Author's Note: Chapter Six "LeFox's Issue" Illustration: http/img117.imageshack.us/img117/1386/scan0iy.jpg (Yes, I do like my magically-floating laptop, why do you ask?) Anyway, I don't recall saying this, but I did lose the complete Chapter Six (due to general stupidity and ignorance on my part, forgive me). I may retype the whole thing later. Or sooner, while it's fresh in my mind.

FoxFury: -hissy fit continues- Stuuupid FFnet owners... they make my life a living hell... they always have... bastards... always meddling in my affairs... damn them... and their little site, too...
Vidae: 8. LeFox will do as Pyro suggested, and beat herself up for not thinking about it in the first place...
Pyroclastic Flow: Yeah, that occured to me about five seconds after I saved the file for the last time... -.-; "Well, LeFox, you dumbass, what did you empty out the AzaleaRose LJ account for in the first place!" Yeah. Well, from now on, my more explicit stuff will go there... and the cut version will stay here.
Psychodog: -pats- Poor innocent mind... go to your happy place, find an Albel plushe, and snuggle with it for a while. It works for me. -grins- (Albel "plushie": Damn you to Daemonium, I am not a doll!)
Iconoclastic Orthodoxy: I swear, there is a plot behind this... I just have to build up to the point where I can actually use some of the key plot points... But anyway, I made use of the Grammatik feature on the last chapter! You, through your reviews, have done what no other human being alive could ever do - you've made me proofread. O-O!
Dark-pheonix1: Dude. "Fancult." Best. Word. EVER. -gives dark-pheonix1 a cookie- From now on, you are all members of the LeFox RomeroxAlbel Fancult. And for those of you who were fans of mine beforehand (Gemelli and Fury), you are members of the LeFox Fancult. Yeah, yeah, feel special. ...Anyway. -cough-
Cassy: Hey, it's you again! -happy- Being creative's what I'm not good at, unfortunately... ;-;

Warning: shounen-ai, yaoi.

Pairing: Romero and Albel

Afterlife

LeFox

Chapter Seven: You Fight for Me

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Albel winced, wondering for a moment whether or not he would be able to stand. Or walk, for that matter. Romero had been... frisky, to say the least, and a tiny bit aggressive... oh, hell, very aggressive. From holding him underwater for several minutes (as if he weren't choking enough by the end of the act) to chaining him to the bed (enjoyable, but a bit painful at times), the demon certainly hadn't held anything back... and if he had... Albel didn't want to know about it.

Now... to more current matters.

He glanced up. Yes, he was still chained quite firmly to the bed, though the black chains seemed to be losing a bit of their shine - the magic was fading away. One good tug with his metal arm, and - yes, they broke easily, all but disintegrating at the slightest pressure. Even his other arm was strong enough to destroy them. They hadn't been designed to last for more than one night, after all... "Why am I doing this? ...Would you believe me if I said I just..." The demon paused, searching for the right word. "...Felt like it?" Albel shook his head, sitting up slowly. So, he'd been left on the (not exactly clean) bed, while Romero went off elsewhere... He frowned angrily. Bastard. Muttering to himself, he pushed himself off of the bed...

...And promptly fell to the floor. Damn that Romero. He pulled himself back up, steadying himself against the wall. His head was spinning. He felt vaguely as if he'd had too much to drink, though it was probably from the blood loss...

Romero tipped Albel's head back slowly, running his lips slowly and softly over the man's still-wet skin. "Just relax," he half-sang, pricking the human's fragile skin with his fangs. His toungue flicked out eagerly, lashing against the small stream of blood trickling from the tiny speck of an injury. To his surprise, Albel locked an arm around his shoulder, holding him closer. The man's hand entwined tightly in Romero's hair, moaning softly as the familiar dizziness overtook him...

...It wasn't really the experience that was unpleasant. It was the way he felt now: unable to move, and unable to think. Where could Romero be...?

It occured to him that he had never been outside of Romero's room since his arrival. He had been there for several days now - though here, it seemed time passed much faster than in the mortal realm - and had never once set foot outside this room. A sudden curiosity overcame him, and he forced himself to move slowly toward the door, staggering as he went. There was a door on the far side of the room; an elaborate thing that never seemed to look the same way twice. Right now, it was covered in incredibly detailed roses, perfect right down to the thorns. They twisted and writhed across the black door, seeming to move in their motionlessness. Albel disregarded them completely, reaching for the golden doorknob... just beyond this door... beyond this room was...

...A hallway?

He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed as he shut the door behind him. It was a long, dark hallway. There wasn't even a door at the other end. He sighed heavily, turning to go back inside the bedroom.

"Albel." He looked back sharply. A door had appeared at the end of the hallway, and a reddish light emanated from it. The voice was unmistakably Romero's... and unmistakably a command. Albel walked down the hallway, scanning the blank walls impassively. What was this place? Nothing made any sense... it seemed like the walls were panels, and could slide open, perhaps... were there doors behind all of them? And if so, why hide them? He shook his head. Totally useless.

He entered the room at the end of the hall, leaning in the doorway. Sure enough, Romero was kneeling before a fireplace. A closer inspection revealed that he was holding his fiery sword, gazing at it intently as if it were a human being. The fire seemed to embrace the metal, curling around it almost like a hand. The demon looked up at him, smiling.

"...You're awake late," he commented, peering up at him. "I would have expected you to be awake a long time ago." Albel scowled.

"I'm sore. I won't be able to walk straight for a week. I have a pint, tops, of blood left in my body. I feel like several tons of stone were just droped, repeatedly, on my skull. But yes, I feel brilliant! I hate you." The demon laughed, returning his attentions to the sword.

"Walk it off." He said simply, then rose. "I've been thinking about just what I can do with you... it wouldn't do to have you spend all eternity in bed, you know."

"Not that you'd mind the arrangement."

"Certainly not, but it's not my opinion that matters, in the long run - it's my master's. It's Folstar's. And I doubt he cares to have you wasting away here. Then again, he won't care for my idea, either..." he seemd almost afraid for a moment. He hesitated, drawing the sword from the flames to study it for a moment. He balanced it across the palms of his hands. "Albel Nox, I want you to fight for me."

Albel stared. What? "You want me to..."

Romero seemed somewhat absent as he looked up. "You're strong, Albel," he said thoughtfully, returning the blade to the fire. "I don't want to put that strength to waste-"

"You keep saying that," Albel pointed out. "But I haven't gotten to prove any f it yet, apart from last night, if you count it."

"I do," Romero smirked. "Indeed, I do... beside the point. I would like you to help me serve Folstar. I want you to help me collect souls."

"You're insane!" Albel blinked. He couldn't understand his own outburst; he could certainly handle working alongside the King of the Dead. No trouble at all.

Author's Note: I'm sorry... it's short... and crappy... but I'm tired! I haven't gone to bed any earlier than 11:30 p.m. for the past week, and I'm really starting to run out of energy... T-T I'll have a better chapter for you next time, I promise... I'll even tell you what it's about! URSSA CAVE TEMPLE BATTLE! ...LeFox loves her battle scenes, so it might take a while for her to perfect it... and dammit, LeFox is speaking in third person again. LeFox is sorry.

(-coughnotcough-)