Notes: thanks to everyone who's commented. As for typos, there are likely to be a few running about. I try to catch them all, but I don't have all that much time and Katerot's a worse speller than me! LOL If you spot a typo tell me just right where it's located and I'll try and get it corrected. still putting up fixed versions


Chapter 4


Ba'al woke on a couch, seemed to be a growing hobby of hers, how many couches she can wake up on. Only instead of ugly wall trophies staring down at her she found a rock gargoyle-like statuary.

She wasn't sure if it was an improvement.

"Awake?" she didn't reply to the voice only let her eyes scan the space till they landed on a man seated in a tall window acrossed from the lounger she was resting on. She slowly sat up ignoring him for the moment. Her head was splitting and she was fighting down huge gulfs of panic. Something inside her twisted and turned chaotically and she didn't know what to do with it. Her shirt was again ruined and bloody. She noticed her duffel bag so she was relieved to know she didn't have to run around in nothing.

She found a hand under her chin lifting her face and she gave a startled shout her foot lashing out. The man caught it and held her in place. "You really are quick, unfortunately you are only running on instinct at the moment. Like a small cornered animal, it hurt doesn't it? I can see that in your eyes, how much it hurts, coming back when you should be dead. Feeling like you aren't quite of this world anymore. It gets worse doesn't it? Each time it happens." he chuckled "Such delightful pain in your eyes, so expressive those eyes are little girl. Or are you, a little girl? How long have we missed you I wonder?"

Ba'al didn't bother trying to make sense of what he said. She didn't care. Her body screamed at her and itched in a way that was more inside than out. She longed to scratch at her skin till she ripped it off. Scream till the pain passed. Lash out at everything around her. She wanted escape, wanted to go home. To a place that felt familiar. The place with the ugly head on the wall she could somewhat recall.

She wasn't there and she didn't know what was happening.

She fell back from the man who still held her and started to scream, horrible wailing almost inhuman screams that ripped through her head.

The man watched on amused till suddenly the small hands he thought as nothing lashed out and dug into his throat. Gagging he pulled back trying to get the little hell beast to let go of him. Still she clung, the look in her pained confused eyes one of wishing to destroy anything, so long as it ended the pain in her own body.

With every ounce of strength in him he clawed her hands from his throat and managed to get some distance between him and this creature he now realized he knew nothing of. He watched her as she fumbled about, it was almost comedic if he didn't know first hand just how dangerous she was. She huddled down on herself curled over her knees and screaming, fingers pulling hanks of hair from her skull.

He backed up from this creature who suddenly noticed him again her eyes as silver as smelted metal and her face twisting into a mask, mostly pain and confusion, but she jumped at him.

He got out of the way which was what she wanted. She sailed past him and out the window. Darting after he reached out to try and grab the insane creature but too late. Arms held out from herself she fell down the long drop of the tower in the ancient ruins.

The man leaned against the ledge staring as he expected the figure to splatter herself on the ground and instead watched as she managed to twist cat-like and land, tucked into a ball, rolling to take as much momentum off the fall as she could before she crashed into large pillars raising dust and sand behind her.

"Maybe the tower wasn't the best place to keep her after all" he said to himself and turned to walk over to the duffel bag. She had gone through it and he noticed items missing. So she had enough sense to grab clothing. Picking up the bag he thought a long moment.

Before tossing it out the window she jumped from.

This would prove interesting after all. A very interesting game indeed.

But I will have you little goddess, he thought with amusement for the nickname when she sung on stage, a play off of the god she was named for.

An Uncle he believed, it was hard to say. Amusing how humans would worship anything in those old days. Ba'al had been keep secret since the massacre started, her family lines muddled. He ran a hand down the stonework that held the story of her people. The story he had hoped she would see before her end. It seemed poetic that way, to tell her everything, then sacrifice her for the power she held. Let her know why they were doing what they were doing, and what she will power exactly.

