Unfortunately, I don't own Angel Sanctuary...

His entire body felt numb.

'Whose body wouldn't, after ten years of sleeping?' his inner voice filled the silence with a more than simple sarcasm. 'Damn me for caring… Damn me for loving… Damn me…'

Althought he felt a strong heart pulsing inside his chest, most of his other muscles would just disobey him and defy his authority by stubbornly remaining unmoved.

'Damn…' he couldn't stop himself from swearing once again. He hated the whole sitation. He hated the fact that he had chose such a lame timing to be acknowledging his love and he hated those bastards for hurting Barbiel… his Barbiel.

With a painful effort, he finally managed to open his eyelids and stare right above, through the transparent window of the pod that had sustained his body for the past ten years. Two minutes later, he was able to move his eyes and blink completely unrestrained.

Wanting to catch a glimpse of the room outside the pod or any inner command screens, from where he could controll the bloody machine, he tried in vain to turn his head one way or another. He failed miserably and cursed his days again, understanding that it was still too soon for his body to adjust to his awakening.

'How ironic… Raphael, the Element of Wind, the Angel of Virtues and Heaven's Healer isn't able to heal himself… but then again, when did I ever followed the true Virtues?' he bitterly laughed at himself.

Within the following hours, he started recovering every inch of his body, hoping that he would be able to leave that medical enprisonment as fast as he could. Although he didn't admit it, he wanted to see Barbiel more than anything else. Of course, he missed Mika-chan and the others as well… but none of them as much as his beloved Sub-Commander.

"I hope she didn't get into trouble these years… and if she did, Mika-chan had better helped her out and kept an eyes on things." He now spoke to himself, thinking in the same time how he had ended: talking to a closed and too small space. He turned his head to see the countdown: several more minutes until he would be free once again. Turning to the opposite side, he stopped fussing and tried to make something out of the room outside his glass and metal shield. From the looks of it, the hall was dark and quite empty. "Odd, I remember this to be one of the busiest laboratories…" he nearly whispered, wondering why there wasn't anyone to welcome him. "Have they already forgotten me?" he asked, but there was no sorrow in his voice. Quite the contrary: he was starting to feel enraged.

"Finally…" he spoke very content when the pod's headboard moved open, allowing him to get up and out… However, as soon as the entire hall entered his view, he wished that he had still been asleep.

A complete silence filled the entire Hell. Most of the strong demons and even the lower ones had returned to the deepest and darkest of chambers, gathering their strength, accumulating force and getting ready for the final war.

There were very few those who had remained behind, in the first of layers, in order to keep an eye on things and to make sure that an earlier attack wouldn't occur.

Blowing several strands of red wavy hair out of her face, the Demon of Pride thought how dull and silent Hell had been lately. At first it felt good and her headache's had finally disappeared, but after a while she got bored and ended up wanting the madness to return in those obscure places.

Her always black and white outfit was now formed of a very long dark coat, covering almost her entire body, but showing her right leg, up to the place where her beautiful butterfly tattoo was imprinted on her pale thy. As usual, her entire being was shocking and yet, strangely attractive to anyone who could see her.

A sudden noise made her black eyes, surrounded by the classic drawings, to gaze around the supposingly emtpy hall. One moment later, she smiled wickedly, with a certain evil sparkle in her dark orbs.

Few seconds later, a cloacked figure appeared out of the shadows and stopped few metres away from the large thronw, where the Mad Hatter laid in her full glory. When the person emained still, the red-haired's smile grew wider.

"Hello Kurai." Her voice filled the entire atmosphere and, one moment later, the sound of a fallen cloth followed. "My, my… what a surprising, yet wonderful visit." The Hatter kept smirking in her unique way, now admiring the Princess' older features. She was no longer a child, but nearly a woman. Her long silvery hair now reached her waist and her blue eyes held something mature and evil inside… "Tell me, Princess of Gehenna, what brings you down here at sucha time?"

Drawing a deep breath, the beautiful Dragon Master spoke strongly:

"I am here to ask you not to destroy the Heavens."

A multitude of drops fell on the transparent window.

"Setsuna." A cheerful voice was heard and a brown-haired man turned away from the rainy view to the interior of their apartment.

"In here Sara." He spoke loudly and noticed, one moment later, the entrance of his beautiful sister… and lover.

"Setsuna." She smiled lovingly and jumped into his opened arms, covering his lips with her lustful mouth. "Oh, Setsuna, I missed you!" she moaned as she felt his hands carressing her body lower and lower until…

Ding Dong! The sound forced the two to painfully break away from each other's grasp.

"Damn!" the man swor and groaned. She had finally come home after the trip to Tokyo and now some idiot ringing their doorbell was interrupting them. "Damn postman." Setsuna swore again and then turned to Sara. "I'll be right back, my love. Who could be at this time? It's too early even for the postman." He wondered as he walked to the door and unlocked it.

As soon as he managed to open and have a look at the person that had been standing on the other side, memories that he had been trying to forget for years filled his mind again. Those memories were about a teenager that carried the soul of an angel and, in order to bring his loved one back to life, he was forced to win against all Heaven and Hell.

And now, one distinct face of those he had once befriended was returning from his past in order to torment him some more.

Ok, if you want to read more, you know what you have to do: press the purple button below and send me a review. Until next time ;)