laughing bitterly. "I can't recover fully from what Iblis has done to me, I can't forget, but Darien made me forget, and now that he's gone I feel like I'm going insane and drowning in Iblis' madness." she held Hotaru tightly. "I lost Sammy, I failed you, I failed to protect him, everything is wrong!"

"I miss him too," Hotaru whispered.

"I can't believe you go lifetimes living like this," Bunny choked, hunching over to catch herself. "I hate myself for everything wrong I have done."

"We'll make it better, Bunny," Hotaru replied with confidence.

Bunny just laughed, but there was nothing genuine in the laugh. She felt pain coming back from the torture, and felt her mind drowning in Iblis' realm of insanity. "I want this to be over..."

"It will be over-" but before Hotaru could continue, she was attacked from behind and fell to the ground.

Bunny felt herself being kicked as well, and she caught a glimpse of her attackers - demonic djinn creatures grinning madly. Iblis' creations. Hotaru unleashed her wings and held herself in midair, quickly catching Bunny and landing on the ground.

"What do they want?" Bunny questioned.

The demons, seeming to hear, pointed at Hotaru. Bunny widened her eyes at the realization. 'If Hotaru is killed, there will be no way for the world to be reborn.'

The demons quickly flew in just as Bunny unsheathed her sword to protect Hotaru, who seemed to realize as well and brought out her weapon, a long staff with what seemed to look like a silver 'G' at the end.

The enemies flew in, holding Bunny to the ground and digging their claws into her skin, making her scream. She tried kicking at them, but it seemed to not work for them. She heard Hotaru struggle with demons attacking her ferociously, and that's when she ignited her skin to temperatures exceeding the boiling point of water. The demons screamed in pain, and Bunny quickly fended them off and went to help Hotaru. Hotaru looked pale and weak, yet she fended off the demons well. She stabbed him, and he disappeared. But more of those creatures appeared just as quickly, and while Bunny tried to signal for help, she was concentrating on protecting her friend.

Help did come in the form of her friends, who sliced through the demons as though they were nothing. "What's happening?" Rei asked.

"They are trying to kill Hotaru!" Bunny replied, holding a large gash from bleeding.

While recruitment from her side came, more demons appeared by the dozen, seeming to be more ferocious and blood thirsty than before.

"We need to get Hotaru to a safe place!" Lita yelled, and with the other girls, surrounded Hotaru so she would be protected.

Rei released an arrow, destroying all the demons that were making their way towards them. Amy unleashed a spell, making it so the demons that were hit would be drowning with the water filling their throats, and while they were distracted, Mina destroyed them.

Amara flew to the sky and unleashed sonic blasts to vaporize all the demons, but she felt her foot being clawed by a large black ugly beast. She looked to see a hell hound dragging her down like a chew toy and throwing her to a building. Hell hounds arrived, growling and ready to kill and feast upon flesh.

Bunny realized these were Lucifer's dogs, and that they were under a dark spell put upon by Iblis. She stopped them from running with a raise of her hand, and used her mind to break the seal the dogs were placed on. But, by being distracted, a demon clawed at her shoulder, digging it's poison filled teeth in deep; the dogs surrounded her and started to claw at her as well.

Bunny punched the creatures off of her with a firey hand, hurting all of them in the process, and quickly got up to help. But what she saw was something she didn't want to see.

Hotaru was laying lifeless, some of her limbs disembodied from her body. Her breath was short and quick, and she began to turn white. "Hotaru!" Bunny screamed, running towards her friend in tears.

"I wasn't strong..." she whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't fend myself..."

"No.. no... no you can't die!" Bunny screamed, feeling this death infect her mind with sorrow. "You have to stay alive - for Sammy!"

"I can't..." Hotaru choked on her own blood. "I am too weak to exist. You can't keep me alive... Without a body... My existence-" her eyes suddenly turned black, and she gasped. "They are taking me-!" and Hotaru was gone.

Bunny felt her blood run cold, and she began to get numb. "No... Hotaru! What happened?" Anger fueled in her like gas and fire mixing when her friend didn't answer. Her eyes caught the escaping hounds and demons - she bolted after them.

She jumped and latched onto one of the creatures, dangling as they flew into the air and opening a portal into their own world.

"Bunny! Let go!" Rei screamed as the girls started chasing after her.

"Where is she?" Bunny questioned, hoping to get an answer

The creatures only laughed, continuing their journey away.

Rei released an arrow, hoping to separate the two so Bunny would be safe, but the creatures grabbed the arrow and sent it back towards the crowd. The ground quaked and inflamed at the impact. The girls released their wings and flew towards their dangling friend.

"Bunny! Let go!" Amara tried to grab her friend, but the demon djinn moved around too quick. The effect caused Bunny to became motion sick and queasy.

Before Bunny knew it, she felt herself going through the gateway between the human world and the djinn realm. Bunny looked up to see the gate closing instantly, with her friends barricaded from her. An angel was tied up, suspended in the air with chains, bloodied and bruised. Bunny realized it was the angel who guarded the gateways, Zerachiel. Iblis must have gotten to him.

She glanced forward, seeing the doors to the Djinn realm opening up; above were the gates of Heaven, and below were the stairs to hell.

Realizing she would be taken to Iblis if she hung on any longer, Bunny gripped the creature's leg and summoned bombardments of energy inside of him - her magic ignited through its veins. And, as she crossed through, the creature exploded.