The end of the known world wasn't that large a thing after all. She would be the key. To open the locked gate in these ruins. To release all of demon kind onto the earth. She would become the key to the extinction of not just her race, but the human race as well.

Truly poetic.


Dante turned the medallion in his hands. The first of several actually. He hunted around the bodies, the ones that turned to dust and the ones left behind to gather flies. Nothing much besides the usual, but several had these medallions. Tokens of a place he'd never been to, but once he had the image he was able to locate where the demons had gotten them. Hunting through several dusty old books he wasn't even sure anyone had looked at for some time.

He didn't bother reading, not at first. Always his mind going back to how they slipped past him. DANTE, the surge of the demonic world, and they got past him. Teeth gritted his fist clenched and the ancient stone of one of the amulets shattered in his grip. It was a simple job! Just protect a girl named Ba'al and everything would be fine and dandy. But he failed his mission, and worst of all she still had his coin. He picked up another medallion from the small pile and shattered it as well. It still didn't make him feel any better. This was more than personal now. There was no way some stupid bitch assed demons where going to get the best of him!

He finally began to read and located the place on the old tokens easily enough, A'ashigesh, a ruins belonging to an extinct race. Dante thought that sounded more like Ba'al's people. After all, she was the only endangered being he knew of currently. Made sense in a weird way, take her to a place where her people died to kill her.

Made perfect sense.

He was so going to ruin their plans. He placed this medallion in his pocket and got up. Leaving everything as it was he went outside to get his motorbike. It was going to be a very long journey and unlike usual he was not given any transportation but his own.

Just more stuff to add to his already bruised pride. He was going make each and every one of them pay for touching her, that was for sure.


Ba'al looked into the still water. The first source she'd located in awhile. Carefully she leaned over it staring at herself. It was dark hard to make out the image but the white chunks of hair stood out against the darker mass like a sore thumb. She frowned, it wasn't like she could find a drug store and Clairol around here. She leaned her face down next to the water and took the tiniest sip, then spat it back out again. Stale. The water was no good to drink. With a sigh she washed her hands of stuff from demons and that man in the tower. She pulled the duffel bag closer to herself and hunted for something that wasn't torn and dirty from her last 'death' and once dressed sat next to the still water with her knees pulled up against her chest. She rather wished she had something a little less like a bra and more like a shirt, but then it was Dante who got her clothing. She sighed silently and rocked in place. This last time was worse, infinately worse, than the time before. It took longer for her to come back to herself. Each time it was like something in her twisted and changed. Something she swore should be more noticible on the outside. Maybe it was just her perspective, she wasn't sure.

Fishing her in pants pocket she came up with Dante's coin and stared at the lady on the face she gritted her teeth and told herself she'd kick her own ass if she cried. As it was she stared at the coin and took a slight breath "I don't feel very lucky right now Dante" she murmured to the coin. "I.. I'm going to die here." she sniffed wetly and rubbed her tired eyes.

She froze at a sound and then moved slowly inching around a large hybrid looking cross animal statue hiding from the group of demons, dog headed things vaguely resembling Anubis, the Jackal God of Egypt.

She would fight, if she would die she would take as many of them as she could with her.


Dante growled. She had just spent hours on various public transports. From airplanes to a bus where he had to sit on the sandwiched between an old man and his chickens who sang off key the entire ride, and a couple kids who spoke surprisingly good English and had more questions than he had answers for, or patients.

Now he was staring at the ruins he wanted after tramping through dense, wet, jungle. Rain still fell adding insult to injury on the demon hunter.

He kept telling himself it was for the money, and the pleasure of peeling whatever the old man didn't pay out of his hide, but the closer he got the more uneasy he felt. It was like something nagging at the back of his head, the feeling of being watched and followed but not able to find whoever it was that followed him. Facing the gate he looked up at two huge statues carved into the walls. The lower halves like cats seated regally and on guard, the upper half had a set of breasts that would look really good on a hooker, and faces of women with hair done up in some elaborate style. Bits of plaster paint till stuck to them in places showing they use to be colored and likely looked quite lifelike in their hay-day.

Eyes closed they both faced down at the path watching all who would pass under their aristocratly carved noses.

For some reason he hated them on sight.

Walking slow he thought about his battle plan, sure he knew there would be traps and ambuses and likely more demons than hell had right to claim running about. That wouldn't stop him though, he had a good plan. Get in, find Ba'al, kick whatever's ass is in his way and get out again. Simple and too the point. He nodded to himself and started walking with a fierce purpose. He looked around casually and smirked "No butler, no guide, no wonder this place is dead on tourists."

Then he stopped and stared up at one of the statues. The one on his right suddenly had eyes open and was staring down at him. The barest glow to the pearl like eyes watched him without blinking.

"What the..." he pulled his guns and locked them for firing, looked like getting in wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. The one he was looking at parted lips and showed rows of teeth as pear-like as the eyes, and likely sharp as they were pointed.

He was thrown forward as it was the one behind him that attacked, laughing uproariously as it swatted at him like a cat and he the new red ball. He rolled to the side and managed to come up shooting "Now what kind of welcome is that ladies? Don't like company much do you." and he opened fire.

The bullets had a hard time impacting on the stone surface before him. The two laughed and started to circle him like a pair of cats, each moving opposite of the other. So that to face one was to leave himself vulnerable from attack from behind. He had a feeling next time wasn't going to be quite so 'friendly' a swat. He pointed his guns, one behind one in front and proceeded to fire. The one he was facing ducked down under his shot. They might have been made of stone, but they moved like sand. Which was really a bitch. Just proved that the gods where sick bastards to think up these two. Behind him the other jumped over his bullets and dove at him. His roll and scramble for safety was not at all elegant or well timed. He scooted back on his butt just barely getting out of the way as a paw as wide as his hips shot down and slammed the ground before him.

He stared at the paw a long moment his mind completely blank for once of all retorts. Then he had to roll and crab-walk hastily away, from behind the one in front of him the other attacked. He managed to get into a better roll and roll to his feet rather than scooting about on his butt. While the two cat things got themselves organized again he quickly looked around and suddenly his grin was back in full force, "Here kitty kitty kitty" he taunted beckoning to the two feline like statues who both turned hate filled eyes onto him "I got some nice catnip right here!" and with that he turned and ran back towards the entrance.

With him running away both followed and couldn't use the same tactics of before of getting him looking at one and the other attacking. He had to be fast, he noticed that these two would attack from any direction they could get an opening at. So he couldn't let them get close enough for one to jump over him. He came to the wall and adding a burst of speed ran right up it. When the momentum was not enough to keep him going vertical he pushed from the wall and then pushed again seemingly right off the air. With a flip he pulled his guns just at the two cat things still traveling too fast to try and reach him hit the wall. They had been trying to slow and stop, but where so close to each other that they ended up only crashing into a pile of stone work and chaos. Dante had plans to fire at them when he had a clear shot, if not he would still fire anyway.

As soon as he was clear before his hit the ground behind the two creature who turned on each other and were squabbling he noticed why they kept their backs to him.

The rather large blue and green gems on their backsides made lovely targets. Tagging them both he opened fire on those gems. One turned as soon as the first shot came close to the sensitive gem and the other was a bit slower and got a butt full of lead. The stone cracking.

Dante smirked, yes, once again he would beat whatever hell threw his way, save the girl, and go home to the ring of the cheers grateful world in his ears. As he felt the impact of a small rock with his head that one of the cat things flung at him he mentally corrected himself, he'd get the ringing of something in his ears that is.