Bunny fell a high height before being slammed onto the ground. She cursed at herself for letting her angel wings be ripped away, but shook her head and looked up.

She wasn't prepared for what she saw.

All around her, spiraling in a circle high as the sky, were vaults. In those vaults were silvery gold smoky figures, with names underneath. She approached cautiously to the vaults, afraid to spark any reaction - the plaque underneath read Araquiel.

Bunny gasped, backing away only to fall on her behind. Her hand found its way to her mouth. These were angels taken from their body to be held here. She looked at the ground, noticing cylindrical vaults attached to a spherical object in the middle of the circular room. She stood up and looked in the middle, touching the glass sphere. She felt an infinite amount of magic and energy in the sphere pulsing as though alive, which radiated out somewhere. When she looked harder, she saw a figure curled up in a ball - a figure with tousled caramel hair and a lithe body that she could connect to.

"Sammy!" she gasped, tears finding their way to her eyes.

"Don't break it." a voice cautioned. Bunny snapped around, summoning a sword and getting into battle position. She relaxed when it was the face of a djinn she was familiar with, the warm hazel eyes paired with the jagged scar.

"Malakai..." she whispered, dissolving her sword.

"Hello Seraphiel." he smiled, walking towards her. "I am glad to see you, yet also not glad at the same time."

"Why?"

"You are an angel - your presence can draw even a baby djinn here." Malakai explained, his eyebrows narrowing with concern. "What happened?"

"I..." Bunny's voice began to shake. "The demons came after Hotaru - Sandalphon - and they... they disembodied her."

"It's Iblis plan, I'm afraid." Malakai walked, gazing at the captive angels. "He destroys the bodies of angels so they can't be reformed in this lifetime, and then takes their soul away to this... prison." his eyes lowered with disgust. "He binds their soul here. It's so they can't be reborn yet until they are released from here, and they provide him an infinite source of power through which your brother will be able to release Armageddon unto the world until the world finally gives up and humanity dies."

"He... He binds the souls here?" Bunny widened her eyes. "How? Isn't that supposed to be a secret except for-"

"Except Raziel, your friend Trista, died to save you all. Thus, all the secrets she guarded were free for Iblis to go through."

Bunny felt like throwing up. She thought Iblis couldn't be anymore disgusting. "All the angels are here?" she asked.

"Yes,"

Bunny felt her heart pick up. "Do you know where Metatron is?"

Malakai looked up at her, as if hoping she wouldn't as that. "You should not look for him. It will only leave you in more pain."

"I need to know where he is!" she almost yelled.

As if defeated, Malakai took her hand gently. "Hold on." His wings released, and he flew up into the air with Bunny holding onto him. Malakai flew high, passing through hundred of angels, all who screamed at Bunny to help her. To release them from their prison. The voices hurt her heart, but she couldn't do anything unless she saw where he was.

They flew for a few minutes until Malakai flew forward and landed on the level. Bunny shook heavily.

Darien was on his knees, hands suspended in the air, his head lying lifelessly. His soul was surrounding his body, formless and free, yet restricted by the vault.

"Darien..." she whispered, falling to her knees with her hands on his vault. "Darien..." tears fell down her eyes. She was so close to him.

"I'm sorry," Malakai offered his condolences. "I am unable to do anything..."

Bunny put her forehead onto the glass. She searched and searched through their connection threads, hoping to be able to reach him. But nothing came through. She couldn't find him, she couldn't even comfort him if he was suffering like she was. Tears fell down her eyes. What if he was suffering like she was? What if Iblis tortured him? What if he took away his wings?

She stood up, and looked at the level Darien was on. She saw her friends' in the same state as her soul mate was. "How long has he been doing this?" she inquired.

"Your mother and father were the first to suffer; he brought them here by taking advantages of solar or lunar events, but he began binding after Raziel died. He put the angels in these vaults, using his dark magic to stop them or put them in an unconscious sleep so that they would be unable to escape before the binding."

"I thought you said all the angels Iblis had captive were freed..." Bunny looked back, searching for an answer.

Malakai replied, "We did free them - but Iblis... he recaptured them. He put trackers on all of them so they would never truly be able to escape..."

As Bunny walked, Malakai followed behind her. She saw her second mother, Luna, whose body was frail and old with decay. Artemis was in the vault next to her, along with Amy's parents.

"How is it Sammy's body isn't destroyed?"

"He is in a suspended state of life and death; he is unable to live truly, but he cannot die. All the magic being entered in his body acts as an outlet to the Human World, being spread out as plagues."

Bunny furrowed her eyebrows, looking down at the sphere containing her brother.

"Is there anyway to stop this?"

Malakai looked somberly to Bunny. "You will not like the answer."

"I don't like seeing my friends suffering, or this world." Molly and Melvin's dead faces haunted her eyes. She couldn't abandon this world to ruin. "I have already marked myself with the sword. I'm due to die. So I have nothing left to lose, except my friends."

Malakai sighed, looking over the railing. "It takes the power of 3 angels to destroy this, 3 very powerful angels using all their magic. Iblis put up defenses, but I can disable them. The machine that is transporting the plagues will be destroyed. But Iblis will come. He will see this... you must be certain about what you are doing."

"I am certain... But I am just one." Bunny gripped strands of her hair helplessly.

Malakai smiled then. "But I am a djinn - I can help you get more."