He ignored the small trickle of blood. Head wounds always bleed the worst. The screaming one charged at him. Howling rage and pain he took aim "Cat's whine to much" he informed it and with a slight crouch jumped into the air and then used the things face to make another jump putting him in perfect alignment with the cracked gem. Pulling his sword blue lightning crackled along the blade as he struck down and shattered the gem.

The cat statue screamed pain and crumbled to dust and rubble. He turned to the other one that was back a bit, some damage done from the impact with the wall to the pretty stone face, which was now snarling at him. He wiped the trickle of blood from the side of his face and gave the thing a cocky grin "I got one of you, so why don't you just lay down and take it like a bitch? Oh wait, oh wait, you're feline"

The thing only snarled more and slowly inched to the side in a low crouch. He inched with it. The taunt didn't work, this one was much smarter than the other. In fact he realized that the other had been the distraction, this one had done a majority of the attacking, "Looks like I have a challenge this time" he said softly and then hastily scrambled back a few steps as the thing charged then stopped and slowly began inching to the side.

He felt like he was being herded somewhere and he really didn't like that. With it's slow deliberate moves he couldn't take his eyes off of it for a second. If he did then it would have him and it would be game over.

Suddenly his boot heel hit air and he knew what it had been doing. It had been herding him to a pit that was to the side of the entrance. A long dark drop he only noticed in passing as an obstical to avoid, and now he was being pushed right to it.

"Oh so that's your tactic, well it's not going to work on me!" he shouted at it.

The things grin was evil as it suddenly pounced aiming to knock him into the pit as if to say "Frankly buddy it just DID."

He didn't move, he waited till the very last moment possible and grabbed at the things face before kicking off of it. Letting it use it's own momentum to rush right into the pit. It slowed enough that it looked like it would be able to turn and grab the edge. Kicking off of it he pulled his guns and opened fire on the gem, with both wailing on the creature at close range it quickly cracked and shattered.

The creature screamed and swiped out with a paw trying to catch him and drag him with it as its parts began to turn to dust and tumble into the blackness of the pit behind it.

Dante stumbled back the thing catching his shirt. It ripped but he held firm on the ground as the creature's dying wails faded and only the sound of falling rock could be heard.

He leaned over his palms on his knees and guns still pointed out "Dammit!" he cursed looking down at the torn shirt "This is just my week for shirts! But.. SHIT! Even the HOMELESS get to keep their shirts!" turning he put his guns away and managed to take off the shirt. He used the scraps to make sure his head still wasn't bleeding. It wasn't, but he still had a small mess to clean up.

This all had really better be worth it in the end.

Chibi Intermission 1

Chibi Dante (here on out called "CD") with his shirt all torn up. "Aw man! This sucks! Oh well, what can I say? You just can't conceal perfection!" poses and looks as macho as a chibi can.

In pops the chibi hordes of hell. (From here on out called CHH, since Chibi Demons would be CD too and that get's confusing) "RAAARG!"

CD blinks as he finds someone mysteriously has painted a bulls-eye on his naked chest "What? Hey what gives?" Looks at the demon horde "I Chibi Dante, the demon slayer AND the man who's just too sexy! Shall SLAY THEE!" he runs at them with little guns flaring "ARRRRRR!" Pauses thinks a moment "No that sounds too pirates-ish, um how about 'AHHHH!"

CHH "Sounds good either way"

CD "Cool! OK! HAVE AT THEE!" waves small electric covered blade around, looks like a tazer.

CHH have a target thanks to the bulls-eye and run at him in a huge mass, "RAAAARG!"

CD stops, blinks, has a blond moment and then suddenly points up at the sky "OMG! Like what's that behind you?"

CHH all stop and look behind them, when they turn back they find CD missing with only a picture painted on the ground of CD giving them the finger and saying 'bite me!'

CHH blinks at the symbol "..." all start prancing about angry like "RAAAAARG!"

CD is sittin' cool on a beach somewhere with various ladies giving him massage for different parts of the body, "Oh yea, this is so the life."

End Intermission 1